Latest Information

New Immunoassay May Help Detect Kidney Cancer.

March 14, 2013.

A new immunoassay shows promise as a screening tool for detecting early renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Kidney Tumor Ablation Ideal for Selected Patients

February 06, 2013

Ablation therapies are a particularly good option for patients who are not fit for surgery. The ideal tumor is small (less than 5 cm), peripheral, and exophytic. Ablation also is safer than surgery. The complication rate for laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is 30%, compared with less than 10% for cryotherapy and 2%-7% with RFA.

Kidney Cancer Biomarkers Remain Elusive

February 06, 2013

Although clinicians have drugs that are effective in treating metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), they still have no biomarkers to predict therapeutic response. Rosalie Fisher, MD, Clinical Research Fellow at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, told attendees at the Renal and Bladder Cancer 4th National Conference.

Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio May Be Associated With mRCC Outcomes

Source: RADAR

April 26, 2012

Two recent studies have reported on the possible utility of assessing pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a prognostic factor in mRCC. Preliminary studies of NLR changes from baseline have suggested that it may be prognostic of outcomes for a variety of solid tumours, including hepatic, gastric, lung and breast cancers (Chen et al. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2011, epublished September 13, 2011; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21913982. Aizawa et al. World J Surg 2011; 35:2717-2722; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Aizawa%202717. Tomita et al. Anticancer Res 2011;31:2995-2998; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21868550. Azab et al. Ann Surg Oncol 2012;19:217-224; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21638095 ).

The association of pre-treatment NLR with clinical outcomes (response rate, PFS, OS) was assessed in a retrospective analysis of an unselected cohort of 109 mRCC patients treated with sunitinib during the period 2004-2011 (Keizman et al. Eur J Cancer 2012;48:202-208; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22018713). Low NLR was associated with PFS (HR 0.285) and OS (HR 0.3). Other factors associated with PFS were nephrectomy, sunitinib dose reduction or treatment interruption, and the use of angiotensin inhibitors.

A separate review of 250 patient records examined whether a change in NLR post-treatment had a clinical impact (Ohno et al. J Urol 2012;187:411-417; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22177153). All subjects had non-metastatic clear-cell RCC. The 10-year recurrence-free survival rate was significantly lower in patients with preoperative NLR >2.7 versus < 2.7 (64.4% vs. 83.7%). Combining pre-and postoperative NLR provided further prognostic value. The 10-year RFS was significantly lower in patients with preoperative NLR >2.7 and postoperative NLR < 2.7 compared to those with preoperative and postoperative NLR >2.7 (52.0% vs. 83.5%).

Among patients with recurrence, the ratio at recurrence was significantly increased compared to the postoperative ratio. Tumour size, stage and NLR ratio (combining pre- and postoperative ratios) were independent predictors of recurrence on multivariate analysis.

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