Kidney Cancer Research Results and Study Updates

By analyzing patterns of DNA mutations in kidney cancers from people around the world, researchers have discovered new clues about possible causes of the disease. Identifying these mutational signatures might lead to strategies for preventing kidney cancer.

In a large clinical trial, treatment with pembrolizumab after surgery helped people with kidney cancer live longer than those who got a placebo and standard monitoring. The findings mark the first time an adjuvant treatment for kidney cancer has improved survival.

An international team of researchers has identified 50 new areas across the genome that are associated with the risk of developing kidney cancer. The analysis identified genetic variants associated with the risk of developing papillary renal cell carcinoma and clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

In a clinical trial, an injectable form of nivolumab (Opdivo) was as effective against kidney cancer as the intravenous form of the drug. Side effects were also similar and treatment time was shorter. Injectable immunotherapies, several experts said, if found to be comparable to IV forms, can be more convenient to receive and accessible to more people.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy was effective in people with localized kidney cancer who weren’t able to have surgery to remove their tumor, a clinical trial has shown. No patients had their cancer start growing or died from cancer over the next 5 years.

FDA has approved belzutifan (Welireg) to treat adults with von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) who have tumors of the kidney, brain, nervous system, or pancreas. The drug may help these patients avoid or delay surgery by shrinking their tumors.

Cabozantinib (Cabometyx) is an effective initial treatment for people with metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC), a rare type of kidney cancer. A clinical trial showed the drug was more effective than the current standard treatment.

Results from two studies show that a liquid biopsy that analyzes DNA in blood accurately detected kidney cancer at early and more advanced stages and identified and classified different types of brain tumors.

In two clinical trials, combination treatments that included an immune checkpoint inhibitor and axitinib (Inlyta) led to better outcomes for patients with advanced kidney cancer than treatment with sunitinib (Sutent), the standard initial therapy.

Results from an NCI-sponsored clinical trial may point to an important change in how some children with advanced Wilms tumor, a form of kidney cancer, are treated.

FDA has approved the combination of two immunotherapy drugs, nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy), as an initial treatment for some patients with advanced kidney cancer. Learn how this approval will affect patient care.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx®) as an initial treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer.

Two new studies suggest that a new class of drugs can effectively target a molecular driver of the most common type of kidney cancer.

The FDA has approved two drugs, cabozantinib and lenvatinib, for patients whose advanced kidney cancers have progressed after prior treatment with antiangiogenic therapies.

Results from a recent clinical trial show that post-surgical therapy with two anti-angiogenesis drugs does not improve progression-free survival for patients with kidney cancer and may cause serious side effects.

Researchers with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) report new findings on papillary renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer.