New Research on Kidney Cancer: Highlights from Urologic and Oncologic Congresses in 2006

ObjectivesThis paper communicates the major new findings on renal cell cancer (RCC) that were presented at the 2006 annual meetings of the European Association of Urology (EAU), American Urological Association (AUA), and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and discussed during a closed meeting in September 2006.MethodsThe most relevant new findings were selected by urologic experts in the field of RCC.ResultsOne basic research study suggested that there might be pathways other than the von Hippel-Lindau/hypoxia-inducible factor-α pathway involved in RCC tumour angiogenesis. Partial nephrectomy is still relatively uncommon compared with radical nephrectomy, even in small tumours. Overall and cancer-specific 5-yr survival for laparascopic cryoablation was high, suggesting that it might be suitable for small renal masses. Radiofrequency ablation appears feasible and safe in healthy American Society of Anesthesiologists I and II patients. There were major contributions on angiogenesis inhibitors for metastatic RCC. Sorafenib significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) compared with placebo in patients who failed prior systemic therapy. Sunitinib significantly prolonged PFS compared with interferon (IFN)-α as first-line treatment of low- and intermediate-risk patients. Temsirolimus significantly increased overall survival compared with IFN-α as first-line treatment in poor-risk patients.ConclusionsRelevant new data on partial nephrectomy, cryoablation, and radiofrequency ablation are discussed in this paper. New standards are emerging for the treatment of metastatic RCC, which is now based on antiangiogenic drugs.