Current Role of Radiotherapy for Renal-Cell Carcinoma: Review

Surgery is the standard of care for patients with renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). Radiotherapy (RT) can decrease the risk of local recurrence after surgery and can lead to excellent outcomes in patients unfit for surgery. We reviewed clinical experience with various forms of RT, including conventional fractionated RT and intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) as adjunct to surgery, hypofractionated high-dose stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), and particle therapy in unresectable RCC. We discuss future directions for using RT in the treatment of RCC. We encourage clinicians to incorporate RT modalities in prospective clinical trials.