{"id":120313,"date":"2026-01-12T20:16:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/120313\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T20:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:16:18","slug":"kidney-cancer-specialists-3-things-to-know-about-renal-cell-carcinoma-rcc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/120313\/","title":{"rendered":"Kidney cancer specialists: 3 things to know about renal cell carcinoma (RCC)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renal cell carcinoma<\/a> (RCC) is the scientific name for kidney cancer<\/a>. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma accounts for about 75% of all new kidney cancer cases diagnosed annually in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The remaining 25% fall under the umbrella term of \u201cnon-clear cell kidney cancer.\u201d These include many different subtypes, such as papillary kidney cancer, chromophobe kidney cancer, renal medullary carcinoma<\/a>, collecting duct kidney cancer, and translocation kidney cancer, to name but a few.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve recently been diagnosed with kidney cancer<\/a>, it\u2019s important to understand exactly which type<\/a> you have. Why?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause each kidney cancer is managed and treated very differently,\u201d explains Pavlos Msaouel, M.D., Ph.D.,<\/a> a genitourinary medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of renal medullary carcinoma.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Msaouel and Andrew Hahn, M.D.<\/a>, explored this topic in a recent Cancerwise podcast<\/a>. Here are three highlights.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Traditional chemotherapy is not normally used to treat renal cell carcinoma<\/p>\n

Hahn notes that first-line treatment is pretty straightforward now for patients with renal cell carcinoma. At MD Anderson, they will likely receive one of four different drug combinations. These are:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

nivolumab plus cabozantinib\u00a0\u00a0
\nnivolumab plus ipilimumab\u00a0
\npembrolizumab plus axitinib\u00a0
\npembrolizumab plus lenvatinib\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each combination includes at least one type of immunotherapy<\/a> called a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor<\/a>, such as nivolumab. The other half is either a different type of immunotherapy \u2014 such as a CTLA-4<\/a> immune checkpoint inhibitor<\/a> \u2014 or a targeted therapy<\/a> drug, such as axitinib.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s really no role for classic chemotherapy anymore in the treatment of metastatic<\/a> clear cell carcinoma,\u201d Hahn explains. \u201cThese new drugs activate the immune system in a different way to recognize and attack the kidney cancer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cancerwise<\/p>\n

\"Cancerwise<\/p>\n

What’s new with renal cell carcinoma treatment?<\/p>\n

The opposite may be true for some rare kidney cancer subtypes<\/p>\n

Patients who are diagnosed with other types of kidney cancer, though \u2014 especially\u00a0rare ones<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 may find that the opposite is true for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never give chemotherapy to patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma,\u201d Msaouel explains. \u201cBut we do prioritize chemotherapy for other kidney cancer types.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, he notes, the immunotherapies that have transformed the care of so many patients with renal cell carcinoma may be ineffective \u2014\u00a0and even harmful<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 for patients with renal medullary carcinoma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u2019s why it is so important to get an\u00a0accurate diagnosis<\/a>\u00a0up-front,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery case is unique. And, we develop tailored therapies specifically for each subtype.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Classic chemotherapy is no longer used to treat the most common renal cell carcinomas.\u00a0
\nRenal cell carcinoma treatment often involves at least one immune checkpoint inhibitor.\u00a0
\nClinical trials are helping us find new ways to treat renal cell carcinoma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clinical trials offer new kidney cancer treatment options<\/p>\n

MD Anderson\u00a0researchers<\/a>\u00a0are constantly trying to find new ways to treat kidney cancer through\u00a0clinical trials<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words,\u201d says Hahn, \u201cwe are adding new tools to the toolbox.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

One way they\u2019re doing this is by measuring the amount of a protein called KIM-1 in the blood. \u201cKIM-1 seems to be very closely associated with\u00a0how extensive<\/a>\u00a0a kidney cancer is,\u201d says Hahn.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another way is to\u00a0sequence<\/a>\u00a0the DNA of a patient\u2019s tumor, then use that to\u00a0create an individualized test<\/a>\u00a0to see if any\u00a0residual disease<\/a>\u00a0is still circulating in the patient\u2019s bloodstream after\u00a0treatment<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you start detecting it using one of these bespoke\u00a0ctDNA tools<\/a>, maybe it\u2019s time to intervene,\u201d Hahn adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To learn more about the latest in renal cell carcinoma treatment from Msaouel and Hahn,\u00a0listen to the podcast<\/a>.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Request an appointment at MD Anderson online<\/a>\u00a0or call 1-877-632-6789.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the scientific name for kidney cancer. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma accounts for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1145,1143,1142,52400,56,58,57,52399,1148,52398,2822],"class_list":{"0":"post-120313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-caregivers","9":"tag-diagnosis-treatment","10":"tag-family-friends","11":"tag-genitourinary","12":"tag-houston","13":"tag-houston-headlines","14":"tag-houston-news","15":"tag-kidney-cancer","16":"tag-patients","17":"tag-renal-cell-carcinoma","18":"tag-survivors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}