A molecule called STF-62247 has been discovered by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers to be toxic against kidney cancer cells but is generally harmless to most other cells in the human body.
According to Amato Giaccia, PhD, professor and director of radiation oncology and radiation biology at the medical school:
“You now have a potential means of going after a disease that’s been difficult to treat. There is no effective chemotherapy to treat renal cell carcinoma. Patients still succumb. Clinical trials could begin “in the next couple years”.”
Above findings are published today in the journal Cancer Cell. Hopefully this discovery will …read more

According to a study that appeared online in the January 22 issue of Lancet Oncology, patients taking Nexavar® (sorafenib) need to be carefully monitored and treated.
In clinical testing, Nexavar improved overall survival by 44 percent among people with HCC. Median overall survival was 10.7 months among those treated with the drug, versus 7.9 months among those who took a placebo. This was considered a major inroad against one of the most voracious cancers.
Nexavar is also being assessed to treat small-cell lung cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma.Earlier trials, however, had shown a 16 percent to 42.6 percent incidence of hypertension in …read more

Compared to either agent alone, the combination of interferon alpha and sorafenib has been found to work better for patients with renal cell carcinoma –the common form of kidney cancer.
Such were the findings of a pilot study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.
According to Jared Gollob, M.D., an oncologist at Duke and lead investigator on the study:
“We found that by combining a drug that enlists the immune system’s help in combating cancer with one that cuts off a tumor’s blood supply, we could substantially increase patients’ response rates to treatment.
Most tumors that respond to either therapy alone begin …read more

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ new kidney cancer drug Torisel™ (temsirolimus) has recently been approved by the FDA for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma – a type of advanced kidney cancer.
Torisel™ is an enzyme inhibitor (mTOR inhibitor to be exact) whose FDA approval came following results of prolonged survival in renal cell carcinoma patients.
According to Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research:
“We have made significant advances in the battle against kidney cancer. Torisel is the third drug approved for this indication in the past 18 months, and one that shows an increased time in survival for …read more

Regardless of the type of alcoholic beverage (beer wine, liquor) – in both men and women – drinking at least an average of one alcoholic beverage a day was found associated with a 30% reduction in renal cancer risk.
Such is the result of an analysis of 12 prospective studies of alcohol consumption among renal cancer patients, conducted by a team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston led by Jung Eun Lee, Sc.D.
Wait a minute. We shouldn’t be dancing the dance of joy and drink like there’s no tomorrow.
According to the study’s authors:
“However, because alcohol drinking …read more

Cell renal carcinoma is the most common and aggressive type of renal tumor or kidney cancer.
Imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) using a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody G250 (originally developed as a potential therapeutic agent) can accurately identify cell renal carcinoma that needs surgery.
This was based on findings of a new study done by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).
…15 out of 16 clear cell renal carcinomas were correctly identified using G250 PET, resulting in a sensitivity of 94 percent. All 9 patients with non-clear cell renal masses were negative on the PET scan — which is highly predictive of …read more

The nonsurgical image-guided treatment of kidney tumors — cryoablation – – is as effective as the laparoscopic technique in viable candidates.
Such is the research finding recently reported at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting.
The comparative trial shows that percutaneous cryoablation results in a slightly lower recurrence rate of the tumor, a shorter hospital stay, no major complications, and a 59.5 percent lower hospital cost than the laparoscopic treatment.
During cryoablation argon gas enters the tip of the probe and extracts heat from the surrounding cells, resulting in an “ice ball” that freezes and kills the tumor – sparing …read more

According to a new study published online October 20, 2006 in the International Journal of Cancer (the official journal of the International Union Against Cancer or UICC), there is a significant link between high bread consumption and renal cell carcinoma and that eating a lot of pasta and rice may also raise the risk, while eating many vegetables may lower the risk.
Such were the findings of a case-control study of more than 2300 Italians led by Francesca Bravi of the Institute of Pharmacological Research “Mario Negri” in Milan.
Accounting for 2 % of all adult cancers, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the …read more

Removing the entire kidney is the gold standard for 40 years in the treatment of a single, small tumor in the kidney.
A retrospective study appearing in the September issue of The Lancet Oncology suggests that such practice needs to be re-evaluated.
Urologists at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and their colleagues reported that with advances in imaging, almost 70 percent of kidney cancer patients have their tumor detected at a very small size (less than 4 cm), thereby enabling surgeons to perform less radical surgery with superior results.
According to the results of the said study, patients with two otherwise healthy kidneys …read more

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) or advanced kidney cancer’s initial therapy is the current standard cytokine treatment. In a new study from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the drug sunitinib malate (Sutentｮ) was found more effective than the current standard treatment in treating advanced kidney cancer.
“This drug has shown more activity as a single agent against advanced kidney cancer than any other drug I’ve studied in the past 15 years,” said the study’s lead author Robert J. Motzer, MD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). “I continue to be encouraged by its effectiveness in treating patients with this …read more