Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 3% of adult malignancy and 90% to 95% of neoplasms arising from the kidney.¹ It is the sixth leading cause of cancer death in the United States.² Approximately 31 200 new cases of RCC were diagnosed in the United States in 2000 and more than 11 900 affected individuals died. This disease often presents with few symptoms but it can have diverse paraneoplastic manifestations. It displays relative resistance to radiation and chemotherapy, although there have been occasional durable responses to interleukin 2 (IL-2)–based immunotherapy. Recent insights into the genetic changes associated with RCC have provided new targets for therapy.