Using MsfNet to Predict the ISUP Grade of Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma in Digital Pathology Images

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)represents the most frequent form of renal cell carcinoma(RCC),and accurate International Society of Urological Pathology(ISUP)grading is crucial for prognosis and treatment selection.This study presents a new deep network called Multi-scale Fusion Network(MsfNet),which aims to enhance the automatic ISUP grade of ccRCC with digital histopathology pathology images.The MsfNet overcomes the limitations of traditional ResNet50 by multi-scale information fusion and dynamic allocation of channel quantity.The model was trained and tested using 90 Hematoxylin and Eosin(H&E)stained whole slide images(WSIs),which were all cropped into 320×320-pixel patches at 40×magnification.MsfNet achieved a micro-averaged area under the curve(AUC)of 0.9807,a macro-averaged AUC of 0.9778 on the test dataset.The Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping(Grad-CAM)visually demonstrated MsfNet’s ability to distinguish and highlight abnormal areas more effectively than ResNet50.The t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding(t-SNE)plot indicates our model can efficiently extract critical features from images,reducing the impact of noise and redundant information.The results suggest that MsfNet offers an accurate ISUP grade of ccRCC in digital images,emphasizing the potential of AI-assisted histopathological systems in clinical practice.

Low expression of fatty acid oxidation related gene ACADM indicates poor prognosis of renal clear cell carcinoma and is related to tumor immune infltration

This research aims to identify the key fatty acid beta-oxidation(FAO)genes that are altered in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma(KIRC)and to analyze the role of these genes in KIRC The Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)and FAO datasets were used to identify these key genes.Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess the levels of acyl-CoA dehydrogenase medium chain(ACADM)between KIRC and non cancer samples.The logistic regression and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to explore the association between ACADM and clinical features.The diagnostic performance of ACADM for KIRC was asessed using a diagnostic receiver operating ch aracteristic(ROC)curve.The co-expressed genes of ACADM were identifed in LinkedOmics database,and their function and pathway enrichment were analyzed.The correlation between ACADM expression level and immune infitration was analyzed by Gene Set Variation Analysis(GSVA)method Additionally,the proliferation,migration,and invasion abilities of KIRC cells were assessed after overexpressing ACADM.Following differential analysis and intersection,we identifed six hub genes,induding ACADM.We found that the expression level of ACADM was decreased in KIRC tissues and had a better diagnostic efect(AUC=0.916).Survival analysis suggested that patients with decreased ACADM expression had a worse prognosis.According to correlation analysis,a variety of dinical features were associated with the expression level of ACADML By analyzing the infiltration level of immune cells,we found that ACADM may be related to the enrichment of immune cells.Finally,ACADM overexpression inhibited proliferation,migration,and invasion of KIRC cells.In conclusion,our findings suggest that reduced ACADM expression in KIRC patients is indicative of poor prognosis.These results imply that ACADM may be a diagnostic and prognostic marker for individuals with KIRC,offering a reference for dinicians in diagnosis and treatment.

Network pharmacology and molecular docking analysis reveal insights into the molecular mechanism of Gualou Qumai Wan in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background:To initially clarify the potential therapeutic targets and pharmacological mechanism regarding Gualou Qumai Wan(GQW),a kind of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),in clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)by virtue of the network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking analysis.Methods:The screening of bioactive components and targets of GQW was based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology(TCMSP)and the UniProt platform served for standardizing their targets.Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM),PharmGkb,TTD,DrugBank and GeneCards databases were searched to collect the disease targets of ccRCC.Cytoscape assisted in constructing herb-compound-target(H-C-T)networks.The STRING database was searched for constructing the target protein-protein interaction(PPI)networks,while the R programming language served for analyzing GO functional terms and the KEGG pathways related to potential targets.Analyses of core genes related to survival and tumor microenvironment(TME)were conducted respectively based on the GEPIA2 database and TIMER 2.0 database.Human Protein Atlas(HPA)and The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)helped to obtain core genes’protein expression as well as transcriptome expression level.Autodock Vina software validated the molecular docking regarding GQW components and pivotal targets.Results:The constructed H-C-T networks mainly had 33 compounds and 65 targets.A topological analysis of the PPI network identified that ESR1,AKT1,HIF1A,PTGS2,TP53 and VEGFA serve as core targets in the way GQW affects ccRCC.According to the GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses,the effects of GQW are mediated by genes related to hypoxia and oxidative stress as well as the Chemical carcinogenesis-receptor activation and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways.AKT1 shows a close relation to the recruitment of various immune cells and can remarkably affect disease prognosis according to reports.Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations showed that diosgenin has higher affinity with core targets.Conclusion:The study makes a comprehensive explanation of the biological activity,potential targets,as well as molecular mechanism regarding GQW against ccRCC,which promisingly assists in revealing the action mechanism of TCM formulae in disease treatment and the respective and scientific basis.

Differentiate Xp11.2 Translocation Renal Cell Carcinoma from Computed Tomography Images and Clinical Data with ResNet-18 CNN and XGBoost

This study aims to apply ResNet-18 convolutional neural network(CNN)and XGBoost to preoperative computed tomography(CT)images and clinical data for distinguishing Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma(Xp11.2 tRCC)from common subtypes of renal cell carcinoma(RCC)in order to provide patients with individualized treatment plans.Data from45 patients with Xp11.2 tRCC fromJanuary 2007 to December 2021 are collected.Clear cell RCC(ccRCC),papillary RCC(pRCC),or chromophobe RCC(chRCC)can be detected from each patient.CT images are acquired in the following three phases:unenhanced,corticomedullary,and nephrographic.A unified framework is proposed for the classification of renal masses.In this framework,ResNet-18 CNN is employed to classify renal cancers with CT images,while XGBoost is adopted with clinical data.Experiments demonstrate that,if applying ResNet-18 CNN or XGBoost singly,the latter outperforms the former,while the framework integrating both technologies performs similarly or better than urologists.Especially,the possibility of misclassifying Xp11.2 tRCC,pRCC,and chRCC as ccRCC by the proposed framework is much lower than urologists.

Solute carrier-related signature for assessing prognosis and immunity in patients with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

Background:Clear-cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)is the most common malignant kidney cancer.However,the tumor microenvironment and crosstalk involved in metabolic reprogramming in ccRCC are not well-understood.Methods:We used The Cancer Genome Atlas to obtain ccRCC transcriptome data and clinical information.The EMTAB-1980 cohort was used for external validation.The GENECARDS database contains the first 100 solute carrier(SLC)-related genes.The predictive value of SLC-related genes for ccRCC prognosis and treatment was assessed using univariate Cox regression analysis.An SLC-related predictive signature was developed through Lasso regression analysis and used to determine the risk profiles of patients with ccRCC.Patients in each cohort were separated into high-and low-risk groups based on their risk scores.The clinical importance of the signature was assessed through survival,immune microenvironment,drug sensitivity,and nomogram analyses using R software.Results:SLC25A23,SLC25A42,SLC5A1,SLC3A1,SLC25A37,SLC5A6,SLCO5A1,and SCP2 comprised the signatures of the eight SLCrelated genes.Patients with ccRCC were separated into high-and low-risk groups based on the risk value in the training and validation cohorts;the high-risk group had a significantly worse prognosis(p<0.001).The risk score was an independent predictive indicator of ccRCC in the two cohorts according to univariate and multivariate Cox regression(p<0.05).Analysis of the immune microenvironment showed that immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint gene expression differed between the two groups(p<0.05).Drug sensitivity analysis showed that compared to the low-risk group,the high-risk group was more sensitive to sunitinib,nilotinib,JNK-inhibitor-VIII,dasatinib,bosutinib,and bortezomib(p<0.001).Survival analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves were validated using the E-MTAB-1980 cohort.Conclusions:SLC-related genes have predictive relevance in ccRCC and play roles in the immunological milieu.Our results provide insight into metabolic reprogramming in ccRCC and identify promising treatment targets for ccRCC.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 2 as a prognostic biomarker and immunotherapeutic indicator for clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background:In many cancer types,aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 2(ARNT2)has been found to be associated with tumor cell proliferation and prognosis.However,the role of ARNT2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)has not been completely elucidated.In this study,the potential role of ARNT2 in ccRCC development was characterized.Methods:A pan-cancer dataset(TCGA-TARGET-GTEx)was accessed from UCSC Xena Data Browser.ARNT2 expression in normal and tumor samples was compared.Univariate Cox regression was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of ARNT2.Single sample gene set enrichment analysis(ssGSEA)was used to estimate the enrichment of functional pathways and gene signatures.CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE methods evaluated the immune infiltration.The ARNT2 expression was determined in ccRCC tissue and cell lines using RT-qPCR and Western blot.Results:ARNT2 expression was significantly dysregulated in 23 out of 30 cancer types.Pan-cancer data revealed a strong correlation between ARNT2 expression and immune modulators,immune cell infiltration,and genomic alternations.In ccRCC patients,the low-ARNT2 expression group had higher immune infiltration,CD8 T cells,and programmed cell death ligand 1 expression,as well as higher enrichment score of immunotherapeutic predictors than those in the high-ARNT2 expression group.Low-ARNT2 expression group was more responsive to immunotherapy.Moreover,low ARNT2 expression was observed in ccRCC tissue and cell lines.Conclusions:Dysregulated ARNT2 expression is involved in cancer development and the modulation of the immune microenvironment.ARNT2 can be potentially used as a prognostic indicator and an immunotherapeutic indicator for ccRCC.

Pembrolizumab combined with axitinib in the treatment of skin metastasis of renal clear cell carcinoma to nasal ala:A case report

BACKGROUND Renal clear cell carcinoma(RCC)is a malignant tumor of the genitourinary system with a predilection for males.The most common metastatic sites are the lung,liver,lymph nodes,contralateral kidney or adrenal gland,however,skin metastasis has only been seen in 1.0%-3.3%of cases.The most common site of skin metastasis is the scalp,and metastasis to the nasal ala region is rare.CASE SUMMARY A 55-year-old man with clear cell carcinoma of the left kidney was treated with pembrolizumab and axitinib for half a year after surgery and was found to have a red mass on his right nasal ala for 3 mo.The skin lesion of the patient grew rapidly to the size of 2.0 cm×2.0 cm×1.2 cm after discontinuation of targeted drug therapy due to the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic.The patient was finally diagnosed with skin metastasis of RCC in our hospital.The patient refused to undergo surgical resection and the tumor shrank rapidly after resuming target therapy for 2 wk.CONCLUSION It is rare for an RCC to metastasize to the skin of the nasal ala region.The tumor size change of this patient before and after treatment with targeted drugs shows the effectiveness of combination therapy for skin metastasis.

Iris metastasis from clear cell renal cell carcinoma: A case report

BACKGROUND Clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)is a common type of tumor that can metastasize to any organs and sites.However,it is extremely rare for ccRCC to metastasize to the iris.Here,we describe a rare case of iris metastasis from ccRCC with a history of left nephrectomy in 2010.CASE SUMMARY A 62-year-old male was admitted to the hospital due to blurred vision and red eyes,and a mass was found on the iris in the right eye.B-scan ultrasonography revealed a well-bounded high-density lesion at the corner of the anterior chamber at the 3-4 o’clock position.Phacoemulsification with simultaneous intraocular lens implantation and iridocyclectomy was performed in the right eye.The lesion was confirmed to be metastatic ccRCC by histological and immunohistochemical analyses.The patient was still alive at 9 mo after surgical treatment.Ocular metastasis can be an initial sign with a poor prognosis.Timely detection and treatment may improve survival.Clinicians should pay attention to similar metastatic diseases to prevent misdiagnosis leading to missed treatment oppor-tunities.CONCLUSION This report of the characteristics and successful management of a rare case of iris metastasis from ccRCC highlights the importance of a comprehensive medical history,histopathology,immunohistochemistry,and clinical manifestation for successful disease diagnosis.

A developed ant colony algorithm for cancer molecular subtype classification to reveal the predictive biomarker in the renal cell carcinoma

Background:Recently,researchers have been attracted in identifying the crucial genes related to cancer,which plays important role in cancer diagnosis and treatment.However,in performing the cancer molecular subtype classification task from cancer gene expression data,it is challenging to obtain those significant genes due to the high dimensionality and high noise of data.Moreover,the existing methods always suffer from some issues such as premature convergence.Methods:To address those problems,we propose a new ant colony optimization(ACO)algorithm called DACO to classify the cancer gene expression datasets,identifying the essential genes of different diseases.In DACO,first,we propose the initial pheromone concentration based on the weight ranking vector to accelerate the convergence speed;then,a dynamic pheromone volatility factor is designed to prevent the algorithm from getting stuck in the local optimal solution;finally,the pheromone update rule in the Ant Colony System is employed to update the pheromone globally and locally.To demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm in classification,different existing approaches are compared with the proposed algorithm on eight high-dimensional cancer gene expression datasets.Results:The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm performs better than other effective methods in terms of classification accuracy and the number of feature sets.It can be used to address the classification problem effectively.Moreover,a renal cell carcinoma dataset is employed to reveal the biological significance of the proposed algorithm from a number of biological analyses.Conclusion:The results demonstrate that CAPS may play a crucial role in the occurrence and development of renal clear cell carcinoma.

Single omental metastasis of renal cell carcinoma after radical nephrectomy:A case report

BACKGROUND Renal cell carcinoma(RCC)is the third most common malignancy in the genitourinary tract.The lungs,bone,lymph nodes,liver,and brain are common metastatic sites of RCC.However,there is limited literature on single omental metastasis of RCC.CASE SUMMARY We present the case of a 44-year-old man with single omental metastasis of RCC after laparoscopic radical nephrectomy.Pathological diagnosis of the resected left kidney revealed pT3a clear cell RCC(Fuhrman grade III).At 6 mo postoperatively,abdominal computed tomography revealed a 12-mm enhancing nodule in the left lower peritoneum.At 7 mo after initial operation,laparoscopic removal of the left omental nodule was performed.The pathological results indicated metastatic clear cell RCC.Currently,the patient is being treated with adjuvant pembrolizumab.CONCLUSION Omental metastasis of RCC owing to laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is rare.Urologists should be aware of the diverse nature of RCC.

Warthin-like papillary renal cell carcinoma: A case report

BACKGROUND Warthin-like papillary renal cell carcinoma(WPRCC)has been described as a rare pathological subtype of papillary renal cell carcinoma in the 2022 World Health Organization Classification of the Urinary and Male Reproductive System.Herein we report a case of WPRCC in the left kidney.CASE SUMMARY Physical examination of a previously healthy 47-year-old woman revealed a lump in her left kidney,4.5 cm×3.5 cm×3.5 cm in size.Based on the clinical information,imaging data,histmorphological features,and immunohistochemistry results,the pathological diagnosis was WPRCC in left kidney.CONCLUSION Resection of the mass in the left kidney was performed and her postoperative course was uneventful.

Comparison of efficacy, safety, and quality of life between sorafenib and sunitinib as first.line therapy for Chinese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Background: Sorafenib and sunitinib are widely used as first-line targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma(mRCC) in China.This study aimed to compare the efficacy, safety, and quality of life(QoL) in Chinese mRCC patients treated with sorafenib and sunitinib as first-line therapy.Methods: Clinical data of patients with mRCC who received sorafenib(400 mg twice daily; 4 weeks) or sunitinib(50 mg twice daily; on a schedule of 4 weeks on treatment followed by 2 weeks off) were retrieved. Primary outcomes were overall survival(OS), progression-free survival(PFS), adverse events(AEs), and QoL(SF-36 scores), and secondary outcomes were associations of clinical characteristics with QoL.Results: Medical records of 184 patients(110 in the sorafenib group and 74 in the sunitinib group) were reviewed.PFS and OS were comparable between the sorafenib and sunitinib groups(both P > 0.05).The occurrence rates of leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, and hypothyroidism were higher in the sunitinib group(36.5% vs. 10.9%,P< 0.001; 40.5% vs. 10.9%, P < 0.001; 17.6% vs. 3.6%, P = 0.001), and that of diarrhea was higher in the sorafenib group(62.7% vs. 35.2%, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in SF-36 scores between the two groups. Multivariate analysis indicated that role-physical and bodily pain scores were associated with the occurrence rate of grade 3 or 4 AEs(P = 0.017 and 0.005).Conclusions: Sorafenib has comparable efficacy and lower toxicity profile than sunitinib as first-line therapy for mRCC. Both agents showed no significant impact on QoL of patients.

Correlation between Hypovitaminosis D Status and Hyperactivation of IL-6/STAT3 Signaling in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Objective:To analyze serum vitamin D levels in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)by flow cytometry and to investigate the relationship between hypovitaminosis D status and hyperactivation of IL-6/STAT3 signaling in ccRCC.Methods:Eighty patients diagnosed with ccRCC by our oncology department from January 2019 to December 2021 were selected as study subjects,and the control subjects were selected from patients who were receiving health check-up from our hospital(matched according to case group:control group,1:2),with 160 healthy patients.All serum samples collected from the case-control subjects were allowed to stand for 1–2 hours,centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes,and stored in a-80°C refrigerator,from which they were removed and thawed to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D(25(OH)D)and interleukin 6(IL-6)levels.Results:The blood calcium level of patients in the cancer group was significantly lower than that of patients in the non-cancer group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The IL-6 level of the cancer group was significantly higher than that of the non-cancer group.In high vitamin D state,the IL-6 level of the non-cancer group was higher than that of the cancer group,and the average concentration of IL-6 in both the cancer group and the non-cancer group was significantly higher in low vitamin D state compared with high vitamin D state(P<0.05);the correlation between hypovitaminosis D status and renal Ki-67 was found to be positive.Conclusion:The results showed that serum IL-6 levels were elevated in the cancer group and circulating serum 25(OH)D levels were negatively correlated with IL-6 levels.In addition,signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)signaling in RCC tissues was activated in ccRCC patients and in those with low vitamin D status among the cancer group and was higher than that in those with high vitamin D status.These results suggest that hypovitaminosis D status in ccRCC patients is associated with activated IL-6/STAT3 signaling and the activation of tumor proliferation markers proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA),cyclin D1,and Ki-67.

Association of post.treatment hypoalbuminemia and survival in Chinese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Background:Hypoalbuminemia adversely affects the clinical outcomes of various cancers.The purpose of this study was to estimate the prognostic value of hypoalbuminemia 3-5 weeks after treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma(mRCC) who received sorafenib or sunitinib as first-line treatment.Methods:In this single-center,retrospective study,we assessed the progression-free survival(PFS) and overall survival(OS) of 184 mRCC patients who received first-line sorafenib or sunitinib treatment.PFS and OS were compared between patients with post-treatment hypoalbuminemia(post-treatment albumin level <36.4 g/L) and those with normal post-treatment albumin level(albumin level≥36.4 g/L).The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center(MSKCC)risk model stratified mRCC patients into three risk categories.Prognostic values of all patient characteristics including MSKCC risk category were determined by using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models.Prognostic value was further determined using the Harrell concordance index and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.Results:The median PFS and OS of the 184 patients were 11 months(95%confidence interval[CI]9-12 months)and 23 months(95%CI 19-33 months),respectively.Patients with post-treatment hypoalbuminemia had significantly shorter median PFS(6 months[95%CI 5-7 months]) and OS(11 months[95%CI 9-15 months]) than patients who had normal post-treatment albumin levels(PFS:12 months[95%CI 11-16 months],P < 0.001;OS:31 months[95%CI24-42 months],P < 0.001),respectively.Multivariate analysis showed that post-treatment hypoalbuminemia was an independent predictor of PFS(hazard ratio[HR],2.113;95%CI 1.390-3.212;P < 0.001) and OS(HR,2.388;95%CI 1.591-3.585;P < 0.001).Post-treatment hypoalbuminemia could also be combined with the MSKCC risk category for better prediction about OS.The model that included post-treatment hypoalbuminemia and MSKCC risk category improved the predictive accuracy for PFS and OS(c-index:0.68 and 0.73,respectively) compared with the basic MSKCC risk model(c-index:0.67 and 0.70,respectively).The prognostic values for PFS and OS of the integrated MSKCC risk model involving post-treatment hypoalbuminemia were significantly more accurate than the basic MSKCC risk model using likelihood ratio analysis(both P < 0.001).Conclusions:Post-treatment hypoalbuminemia can be considered an independent prognostic factor for patients with mRCC who undergo first-line treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.Additionally,integrating post-treatment serum albumin level into the basic MSKCC risk model can improve the accuracy of this model in predicting patient overall survival and progression-free survival.

Update on the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Metastatic renal cell cancer(mRCC)management has undergone a paradigm shift in recent decades.The first revolution came with the emergence of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors;there was a second wave with the unprecedented success of checkpoint inhibitors,and then the latest approach,which is becoming the new care standard in mRCC,of combining these two strategies in different ways.Updated results of Checkmate-214 after 42 mo of follow-up were consistent with previously published results showing the superiority of nivolumab/ipilimumab over sunitinib in progression free survival(PFS),overall survival(OS),and objective response rate(ORR)in intermediate and high-risk patients.However,several studies presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020 suggested that the best place,and so far,the only one for nivolumab/ipilimumab is the frontline setting.The update on Keynote-426 after 23 mo of follow-up showed no superiority of pembrolizumab/axitinib over sunitinib in favorable-risk mRCC,suggesting that it should no longer be the first line of choice in low-risk patients.Finally,the phase III Checkmate 9ER trial results revealed the superiority of nivolumab/cabozantinib vs sunitinib in PFS,OS,and ORR,providing a new first-line option among all International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium risk patients.Some phase II clinical trials also presented this year showed promising results with new combination therapies such as nivolumab/sitravatinib,cabozantinib/atezolizumab,and lenvatinib/pembrolizumab,providing promising grounds upon which to start phase III studies.In addition,other works are using novel therapeutic agents with different mechanisms of action,including telaglenastat(a glutaminase inhibitor),entinostat[an inhibitor of histone deacetylases(HDACs)],and olaparib and talazoparib,poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase inhibitors widely used in other tumors.However,some questions regarding mRCC management still need to be addressed,such as head-to-head comparisons between the current options,treatment sequencing,non-clear cell mRCC,and the role of biomarkers to ascertain the best treatment choice.

Twenty-year survival after iterative surgery for metastatic renal cell carcinoma: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND The therapeutic approach of metastatic renal cell carcinoma(RCC)represents a real challenge for clinicians,because of the variable clinical course;the recent availability of numerous targeted therapies that have significantly improved overall oncological results,but still with a low percentage of complete responses;and the increasing role of metastasectomy(MSX)as an effective strategy to achieve a durable cure,or at least defer initiation of systemic therapies,in selected patients and in the context of multimodality treatment strategies.CA^E SUMMARY We report here the case of a 40-year-old man who was referred to our unit in November 2004 with lung and mediastinal lymph nodes metastases identified during periodic surveillance 6 years after a radical nephrectomy for RCC;he underwent MSX of multiple lung nodules and mediastinal lymphadenectomy,with subsequent systemic therapy with Fluorouracil,Interferon-alpha and Interleukin 2.The subsequent clinical course was characterized by multiple sequential abdominal and thoracic recurrences,successfully treated with multiple systemic treatments,repeated local treatments,including two pancreatic resections,conservative resection and ablation of multiple bilobar liver metastases,resection and stereotactic body radiotherapy of multiple lung metastases.He is alive without evidence of recurrence 20 years after initial nephrectomy and sequential treatment of recurrences in multiple sites,including resection of more than 38 metastases,and 5 years after his last MSX.CONCLUSION This case highlights that effective multimodality therapeutic strategies,including multiple systemic treatments and iterative aggressive surgical resection,can be safely performed with long-term survival in selected patients with multiple metachronous sequential metastases from RCC.

A novel preoperative inflammatory marker prognostic score in patients with localized and metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Objective:Several inflammatory markers have been studied as potential biomarkers in renal cell carcinoma(RCC),however few reports have analyzed their prognostic value in aggregate and in non-clear cell histologies.We hypothesize that a combination of specific inflammatory markers into an RCC Inflammatory Score(RISK)could serve as a rigorous prognostic indicator of overall survival(OS)in patients with clear cell and non-clear cell RCC.Methods:Combination of preoperative C-reactive protein(CRP),albumin,erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),corrected calcium,and aspartate transaminase to alanine transaminase(AST/ALT)ratio was used to develop RISK.RISK was developed using grid-search methodology,receiver-operating-characteristic(ROC)analysis,and sensitivity-specificity trade-off analysis.Prognostic value of RISK was analyzed using the KaplaneMeier method and Cox proportional regression models.Predictive accuracy was compared with RISK to Size,Size,Grade,and Necrosis(SSIGN)score,University of California-LOS Angeles(UCLA)Integrated Staging System(UISS),and Leibovich Prognosis Score(LPS).

Combination drug regimens for metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinomas(RCC)make up about 90%of kidney cancers,of which 80%are of the clear cell subtype.About 20%of patients are already metastatic at the time of diagnosis.Initial treatment is often cytoreductive nephrectomy,but systemic therapy is required for advanced RCC.Single agent targeted therapies are moderately toxic and only somewhat effective,leading to development of immunotherapies and combination therapies.This review identifies limitations of monotherapies for metastatic renal cell carcinoma,discusses recent advances in combination therapies,and highlights therapeutic options under development.The goal behind combining various modalities of systemic therapy is to potentiate a synergistic antitumor effect.However,combining targeted therapies may cause increased toxicity.The initial attempts to create therapeutic combinations based on inhibition of the vascular endothelial growth factor or mammalian target of rapamycin pathways were largely unsuccessful in achieving a profile of increased synergy without increased toxicity.To date,five combination therapies have been approved by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration,with the most recently approved therapies being a combination of checkpoint inhibition plus targeted therapy.Several other combination therapies are under development,including some in the phase 3 stage.The new wave of combination therapies for metastatic RCC has the potential to increase response rates and improve survival outcomes while maintaining tolerable side effect profiles.

Novel immunotherapy approaches for metastatic urothelial and renal cell carcinoma

The treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma(RCC)and urothelial carcinoma(UC)remains a major challenge.Past research has implicated the immune system in tumor surveillance of both malignancies,leading to the application of immunotherapy agents for both cancers.Among them,the most promising agents are the checkpoint blockade drugs,such as antibodies targeting the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4(CTLA-4),programmed death receptor 1(PD-1),and PD-1 ligand(PD-L1).In normal physiology,these immune checkpoints act as inhibitory signals to fine-tune the duration and strength of immune reactions,which is pivotal for maintaining self-tolerance.However,tumor cells also utilize immune checkpoint pathways to evade anti-tumor immune response,leading to disease progression and metastasis.Thus,there has been intense preclinical and clinical effort focused on the application of checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic RCC and UC.To date,nivolumab(anti-PD-1)and atezolizumab(anti-PD-L1)have been approved for the treatment of metastatic RCC and UC,respectively.Despite these successes,challenges remain in how to further improve response rates to immunotherapy and how to select patients that will benefit from this approach.In this report,we review existing data and research on immunotherapy in metastatic RCC and UC.

Immunotherapy:A new standard in the treatment of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell cancer(RCC)represents 2%-3% of all adulthood cancers and is the most common malignant neoplasm of the kidney(90%).In the mid-nineties of the last century,the standard of treatment for patients with metastatic RCC was cytokines.Sunititib and pazopanib were registered in 2007 and 2009,respectively,and have since been the standard first-line treatment for metastatic clear cell RCC(mccRCC).Renal cell cancer is a highly immunogenic tumor with tumor infiltrating cells,including CD8+T lymphocytes,dendritic cells,natural killer cells(NK)and macrophages.This observation led to the design of new clinical trials in which patients were treated with immunotherapy.With the growing evidence that proangiogenic factors can have immunomodulatory effects on the host’s immune system,the idea of combining angiogenic drugs with immunotherapy has emerged,and new clinical trials have been designed.In the last few years,several therapeutic options have been approved[immunotherapy and immunotherapy/tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKI)]for the first-line treatment of mccRCC.Nivolumab/ipilimumab is approved for the treatment of patients with intermediate and poor prognoses.Several checkpoint inhibitors(pembrolizumab,nivolumab,avelumab)in combination with TKI(axitinib,lenvatinib,cabozantinib)are approved for the treatment of patients regardless of their International mRCC Database Consortium prognostic group and PD-L1 expression.There is no specific and ideal biomarker that could help in selecting the ideal patient for the appropriate first-line treatment.