Abstract
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an increasingly common malignancy that can progress to metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) in approximately one-third of RCC patients. The 5-year survival rate for mRCC is abysmally low, and, at the present time, there are sparingly few if any effective treatments. Current surgical and pharmacological treatments can have a long-lasting impact on renal function, as well. Thus, there is a compelling unmet need to discover novel biomarkers and surveillance methods to improve patient outcomes with more targeted therapies earlier in the course of the disease. Circulating biomarkers, such as circulating tumor DNA, noncoding RNA, proteins, extracellular vesicles, or cancer cells themselves potentially represent a minimally invasive tool to fill this gap and accelerate both diagnosis and treatment. Here, we discuss the clinical relevance of different circulating biomarkers in metastatic renal cell carcinoma by clarifying their potential role as novel biomarkers of response or resistance to treatments but also by guiding clinicians in novel therapeutic approaches.
Highlights
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents one of the deadliest tumors worldwide, accounting for 3% of all malignancies [1]
One of the main problems metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients encounter during medical therapy is the follow-up of the metastatic burden, which is driven by radiological exams able to detect the progression or regression of the disease
In contrast to conventional tumor biopsies of RCC, which are subject to sampling bias due to the high tumor heterogeneity of RCC, circulating biomarkers obtained from the plasma and urine of patients, in a study by Smith et al, captured 90% of the tumor mutations detected in 10 spatially distinct biopsies following nephrectomy [76]
Summary
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents one of the deadliest tumors worldwide, accounting for 3% of all malignancies [1]. RCC is the one with the highest mortality, with approximately a 76% overall survival rate [2]. Circulating biomarkers represent an attractive platform of diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring and could have a prognostic and predictive role across several urological malignancies. Their role has been recently reviewed in bladder cancer [5,6,7] and prostate cancer [8,9]. The scope of this review is to discuss the clinical relevance of circulating biomarkers in the oncological management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
