Dr. Linehan on Genes With Predisposition to Kidney Cancer

W. Marston Linehan, MD, chief, Urologic Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, discusses genetic conditions with predisposition for patients with kidney cancer.

The goal was to understand the genes that cause kidney cancer, with the idea of studying their pathways and then developing therapies to target those pathways, explains Linehan. Kidney cancer is caused by 16 different genes, which respond differently to clinical therapies.

Studying gene families has been beneficial in understanding therapies for patients with sporadic non-inherited kidney cancer, states Linehan.