Dr. Pal on Biomarker Development in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, assistant clinical professor, Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, co-director, Kidney Cancer Program, City of Hope, discusses biomarker development in the field of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

There are biomarkers at the disposal of practicing urologists, Pal explains, such as an Oncotype-like test that is available with a 16-gene recurrence score including vascular and inflammatory genes, among others. The test is said to predict risk associated with metastases, Pal explains.

For medical oncologists, there are some emerging biomarkers, Pal says. For mutational panels, certain alternations may predict response to VEGF- or mTOR-targeted therapies. For example, for VEGF-targeted therapies, there may be alterations in the gene KDM5C. Additionally, research conducted out of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute show that mutations in mTOR, TSC1, or TSC2 could be associated with responses to everolimus (Afinitor) or temsirolimus (Torisel).