In the world of cancer treatment, there is a lot of excitement about anti-PD-1 antibodies. These are used to fight various cancers, including advanced kidney cancer, also known as renal cell carcinoma. But here is the thing: not everyone responds to these treatments in the same way. Some people see amazing results, while others, not so much. So, a group of researcher...
Kidney cancer is a serious health concern. Around 70% of kidney cancer cases are clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Surgery is the go-to treatment for this type of cancer. But, it comes with risks. Patients often face kidney damage and a high chance of cancer spreading to other parts of the body. This makes life tough for those who unde...
Cancer is a complex disease. It can spread from one part of the body to another. This is called metastasis. But sometimes, cancer takes a strange turn. It can move from one tumor to another. This is called tumor-to-tumor metastasis (TTM). It's very rare. Only a handful of cases have been documented. One of these cases involved clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)....
Ever wondered how x-rays might affect kidney cancer? Well, scientists found that x-rays can speed up kidney cancer growth. How? By making healthy kidney cells go into a strange phase called "senescence, " where they stay alive but stop growing. These senescent cells start pumping out special signals, like some kind of secret message, that tell nearby cancer cells to ...
Finding reliable ways to predict how metastatic kidney cancer patients will respond to treatment is a big deal. Doctors need this info to decide on the best care plan. One thing they're looking at is the glucose-to-lymphocyte ratio (GLR). This is like a sugar to immune cells ratio. A Turkish group called the Kidney Cancer Consortium (TKCC) did a study to see if GLR c...
Let's talk about a powerful duo in the fight against advanced kidney cancer. Nivolumab and ipilimumab, often called NIVO + IPI, are like the dynamic duo of immunotherapy. They're used to treat people with intermediate- or high-risk advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Now, you might be wondering, how well do they work in the real world, beyond the firs...
Scientists have been studying something called circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA. These are tiny bits of DNA that cancer cells release into the bloodstream. They've found that checking these bits can help doctors know if a treatment is working. Researchers looked at patients with two types of kidney cancer: clear cell and non-clear cell. They were treated with either i...
Ever wondered how certain tumors become resistant to treatments? Well, let's dive into the fascinating world of FH deficiency and chromatin helicase CHD6. When a protein called FH is missing or not working right, it leads to a specific type of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This kind of cancer doesn't respond well to current therapies, making it tough to treat. Researc...