scholarly journals The Role of Obesity in Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients: Clinical-Pathological Implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (22) ◽  
pp. 5683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaetano Aurilio ◽  
Francesco Piva ◽  
Matteo Santoni ◽  
Alessia Cimadamore ◽  
Giulia Sorgentoni ◽  
...  

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) development. However, the RCC–obesity link has not been fully addressed when considering a comprehensive scenario starting from pathogenetic aspects through pathological issues up to the outcome of medical treatment. We therefore conducted an electronic PubMed search using keywords “obesity”, “body mass index”, “overweight”, “renal cell carcinoma/kidney cancer”, “medical treatment”, “targeted therapy”, and “immunotherapy/immune checkpoint inhibitors”. The selected data supported a crosstalk between adipose tissue (adipocytes and other white adipose tissue cells) and cancer cells inducing several signaling pathways that finally stimulated angiogenesis, survival, and cellular proliferation. Accurate sampling of renal sinus fat correlated with a prognostic value. Retrospective clinical evidence in metastatic RCC patients with higher body mass index (BMI) and treated with targeted therapies and/or immune checkpoint inhibitors showed advantageous survival outcomes. Therefore, obesity may influence the course of RCC patients, although the interplay between obesity/BMI and RCC warrants a large prospective confirmation. We are therefore still far from determining a clear role of obesity as a prognostic/predictive factor in metastatic RCC patients undergoing targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 117956111876575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Aguiar ◽  
Tiago Costa de Pádua ◽  
Carmelia Maria Noia Barreto ◽  
Auro del Giglio

Recently, the development of antiangiogenic drugs has changed the therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). As a result, the survival of individuals with advanced RCC has more than doubled. The median overall survival improved from 12 months during the cytokines era to near 30 months with antiangiogenic drugs. In this decade, the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors showed enthusiastic results and is the new standard of care for patients with metastatic RCC previously treated with antiangiogenic drugs. The combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors plus antiangiogenic drugs may have a synergistic activity. As a result, current studies investigate the combination for treatment-naïve patients. This may potentially change clinical practice. In this article, we will highlight new therapeutic options available and agents or combinations that are being investigated for metastatic RCC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (6_suppl) ◽  
pp. 316-316
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Graham ◽  
Connor Wells ◽  
Shaan Dudani ◽  
Chun Loo Gan ◽  
Frede Donskov ◽  
...  

316 Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have demonstrated impressive activity in metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and have become standard treatment options in this setting. Data supporting the effectiveness of ICI based therapy in non-clear cell RCC (nccRCC) is more limited. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis using the International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC). Patients with nccRCC were classified into 3 groups based on first-line therapy: ICI based therapy (in monotherapy or in combination), vascular endothelial growth factor targeted therapy (VEGF-TT) monotherapy, or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor monotherapy. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Secondary outcomes were time to treatment failure (TTF) and objective response rate (ORR). We used Kaplan-Meier method to compare OS and TTF between treatment groups and Cox proportional hazards models to adjust for prognostic covariates. Results: We identified 1181 patients with nccRCC. In first-line, 78.2% received VEGF-TT, 15.8% mTOR inhibitors, and 5.5% ICI based therapy, of which 41.5% in monotherapy, 30.8% doublet-ICIs and 27.7% an ICI combined with VEGF-TT. Median OS in the ICI group was 28.6 months, compared to 19.2 and 12.6 in the VEGF-TT and mTOR groups, respectively. Median TTF was 6.9 months vs. 5.1 and 3.9 and ORR was 25% vs. 17.8% and 5.8% in the ICI, VEGF-TT and mTOR groups, respectively. After adjusting for IMDC risk group, histological subtype, and age, the hazard ratio (HR) for OS was 0.58 (95% CI 0.35-0.94, p=0.03) for ICI vs. VEGF-TT and 0.48 (95% CI 0.29-0.80, p=0.005) for ICI vs. mTOR. Conclusions: In advanced nccRCC, first-line ICI based treatment appears to be associated with improved OS compared to VEGF and mTOR targeted therapy. These results need to be confirmed in prospective randomized trials. [Table: see text]


Author(s):  
Revati Sharma ◽  
Elif Kadife ◽  
Mark Myers ◽  
George Kannourakis ◽  
Prashanth Prithviraj ◽  
...  

AbstractVascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (VEGF-TKIs) have been the mainstay of treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Despite its early promising results in decreasing or delaying the progression of RCC in patients, VEGF-TKIs have provided modest benefits in terms of disease-free progression, as 70% of the patients who initially respond to the treatment later develop drug resistance, with 30% of the patients innately resistant to VEGF-TKIs. In the past decade, several molecular and genetic mechanisms of VEGF-TKI resistance have been reported. One of the mechanisms of VEGF-TKIs is inhibition of the classical angiogenesis pathway. However, recent studies have shown the restoration of an alternative angiogenesis pathway in modulating resistance. Further, in the last 5 years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized RCC treatment. Although some patients exhibit potent responses, a non-negligible number of patients are innately resistant or develop resistance within a few months to ICI therapy. Hence, an understanding of the mechanisms of VEGF-TKI and ICI resistance will help in formulating useful knowledge about developing effective treatment strategies for patients with advanced RCC. In this article, we review recent findings on the emerging understanding of RCC pathology, VEGF-TKI and ICI resistance mechanisms, and potential avenues to overcome these resistance mechanisms through rationally designed combination therapies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1051-1058
Author(s):  
Lisa B.E. Shields ◽  
Mohammad S. Alsorogi ◽  
Nataliya Mar ◽  
Arash Rezazadeh Kalebasty

While immunotherapy with nivolumab is promising for patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), overactivation of the immune system can lead to serious side effects. Immune-related meningoencephalitis without a viral or microbial etiology is a rare complication that may occur in patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors (CPI). Herein, we report a 66-year-old man who underwent a partial nephrectomy which revealed a papillary RCC with clear cell component. Three years later, an abdomen and pelvic CT revealed metastatic lesions in the left psoas muscle and in the left 12th rib. The patient was treated with pazopanib which was discontinued after 2 weeks due to significant hepatic and renal toxicity. He subsequently started sunitinib. Two months later, a chest, abdomen, and pelvic CT demonstrated progressive metastatic RCC in the retroperitoneal mass of the left psoas muscle and paraspinal musculature as well as a left renal mass. The patient was treated with 7 cycles of the CPI nivolumab. He was subsequently hospitalized for 3 weeks after experiencing bilateral lower extremity weakness, lethargy, several falls, hyperthermia, confusion, and gait abnormalities. A CSF analysis demonstrated a lymphocyte pleocytosis with elevated protein and no bacterial or viral growth. The patient was treated with high-dose steroids after which his symptoms resolved. Chest, abdomen, and pelvic CT scans over the next 3 years revealed no evidence of metastatic disease, reflecting a progression-free survival of 40 months. We highlight the unique case of a patient with metastatic RCC who experienced immune-related meningoencephalitis following immunotherapy with nivolumab. Medical oncologists should be alert to the potential development of immune-related encephalitis in patients treated with nivolumab and should promptly diagnose and treat this concerning condition. The excellent oncologic outcome of this case emphasizes the need for continued aggressive measures for management of CNS toxicity resulting from CPI therapy.


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