Renal Cancer

About Renal Cancer Treatment and Genomic Health's Products in Development

Renal, or kidney, cancer is diagnosed when cancerous growths are found in a person's kidneys. In adults, the most common type of renal cancer is known as renal cell carcinoma. Renal cancer is often detected when people are undergoing procedures for other diseases. The incidence of renal cancer seems to be increasing although the reason is not well understood. People who smoke are at increased risk for renal cell carcinoma, and genetics may also play a factor. Drugs shown to be effective in late-stage renal cancer have not yet been established for benefit in early-stage disease, and surgery remains a mainstay of renal cancer treatment.

Genomic Health is collaborating with Pfizer Inc. to identify prognostic genes that could lead to development of a test to estimate the risk of recurrence following surgery that may aid in the subsequent identification of early stage patients with renal cell carcinoma who could benefit most from specific treatments. A gene identification study involving over 900 patients looking at more than 700 candidate genes was performed in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic and Pfizer Oncology. This study of early-stage renal cell carcinoma prognosis demonstrated a strong correlation between gene expression and recurrence risk is currently underway.

For more information about renal cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute´s Kidney Cancer page or the nonprofit group Kidney Cancer Association´s website at www.kidneycancer.org.

Learn more about additional Genomic Health products in development:

• Breast Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
• Melanoma

1. Mattson Jack, CancerMPact November 2010 (2011 incidence).
2. Abstract #4501
   Identification of prognostic genomic markers in patients with localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).
   B. I. Rini, M. Zhou, H. Aydin, P. Elson, T. Maddala, D. Knezevic, L. Parodi, R. M. Bukowski, W. F. Novotny, J. W. Cowens; Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; Genomic Health, Redwood City, CA; Pfizer, Inc., New York, NY; Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland, OH