Internal medicine

Tumor microenvironment

Renal cell carcinoma

Immunotherapy

Tyrosine-kinase inhibitor

Cancer

Oncology

Immunology

Kidney cancer

Targeted therapy

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Cancer research

Medicine

Molecular Cancer Therapeutics

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common form of kidney cancer. It is categorized into various subtypes, with clear cell RCC (ccRCC) representing about 85% of all RCC tumors. The lack of sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiation therapy prompted research efforts into novel treatment options. The development of targeted therapeutics, including multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) and mTOR inhibitors, has been a major breakthrough in ccRCC therapy. More recently, other therapeutic strategies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, have emerged as effective treatment options against advanced ccRCC. Furthermore, recent advances in disease biology, tumor microenvironment, and mechanisms of resistance formed the basis for attempts to combine targeted therapies with newer generation immunotherapies to take advantage of possible synergy. This review focuses on the current status of basic, translational, and clinical studies on mechanisms of resistance to systemic therapies in ccRCC. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(7); 1355–64. ©2018 AACR.

Resistance to Systemic Therapies in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Mechanisms and Management Strategies