Kidney Cancer Awareness Month: 2020 Immunotherapy Research Update

Every year, the number of kidney cancer cases increases slightly. The growth is small and incidence rates have slowed in recent years, but still it creeps higher. There were 403,262 people diagnosed globally in 2018, and an estimated 73,750 people diagnosed in the United States last year.

This March for Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, we look at exciting immunotherapy combinations, lifesaving clinical trials, and how we’re working toward a future immune to kidney cancer.

Treating Genitourinary Cancers

Cancers are often divided into "hot" and "cold" tumors, which determines their responsiveness to immunotherapy, explained Marijo Bilusic, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, during the research update panel at the 2019 CRI Immunotherapy Patient Summit in Baltimore.

Kidney Cancer Patient Story

Just before Christmas in 2014, Debbie was looking forward to spoiling her grandkids with presents when she received devastating news. A tumor the size of a football was growing on her kidney. After surgery and two years of combination immunotherapy, she was declared cancer-free in April 2019. Read Debbie's Kidney Cancer Story

Kidney Cancer Scientist Spotlight

CRI CLIP Investigator Craig L. Slingluff Jr., MD, is examining the effects of vaccine adjuvants and skin microbiome in the vaccine-site microenvironment. The insights uncovered by these investigations should improve our understanding of cancer vaccine strategies and pave the way for the development of improved approaches for patients.

Learn about Dr. Slingluff's Kidney Cancer Research
 

Kidney Cancer Study

The CRI Anna-Maria Kellen Clinical Accelerator in collaboration with Ludwig Cancer Research launched a clinical trial that is currently enrolling patients with biopsy-accessible cancers, including kidney cancer. This study examines various treatment combinations involving the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab (Imfinzi), the CTLA-4 inhibitor tremelimumab, and the immune adjuvant PolyICLC.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CRI CLINICAL TRIALS

Immunotherapy for Kidney Cancer
Information Updated

Immunotherapies in the form of immune-stimulating chemicals called cytokines have been used for more than a decade to treat kidney cancer. Several newer immunotherapies are, however, becoming important in treatment, and there are currently six FDA-approved immunotherapy options for kidney cancer.

VIEW IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR KIDNEY CANCER UPDATE

Find a Kidney Cancer Clinical Trial

A variety of new and promising cancer immunotherapy treatments are only available to patients in clinical trials. Our Clinical Trial Finder will match you to trials for which you may be eligible, and you can help speed the development of lifesaving drugs for yourself and others.

FIND A Cancer Clinical TRIAL

Support Kidney Cancer Research

For decades, the Cancer Research Institute has supported the best scientists in the field working toward the improvement of kidney cancer treatment, including some of the first evidence that the human immune system could recognize kidney cancer. This Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, support lifesaving cancer immunotherapy research.

DONATE TO Kidney CANCER RESEARCH

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash