Contemporary Management of Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Review for General Practitioners in Oncology

Renal cell carcinoma accounts for a significant proportion of cancer diagnoses in Canadians. Over the past several years, the management of renal cell cancers has undergone rapid changes in all prognostic risk categories, resulting in improved oncologic outcomes. Novel strategies for metastatic disease make use of the synergy between checkpoints and angiogenesis inhibition. Moreover, combination checkpoint inhibition has demonstrated durable efficacy in some patients. Adjuvant immunotherapy has recently shown a survival benefit for the first time in select cases. Significant efforts are underway to explore new compounds or combinations for later-line diseases, such as inhibitors of hypoxia-inducible factors and radiolabeled biomolecules targeting tumor antigens within the neoplastic microenvironment for precise payload delivery. In this manuscript, we provide a comprehensive review of the available data addressing key therapeutic areas pertaining to systemic therapy for metastatic and localized disease, review the most relevant prognostic tools, describe local therapies and management of CNS disease, and discuss practice-changing trials currently underway. Finally, we focus on some of the practical aspects for general practitioners in oncology caring for patients with renal cell carcinoma.