Researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada have discovered 29 proteins that are likely linked to the spread of kidney cancer. When kidney cancer spreads to other organs, it is very hard to treat and the survival rate five years after cancer metastasis is less than 10%. The findings should enable doctors to better identify which tumors are likely to spread, leading to more aggressive treatment and follow-up and better outcomes for patients. Future research on these proteins could result in a way to stop kidney cancer from spreading.

Source:

Proteins That Indicate Which Kidney Tumors Are Most Likely To Spread Identified, ScienceDaily, December 5, 2012

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Scientists at Duke Cancer Institute have found that a blood test for LDH levels could help doctors prescribe the best treatment for patients with advanced kidney cancer. The common enzyme, LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), helps the body convert food to energy and is released when cells die or suffer injury. High LDH levels have been linked to aggressive tumor growth in kidney cancer.

Using data from an earlier experimental drug trial, the Duke researchers showed that patients with high LDH levels lived longer when treated with temsirolimus, an mTOR inhibitor drug, vs. interferon-alpha treatments. They need to confirm their findings, but are encouraged given the prevalence of kidney cancer in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute, 65,000 people will be stricken this year. Confirmation of their research may mean that LDH levels could predict effective treatment for other types of cancers as well.

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Blood Test Could Guide Treatment for Kidney Cancer, ScienceDaily, August 13, 2012

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A team of international researchers led by the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK have found two regions of the human genome linked to increased risk for the most common form of childhood kidney cancer, Wilms tumor. Scientists have suspected a genetic role in the rare disease because it can occur in siblings and twins. The ICR team analyzed DNA variants from Wilms tumor patients as well as healthy people in the UK and America. They noted that the two regions they identified have been linked to other diseases and cancers. Learning more about how these regions are involved in Wilms tumor should lead to better understanding of the disease and improved treatments in the future.

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Scientists Find DNA Variants Linked to Childhood Cancer, The Institute of Cancer Research, April 29, 2012

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Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a drug called STF-31 that starves and kills some kidney cancer cells by cutting off their energy supply of glucose. STF-31 works by binding to a particular glucose transporter. Testing in mice inhibited glucose transport by about half and resulted in slowed tumor growth with limited side effects and no negative impact on the brain, which also uses glucose for fuel. STF-31 may prove effective in fighting other cancers which require the same glucose transporter for energy production.

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Potential Anti-Cancer Therapy That Starves Cancer Cells of Glucose Identified, ScienceDaily, August 4, 2011

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Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University Knight Cancer Institute have found that a gene called Src plays a role in helping some kidney cancers grow. The researchers are now looking at existing, approved drugs that may inhibit Src activity in cancer cells.  In addition, they have developed a method of identifying patients that could benefit from such drugs. This discovery could expand kidney cancer drug treatments beyond therapies that slow tumor growth, but fail to provide a cure, and don’t work for all patients.

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Kidney Cancer Discovery Could Expand Treatment Options, Science Daily, July 7, 2011

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This was an exciting week for kidney research and therapy breakthroughs! Here are the top 4.

Novel Virus-Based Gene Therapy for Metastatic Kidney Cancer Developed at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center

Blood Test for Cystatin C Can Predict Complications of Kidney Disease

National Kidney Foundation Study Reveals that Lupus is More Lethal Form of Kidney Disease in Children

University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago Surgeons Offer Obese Kidney Patients New Hope with Robotic Transplantation

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