Molecular Subsets in Renal Cancer Determine Outcome to Checkpoint and Angiogenesis Blockade.
- Journal:
- Cancer Cell
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.10.011
- Affiliations:
- 11
- Authors:
- 22
Research Highlight
A precision medicine boost for kidney cancer
© SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty
A new strategy for stratifying kidney cancers according to their genetic signatures could help clinicians personalize therapies for patients with this deadly cancer.
A team co-led by scientists at Genentech, a Roche subsidiary, characterized DNA alterations and gene-expression patterns found in 823 tumours from patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Their analysis revealed seven subtypes of the disease, each with its own molecular, immunological and metabolic profiles.
All the patients had been treated with drugs directed at angiogenesis — the process by which new blood vessels form to fuel cancer growth — either alone or in combination with a drug designed to boost anti-tumour immunity.
The seven cancer subtypes responded differently to the different drug regimens, highlighting the potential of using gene-expression profiles to guide treatment decisions.
The team also identified new molecular targets for future therapeutic development.
References
- Cancer Cell 38, 803–817 (2020). doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.10.011