Rare Kidney Cancer Treatment May Be Possible Through Programmed Cell Death

In research led by Brigham and Women's Hospital investigators, researchers reported the first-ever evidence that chromophobe renal cell carcinoma or ChRCC can be targeted with ferroptosis. This programmed cell death type appears when a large amount of iron causes lipid peroxides to build up in the cell membrane.

EurekAlert! describes ChRCC as a "rare form of kidney cancer," for which there are no proven therapeutics for metastatic or unresectable disease.

The researchers successfully yielded ferroptosis in ChRCC cells via cysteine deprivation and discovered that this approach might be effective for treating ChRCC.

Urgent Need to Treat ChRCC

According to Elizabeth Henske, MD, corresponding author of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Brigham, targeted treatments are urgently needed to cure chromophobe RCC.

Through this research, she added, they have discovered strong evidence that rare kidney cancer can be therapeutically aimed by taking advantage of the hypersensitivity of the cells to ferroptosis.

This denotes an essential breakthrough in the understanding as the researchers think about treatment for patients suffering from this rare disease.

Rare Kidney Tumors and Their Treatments

A report from the National Cancer Institute specified that rare kidney tumors are tumors forming in the kidneys. Kidneys, on the other hand, are organs that clean the body by eliminating wasted products.

There are many different kidney tumor types. Essentially, kidney tumors are named after where they develop and grow in the kidney or the type of cells in the tumor cells appear.

As for the treatments the doctor will recommend, it will be according to the cancer stage and the patient's overall health.

For example, Stage I and II cancer remain contained in the kidney. Stage III cancers, on the other hand, either have developed into nearby massive veins or have scattered to nearby lymph nodes.

Recurring Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is considered recurrent when it comes back following treatment. Additionally, recurrence can be local, close to the site of the initial tumor, or it may be in distant organs.

Treatment of kidney cancer that recurs following initial treatment relies on when it comes back and what treatments have been employed, as well as the health of an individual and wishes for further treatment.

Further surgery might be a choice for cancers recurring following the first surgery. Moreover, if surgery cannot eliminate the site of recurrence, treatment with two immunotherapy drugs, a combination of immunotherapy drugs, plus a targeted treatment drug, or in some instances, a targeted treatment drug alone may be recommended. Clinical tests of new treatments are a choice, too.

Related information about treatment options for kidney cancer is shown on KCTV5 News's YouTube video below:

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