Researchers Find Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma Unresponsive to Sunitinib
CHICAGO, IL (June 2, 2010) – Of the more than 38,000 Americans diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) each year, approximately 20 percent have non-clear cell forms of the disease. New findings shows that a non-clear cell form of kidney cancer known as papillary RCC, which accounts for 12 percent of all RCC, responds differently to sunitinib – a standard frontline treatment for RCC. In a small but decisive Phase II trial, the researchers found that sunitinib was not effective in patients with this form of the disease. The terms clear- and non-clear cell refer to the general appearance of the cancer cells under a microscope.