Biomarkers Role in Prognosis and Survival Outcomes in Patients with Renal Tumors: Review Article

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common urological malignancies. In 2016, approximately 62,700 adults (39,650 males and 23,050 females) were diagnosed with RCC in the US and approximately 14,240 individuals died from renal neoplasm [1]. RCC mortality rate can vary between 26% up to 94% according to stage and aggressiveness of the disease [2]. RCC accounts for approximately 3% of solid tumors with high mortality rate due to the absence of curative therapy for advanced disease [3]. RCC can be classified as non-epithelial or epithelial, according to cell origin. The four major types are of epithelial origin includes: clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC), papillary, chromophobe renal carcinoma (chRCC) and collecting duct carcinoma. The most common subtype of RCC is ccRCC which accounts for approximately 70-80% of all RCC tumors [4,5]. Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma is accounts for approximately 3-5% with 5-year survival rate up to 94% [6]. The standard treatment of localized ccRCC patients is either partial or radical nephrectomy, however, metastasis has been shown to develop in approximately 30% of patients after surgery [7,8]. Metastatic ccRCC may require immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and/or radiation therapy but with low success rate which typically leaves no other option except for surgery [7].