Renal Medullary Carcinoma: Establishing Standards in Practice.

J Oncol Pract
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Although renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) is a rare subtype of kidney cancer, it is particularly devastating in that it is nearly uniformly lethal. No established guidelines exist for the diagnosis and management of RMC. In April 2016, a panel of experts developed clinical guidelines on the basis of a literature review and consensus statements. The goal was to propose recommendations for standardized diagnostic and management approaches and to establish an international clinical registry and biorepository for RMC. Published data are limited to case reports and small retrospective reviews. The RMC Working Group prepared recommendations to inform providers and patients faced with a low level of medical evidence. The diagnosis of RMC should be considered in all patients younger than 50 years with poorly differentiated carcinoma that arises from the renal medulla. These patients should be tested for sickle cell hemoglobinopathies, and if positive, SMARCB1/INI1 loss should be confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The majority of patients with RMC are diagnosed with metastatic disease. Upfront radical nephrectomy should be considered in patients with good performance status and low metastatic burden or after response to systemic therapy. Currently, cytotoxic, platinum-based chemotherapy provides the best, albeit brief, palliative clinical benefit. Vascular endothelial growth factor-directed therapies and mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors are ineffective in RMC as monotherapy. Therapeutic trials of novel agents are now available for RMC, and every effort should be made to enroll patients in clinical studies.

Year of Publication
2017
Journal
J Oncol Pract
Volume
13
Issue
7
Pages
414-421
Date Published
2017 07
ISSN
1935-469X
DOI
10.1200/JOP.2017.020909
PubMed ID
28697319
PubMed Central ID
PMC5508447
Links
Grant list
K08 HL125100 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
T32 CA009582 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
K24 CA172355 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
P50 CA101942 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
T32 CA009666 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States