New treatment helps kidney cancer patients live longer

Kidney cancer is among the top 10 most common cancers in both men and women. About 81 thousand people will be diagnosed this year.

A decade ago, advanced kidney cancer was a death sentence. Now, new therapies are helping people live longer.

“I used to have a trace of blood in my urine, every physical, but this time there was more than a trace,” said Ralph Auriemma.

It turned out to be kidney cancer. Once a person sees blood in their urine, it can mean the cancer is more advanced.

Oncologist Dr. Thomas Huston says it often points to a specific diagnosis.

“Renal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer of the kidney,” Hutson said.

At early stages, radiation and chemo are used to fight it.

“The cancer can be cured, usually, with surgery, but once it has spread beyond the confines of the kidney to other sites of the body or has returned after initial attempts at curing it, then the cancer is generally not felt to be curable,” Hutson said.

In those advanced cases, immunotherapy is used. This entails using antibodies to direct the body’s immune system to kill the cancer cells.

Now, a promising study shows the effectiveness of using immunotherapies combined with a new generation of oral drugs.

“For the first time ever, there’s a small group of patients that can actually witness their cancer disappear on X-rays.”

The phase 3 “Clear Study” shoed that by using a combo of drugs, 95% of patients saw no further growth of the tumor, and 17% had a significant reduction of their tumor.

“More patients are living with their cancer longer than ever before in history, and our goal is to cure more patients, and I think that’s a realistic expectation over time,” Hutson said.

Essentially extending the life of advanced patients.