Kidney Cancer
Kidney cancer, though relatively rare, affects over 403,000 individuals worldwide each year, accounting for about 2.2% of all new cancer cases. Tragically, it leads to nearly 175,000 deaths annually. The most prevalent type, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), makes up approximately 90% of all kidney cancer diagnoses.
In general, men are twice as likely to be affected by RCC as women. The average age of diagnosis is between the ages of 50 and 70. Typical symptoms, such as blood in the urine, generally appear at a relatively late stage of disease. Other symptoms, such as backache or abdominal pain tend to be non-specific. As a result, RCC is often discovered by chance during routine imaging examinations for unrelated complaints. Metastases have already formed in 20-30% of patients at the time of diagnosis. Renal cell carcinomas are fatal for about a half of patients.
It is still unclear why renal cells become malignant. It is suspected, however, that certain genes are no longer fulfilling their function, so the uncontrolled proliferation of cells is no longer blocked. In addition, smoking, obesity, high fat diets, hormonal factors, petroleum products, asbestos, certain solvents, certain rare inherited conditions and painkillers containing phenacetine have been cited as RCC risk factors.
The earlier a patient is diagnosed with RCC, the more treatment options are available. The preferred way of treating RCC is to surgically remove the tumor or the entire kidney in an operation. Additional possibilities include radiotherapy, immunotherapy or target therapies. The disease is sometimes also treated with chemotherapy. Despite these possibilities, the prospects of a cure are limited, especially if the therapy is started at a late stage. If metastases have already formed, this worsens the prognosis.
Bayer Treatment for RCC
In 2006, Bayer brought to market a new drug, the first targeted therapy to show an improvement in overall survival in advanced RCC patients. In studies the drug has been shown to significantly inhibit the tumor's further development. There are now several targeted therapies approved to treat advanced RCC and delay tumor progression.