Do you like dynamic radioactive cancer fighting agents and hate painful fractures from metastatic bone disease? Then RadiCaL might be the trial for you! This Clinical trial is actively recruiting and could greatly improve treatment for patients who have metastatic RCC that has spread to the bone. Radium 223 dichloride is a radioactive drug that may directly target radiation to cancer cells, while minimizing harm to normal cells.  Combining this drug with cabozantinib, a drug already FDA approved to treat metastatic RCC, may help lessen the pain and symptoms from bone metastases. The go ..read more

The Kidney Cancer Research Alliance (KCCure) announced today that Dr. Elizabeth Henske and Dr. Carmen Priolo have been selected to receive the FY2022 KCCure Chromophobe Research Grant Award of $50,000 for their proposal: Role of Cysteine Homeostasis and Ferroptosis in the Therapy of Chromophobe RCC. “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this wonderful support from KCCure,” said Drs. Henske and Priolo. “Our work will test the hypothesis that Chomophobe kidney cancer cells are hypersensitive to ferroptosis (a form of iron-dependent cell death).  This partnership with KCCure ..read more

A data void exists when there is a high level of demand for information but little information exists. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer – you have entered a “data void.” Two years ago, you had surgery for a large renal mass. When the pathology came back, “chromophobe renal cell carcinoma,” your doctor told you that you were lucky. Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC) is less aggressive than the most common type, clear cell RCC. It’s rare for ChRCC to recur after surgery. Ironically, the fact that ChRCC is more indolent reduces the sense of urgency ..read more

Stage 1 turns out to be Stage 3 You are home recovering from surgery when your pathology report arrives in your medical portal. What your doctor thought was a small, stage 1 renal cell carcinoma was actually a stage 3, grade 2, renal cell carcinoma. Even though the mass was small – less than 5 cm – it invaded the segmented veins – which means it is now stage 3. You don’t fully understand what it all means – but it seems like a pretty big difference from where things stood prior to surgery, and you are feeling blindsided. Having stage 3 disease means that you are eligible for “adjuvant therapy ..read more

Since your kidney cancer diagnosis, you have been struggling emotionally. Your friends and family – the people you rely on the most – have responded in ways that you didn’t expect. Their comments are well intended – but they often come across as hollow and toxically positive. When someone says, “be strong!” – it makes you wonder if they think you aren’t being strong. The words “be positive” feel the same way. Feeling anxious about your health and your future isn’t the same as “being negative.” No one understands how you feel and that makes you feel even more alone. But today – everything ..read more

Over two hundred people in the United States will hear those words today.  Most kidney cancer cases are asymptomatic, so patients will be blindsided by the diagnosis. Many will learn of their disease after a scan for a totally unrelated issue. Often, they will be told about their diagnosis by a physician that they have never met, where no relationship has been established. In some cases, they will simply read about it on a radiology report. A cancer diagnosis sets off a chain reaction of consequences.  Emotional Distress: Patients and their loved ones will deal with tremendous anxiet ..read more

To view this protected post, enter the password below: The post Protected: March Forward for Kidney Cancer appeared first on KCCure ..read more

UPDATE FROM ESMO Data from the COSMIC 313 trial was presented on September 12, 2022, at the ESMO conference in Paris. Below is a recap and discussion of the data that was presented. The thoughts and views that I am sharing about this trial are my own personal opinions. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. About the Trial COSMIC 313 is a phase 3 clinical trial for kidney cancer patients who have not had any previous treatment for metastatic disease (first-line therapy). The trial tested the triplet of Cabometyx (cabozantinib) + Opdivo (nivolumab) + Yervoy (ipilimumab) to see i ..read more

March 31, 2022 The Kidney Cancer Research Alliance (KCCure) announced today that Dr. Ming Li and Dr. Martin Voss with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have been selected to receive the inaugural KCCure Chromophobe Research Grant Award of $50,000 for their proposal: Tumor-resident cytotoxic innate lymphocytes (ILC) as novel targets for immunotherapy in chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC) “We are grateful to KCCure and the individuals driving this exceptional effort,” said Drs. Li and Voss. “As the first dedicated chRCC grant this mechanism will make all the difference ..read more

I am sorry for your loss… In 2009, my husband Chris went to the emergency room for suspected appendicitis. But the CT scan didn’t show appendicitis, it showed a massive tumor on his kidney. Nothing could have prepared me for hearing that my seemingly healthy 40-year-old husband had cancer. The diagnosis was earth-shattering. Following a rushed surgery, the medical establishment proclaimed my husband “cured” and encouraged us to celebrate. Friends and family who sustained us in the initial weeks, disbanded, content that the crisis was over.  But Chris and I did not feel relieved ..read more