Researchers from the laboratory New Therapeutic Targets at CIMA and Clínica Universidad de Navarra have identified factors that predict response to treatment for kidney cancer. This is result of a work published in the British Journal of Cancer.

The essay clinical trial involved patients with a very good outcome and patients with a poor outcome after receiving sunitinib, one of the most effective new drugs for treating renal cancer. The researchers analyzed their blood samples, before and during therapy, using a novel technique that assesses more than 170 serum molecules and identifies biomarkers of response to treatment. "We found that patients with low blood levels of TNF-alpha and MMP-9 (related to tumor inflammation and vascularization) respond better to sunitinib treatment. fees Specifically, the tumor stops growing, which improves survival rates," say Dr. Alfonso Calvo, researcher of the area Oncology Department at CIMA, and Dr. José Luis Pérez Gracia, of the department Oncology Department at Clínica Universidad de Navarra.

There is currently a wide therapeutic arsenal for renal cancer, but it offers different results depending on the profile of each tumor. It is therefore necessary to develop tools to guide the most effective treatment for each patient and to reduce toxicity and unnecessary costs. According to Dr. Pérez Gracia, "our work is very innovative because until now very little was known about how to predict whether these latest-generation drugs will be effective in a given patient". From now on, the scientists will start new trials to validate the results obtained.

The study also involved the collaboration of the Departments of Biochemistry Clinical, Anatomy Pathology and the area of Clinical Trials of the department of Oncology of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, as well as the department of Bioinformatics of the CIMA.