The promise of biomarkers for personalized renal cancer care.

Devarajan, Prasad · Kidney Int · 2010

editorial · Level V

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Abstract

Biomarkers hold promise for personalizing renal cancer care by potentially identifying patients most likely to benefit from novel therapies. Porta and colleagues report that among subjects with advanced renal-cell carcinoma receiving sunitinib treatment, those with above-normal levels of the circulating biomarkers vascular endothelial growth factor and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin displayed significantly lower progression-free survival times. This Commentary reviews the current status of these biomarkers with respect to methodological issues, specificity, and biological plausibility.

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