KIM-1, Blood-Primarily based Biomarkers Might Present Promise in Kidney Cancer

As a part of a collaboration between CancerCommunity^® and KidneyCAN, Michael B. Atkins, MD, spoke about novel biomarkers which will play a job within the detection and prognosis of kidney most cancers.

Atkins, a medical oncologist and the deputy director of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, described how PD-L1 might not exhibit utility within the kidney most cancers subject, as a restricted variety of tumors seem to precise PD-L1 positivity. Beyond the usual of sarcomatoid histology, he acknowledged {that a} probably promising biomarker is KIM-1, which can predict the presence of residual illness following nephrectomy. Additionally, he highlighted circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and proteomic markers as potential blood-based indicators of immunotherapy profit.

KidneyCAN is a nonprofit group with a mission to speed up cures for kidney most cancers by way of training, advocacy, and analysis funding. Learn extra about KidneyCAN’s mission and work here.

Transcript:

PD-L1 has not been a clinically helpful biomarker in kidney most cancers in contrast with different cancers, not as a result of it doesn’t enrich for sufferers who profit from immune remedy, however as a result of it’s expressed in too few tumors, so a lot of the responders find yourself being PD-L1 unfavorable. It can’t be used to pick out sufferers for therapy, but it surely could possibly be a element of a mixed biomarker strategy.

The clinically helpful biomarker proper now could be sarcomatoid histology; we see a a lot larger response price in sufferers with sarcomatoid histology than in sufferers with out it. All these sufferers who’ve a excessive sarcomatoid element of their tumors in all probability ought to get a pure immunotherapy routine. One promising biomarker that we’ve been engaged on is KIM-1, which is a marker of kidney damage. It’s elevated in kidney most cancers, and when it’s elevated after nephrectomy, it predicts whether or not residual illness is current. When it’s elevated within the metastatic setting and goes down at 6 weeks, it predicts long-term profit from immune remedy. That is being explored extra, in addition to different blood-based biomarkers reminiscent of ctDNA or proteomic markers. Then, we’re continuously taking a look at different issues, reminiscent of PD-1 on Tregs or terminally exhausted CD8 T cells as potential predictors for who would possibly want extra highly effective mixture immunotherapy regimens.