Currently the best chance for long-term survival for renal cancer patients is surgery. For those with any evidence of metastases at the time of presentation, or for those that develop recurrences that cannot be surgically removed, drug treatment can hold the disease but doesn’t cure it.
Decisions regarding the best way to treat a renal cancer patient will be made as part of a multidisciplinary team, and always including the views of the patient. There are significant side effects of the drug treatments, and performance status will influence the drug choice made. It is important to understand the possible benefits of these treatment modalities and to appreciate the risks and side effects of using them for patients with renal cancer. Until fairly recently there were very few treatment options for people with renal cancer. However, this is now a fast evolving area.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this Module learners will be able to:
- Describe the systemic drug treatments available for the treatment of renal cancer.
- Have a basic understanding of how these drugs work.
- Be aware of the main side effects of these treatments and how to minimise them and help patients to deal with them.