title: Immunotherapy options in metastatic renal cell cancer: where we are and where we are going.
abstract: The treatment of renal cell carcinoma is rapidly changing as a result of recent evidence concerning the efficacy of biological drugs, antiangiogenetic agents and signal-transduction inhibitors. This paper will provide a critical overview of the use of immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma and review the available data concerning the efficacy of interferons, interleukin-2 and other forms of immunological treatment, particularly allogenic transplantation and vaccines. Moreover, it will focus on the new mechanisms of regulation of the immune system with a better understanding of the interaction between host and tumor, the role of T regulatory cells, heat-shock proteins and vaccines. The mechanism of action and the results obtained in renal cell carcinoma using the new molecular targeted drugs will be examined, along with the possibility of using immunotherapy combined with the new biological agents. Future research will not only need to make every effort to optimize the use of the new molecules and to define their efficacy precisely, but also to consider how to integrate these drugs with the traditional immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Istituti Ospitalieri, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology Division, Viale Concordia 1, 26100, Cremona, Italy. passalacqua.aioc@e-cremona.it
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Passalacqua
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buti
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tomasello
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Longarini
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brighenti
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dalla Chiesa
mesh_terms: D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007116:Immunization, Passive / Q000639:trends*; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*