Bylow KA, Atkins MB, Posadas EM et al.
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Clin Genitourin Cancer 2009;7:39–42.
Editor’s note: Papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the second most common histological subtype of kidney cancer and accounts for approximately 10% of all primary RCCs (
J Clin Oncol 2005;23:2763–71). The pathogenesis, prognosis, and clinical outcomes of papillary RCC are very different compared with those of other RCC histotypes. Studies suggest that there are two subtypes of papillary RCC, with type 1 thought to be less aggressive and less likely to metastastize compared with type 2 (
Int J Urol 2007;14:679–83). In general, the prognosis for papillary RCC is favorable after a radical nephrectomy when the disease is confined to the kidney; however, the prognosis for advanced disease is much worse (
J Clin Oncol 2002;20:2376–81). There is currently no well-defined therapeutic approach for metastatic disease. A previous retrospective analysis of treatment outcome data found that certain chemotherapeutic agents, including 5-fluorouracil, vinblastine, and platinum compounds, did not produce impressive results (
Cancer 2006;20:2376–81).