Blum Highlights Implications of CA-125 Levels in Renal Medullary Carcinoma

Welcome to OncLive On Air^®! I’m your host today, Jason Harris.

OncLive On Air^® is a podcast from OncLive, which provides oncology professionals with the resources and information they need to provide the best patient care. In both digital and print formats, OncLive covers every angle of oncology practice, from new technology to treatment advances to important regulatory decisions.

In today’s episode, we spoke with Kyle A. Blum, MD, MS, a urologic surgery resident at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, about renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) for our Rare Cancers series.

RMC is a very rare, highly aggressive subtype of renal cancer that typically affects young adults with sickle cell trait (SCT). Nephrectomy is the most common treatment, but there is no approved systemic therapy for these patients. Median overall survival is poor at just 5.0 months.

However, Dr Blum and his colleagues may have discovered a key detail about RMC that could have significant ramifications. At the 2022 International Kidney Cancer Symposium, he presented findings showing a correlation between CA-125 levels, an established biomarker for ovarian cancer, and increased tumor burden and treatment response in RMC.

CA-125 levels were elevated in 82% of patients with metastatic RMC. Furthermore, CA-125 was above the 100 ng/mL threshold in 58% of patients. Physicians have established 100 ng/mL as the therapeutic threshold in ovarian cancer.

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That’s all we have for today! Thanks again to my guest, Dr Kyle Blum, and thank you for listening to this episode of OncLive On Air^®. Check back on Mondays and Thursdays for exclusive interviews with leading experts in the oncology field.

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