Role of Radiation Therapy in Renal Cell Carcinoma

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The scope of radiotherapy approaches in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma has expanded in recent years, says Saby George, MD. Radiotherapy may have different goals, including a curative or a palliative intent. Various radiotherapy methods include stereotactic body radiation, conventional radiotherapy, and gamma knife therapy.

Gamma knife therapy directs a focused amount of energy to a localized area and may be preferred in an individual who is a surgical candidate but has minimal disease burden in the kidney. Another benefit of using radiotherapy, says George, is for the abscopal effects, referring to the phenomenon in which tumors distal from the radiated area shrink. Robert A. Figlin, MD, expresses the “collective hope” that high-quality prospective trials will ask and answer questions about the abscopal effect.