The role of inflammation in kidney cancer.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) constitutes more than 90 % of primary kidney tumors with the development of metastatic disease in the lung, bone, liver, and brain. Clear-cell RCC (CCRCC) is the most common histologic form of sporadic kidney cancer where the majority of tumors have inactivation of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor-suppressor gene resulting in the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) leading to dysregulation of cell growth and angiogenesis. Understanding of the genetic changes in RCC and the downstream events have led to the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) that target HIF-regulated proteins which currently represents front-line therapy for metastatic disease although resistance develops in most patients overtime.