Dynamic microbubble contrast-enhanced US to measure tumor response to targeted therapy: a proposed clinical protocol with results from renal cell carcinoma patients receiving antiangiogenic therapy.

Purpose: To develop and implement an evidence-based protocol for characterizing vascular response of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to targeted therapy by using dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) ultrasonography (US).

Materials And Methods: The study was approved by the institutional research ethics board; written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Seventeen patients (four women; median age, 58 years; range, 42-72 years; 13 men, median age, 62 years; range, 45-81 years) with metastatic RCC were examined by using DCE US before and after 2 weeks of treatment with sunitinib (May 2007 to October 2009).