RESPONSE PREDICTION IN METASTATIC RENAL CELL CARCINOMA TREATED WITH ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTORTARGETED THERAPY AND/OR IMMUNE CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS

During the last decade, two active therapeutic approaches have been developed for metastatic kidney cancer: angiogenesis inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Both therapies can lead to prolonged disease control. In some cases, immune therapy can even lead to complete remissions. However, not all the patients will respond to one or the other therapy and in many cases, even after a first period of response, the disease will relapse. The underlying mechanisms of efficacy and resistance to these therapies are unknown.
As a consequence, there is a high need to develop biomarkers that can predict the efficacy of these therapies in individual patients. Once these biomarkers will be available, it will be possible to choose the right therapy for the right patient, to avoid side effects and possibly reduce the financial burden for the health care system.
Moreover, in some  years, patients will probably be treated with combinations of angiogenesis inhibitors and immune therapy, which will lead to improved outcomes, but also to more costs and more adverse events. We will have to identify in advance the patients who will not benefit from any of the compounds, the patients that will only need one of the compounds, and the patients who will need the combination.
Therefore, the aim of our research project is to study the mechanisms of resistance to angiogenesis inhibitors and immune therapy in kidney cancer through an in depth study of the tumors and metastases.