Emerging drugs for the treatment of metastatic renal cancer

For decades, options for the treatment for metastatic renal cancer have been limited and mostly ineffective. During this time, immunotherapy agents, such as IFN-alpha and IL-2, have represented the major treatment options. Over the last 3 years, advances in cancer biology have characterized important signaling pathways that regulate blood vessel growth and cell proliferation. These studies have identified a number of novel 'druggable' targets. Since 2004, this has resulted in regulatory approval of four additional agents that are active against renal cancer (bevacizumab, sorafenib, sunitinib and temsirolimus). A large number of additional candidate molecules that block the vascular endothelial growth factor and mTOR pathways have subsequently been identified. These agents are rapidly progressing through clinical testing in renal cancer and in other malignancies. This paper overviews the status of these investigational agents and anticipates areas of future research and development.