Management of poor-risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma: current approaches, the role of temsirolimus and future directions

Targeted therapies have substantially improved outcomes in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). As expected, poor-risk patients have the worst outcomes. Temsirolimus is currently the only agent licensed for treatment of poor-risk mRCC patients. It is associated with meaningful improvements in survival and quality of life, highlighting the importance of correctly stratifying risk in mRCC patients so they receive optimal treatment. Currently, data for other targeted therapies in poor-risk patients are relatively sparse. Optimizing outcomes in these patients is the subject of ongoing research, including studies of biomarkers and studies to elucidate the role of nephrectomy and neoadjuvant targeted therapy in poor-risk mRCC patients. The impacts of novel combinations including temsirolimus have also been explored to further improve outcomes.