Noninvasive Test for Kidney Cancer May Lessen Need for Surgery ► NCI Cancer Bulletin for December 11, 2012 - National Cancer Institute

NCI Cancer Bulletin for December 11, 2012 - National Cancer Institute

Noninvasive Test for Kidney Cancer May Lessen Need for Surgery

According to a recent study, a new radioactive tracer agent can be used with positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) to accurately detect clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCC), the most common type of kidney cancer. The open-label study, conducted at 14 medical centers, was published December 3 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"This study represents (to the best of our knowledge) the first clinical validation of a molecular imaging biomarker for malignancy," the researchers wrote.
The researchers compared results from two imaging methods in 195 patients with renal masses who were scheduled for kidney resections (nephrectomies): iodine-124 (¹²⁴I)-girentuximab PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT scans (CECT). ¹²⁴I-girentuximab binds to an antigen that is found on the cell surface of nearly all ccRCC.
The investigators, led by Dr. Chaitanya Divgi of Columbia University Medical Center, reported that the ¹²⁴I-girentuximab PET/CT tests were more sensitive than CECT (average sensitivity of 86.2 percent versus 75.5 percent) and more specific (average specificity of 85.9 percent versus 46.8 percent) for detecting ccRCC tumors.
If these results are confirmed by additional studies and the test is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the new diagnostic test could lessen the need for more invasive procedures, including needle biopsies and nephrectomies, that currently are used to evaluate suspicious renal masses, the researchers suggested. ¹²⁴I-girentuximab PET/CT may help practitioners decide how best to treat a patient and may have particular benefit for patients who are frail, elderly, or have other health conditions that make surgery risky, they commented.