REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1582887
This article is part of the Research TopicImmunoregulation in Urological Disorders: Novel Targets and TherapiesView all 8 articles
Advances in Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy for Advanced Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Current Strategies and Future Directions
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
- 2West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 3Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
- 4Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
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Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), particularly the clear-cell subtype (ccRCC), accounts for 75-85% of kidney cancers and exhibits distinct genetic and biological heterogeneity. While surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment for localized ccRCC, the persistence of recurrence rates underscores the significant unmet need for effective adjuvant therapies. Recent advancements in immunotherapy and targeted therapies have revolutionized the management of RCC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have significantly enhanced antitumor immune responses, whereas tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors effectively disrupt angiogenesis and proliferation signaling pathways, respectively. However, non-clear cell RCC subtypes remain understudied due to their rarity and exclusion from major clinical trials. Consequently, this review primarily focuses on ccRCC, aiming to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the latest advancements in immunotherapy and targeted therapies. By synthesizing current evidence, this review seeks to elucidate the mechanisms of action, clinical efficacy, and limitations of these treatments, while also identifying gaps in knowledge and future research directions. Ultimately, the goal is to offer valuable insights for clinicians and researchers, facilitating the development of optimized, personalized treatment approaches to improve outcomes for ccRCC patients.
Keywords: Renal cell carcinoma, Immunotherapy, targeted therapy, Current strategies, future directions Renal Cell Carcinoma, Future Directions
Received: 25 Feb 2025; Accepted: 06 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ma, Xiang, Liu, Liu, Pan, Peng and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bo Wang, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
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