The role of radiotherapy in renal cell carcinoma and the potential of its combination with immunotherapy
Abstract
Immunotherapy has become a commonly used systemic treatment for advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The role of radiotherapy in renal cancer has shifted from palliative irradiation to the stereotactic, cranial and extracranial, radiotherapy and radiosurgery, which can be an effective alternative to surgery, especially in oligometastatic disease.
The hypothesis that radiotherapy can activate the immune system and thus increase the effectiveness of immunological treatment seems promising. Unfortunately, there is still very little clinical data on the true efficacy of the combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma.
The true clinical benefit can only be confirmed by the results of randomized clinical trials.