Dr. Voss on the Case for Neoadjuvant Treatment in Kidney Cancer

Martin H. Voss, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, explains the case for neoadjuvant therapy in the treatment of kidney cancer.

Voss says that there is debate around whether there is merit to using neoadjuvant therapy in patients with kidney cancer who have non-metastatic disease versus adjuvant therapy. One of the concerns with neoadjuvant approaches is that preoperative therapy with a systemic agent may delay surgery. Another concern is that there may be toxicities from neoadjuvant therapy that may get in the way of surgery.

Voss says that recent data suggest that these concerns are probably not well founded. Drugs that would be used as neoadjuvant treatment would not necessarily delay time of surgery, he adds, and even if they did—delaying surgery a few months is not likely to affect outcomes.