Rates of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) morbidity and mortality vary widely by geography, with increasing incidence in most countries.
Interestingly, RCC incidence is significantly lower in Asian countries relative to other regions, which is attributed to environmental and genetic influences. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that different ethnic groups differ in their RCC characteristics which might lead to varied responses to therapy. In this review, physicians drawn from countries across the Asia-Pacific region-China, Japan, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, and Australia-take all available data into consideration to develop the first opinion statement on treatment of advanced RCC in the region. We have sought to determine what factors influence treatment patterns and availability of therapeutic agents in our respective countries, discussed whether these factors are fully justified or should be modified, and considered what additional efforts should be undertaken to optimize treatment outcomes in RCC. Additionally, we have addressed the limitations on treatment of RCC in the region, capturing the restrictive situations of targeted therapy use in the Asia-Pacific region, mainly because of drug availability and treatment reimbursement. Often this illustrates the gap between Western and regional or even among local guidelines, the opinions of leading physicians regarding the treatment, and the realistic access to agents for most patients. Proposals made in this document are based on clinical experience and data from clinical trials of RCC therapies in which Asian patients have been included.
Written by:
Ye D, Eto M, Chung JS, Kimura G, Chang WC, Chang YH, Pang ST, Lee JL, Niu Y, Gurney H, Uemura H. Are you the author?
Department of Urology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China; Department of Urology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan; National Cancer Center, Goyang-si Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea; Department of Urology, Nippon Medical School Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Hematology-Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Taipei-Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tao Yuan, Taiwan; Department of Oncology, Urologic Oncology Section, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea; The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical Hospital, Tianjin, China; Australian School of Advanced Medicine, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia; Department of Urology, Kinki University, Osaka, Japan.
Reference: Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2014 Feb 4. pii: S1558-7673(14)00015-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.clgc.2014.01.007
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24630778
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