Role of Biomarkers in Prediction of Response to Therapeutics in Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma.

Renal-cell carcinoma remains one of the elusive cancers that lacks a biomarker. It is the eighth most commonly diagnosed malignancy in the United States, and the incidence has slowly trended upward. In addition to the increase in newly diagnosed cases, the prevalence and overall survival of individuals with kidney cancer also has increased substantially. This formal review synopsizes the literature regarding the current treatment landscape, the utility of biomarkers in renal-cell carcinoma, and future directions regarding next-generation sequencing of circulating tumor DNA.