Novel Expanding Renal Cell Carcinoma Biomarkers

Identification of reliable molecular biomarkers that can complement clinical practice represents a fascinating challenge in any cancer field. Patients with renal tumours are usually asymptomatic and these tumours are incidentally identified during imaging studies for unrelated reasons. However, in 25% to 30% of patients, the first diagnosis is accompanied by symptoms and associated with distant metastasis. Thus, early diagnosis may improve disease progression and avoid the side effects of inadequate treatment. Moreover, the ability to categorize patients’ risk for recurrence after radical treatment or even predict benefit from a target therapy represents a compelling challenge. Here we reviewed the current state of the art on RCC biomarkers, focusing on the new approaches of genomics, liquid biopsy, proteomics, and metabolomics.