Systemic therapy for sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the kidney, and sarcomatoid RCC is an aggressive and lethal variant. Sarcomatoid features can be seen in all types of RCC and do not constitute a separate histologic type. No cellular or genetic biomarker for the sarcomatoid variant has yet been discovered. Most systemic therapies developed for metastatic RCC are less effective in sarcomatoid RCC, although some of the cytotoxic drugs may actually be more effective for sarcomatoid RCC because of its rapid rate of proliferation. Several ongoing prospective clinical trials are investigating new drug combinations for this disease.