The promise of biomarkers for personalized renal cancer care

Biomarkers hold promise for personalizing renal cancer care by potentially identifying patients most likely to benefit from novel therapies. Porta and colleagues report that among subjects with advanced renal-cell carcinoma receiving sunitinib treatment, those with above-normal levels of the circulating biomarkers vascular endothelial growth factor and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin displayed significantly lower progression-free survival times. This Commentary reviews the current status of these biomarkers with respect to methodological issues, specificity, and biological plausibility. Kidney International (2010) 77, 755-757. doi: 10.1038/ki.2010.26