Adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy for renal cell carcinoma: A survey of the Society of Urologic Oncology

Objective: Several systemic agents have been approved for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and others are in various stages of development. We surveyed members of the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) regarding the importance of adjuvant and neoadjuvant systemic therapy for RCC and their participation in such trials. Materials and methods: A survey was sent in October 2010 to 564 U.S. and Canadian members of the SUO and the SUO-Clinical Trials Committee with a valid e-mail address. A total of 136 urologic cancer specialists from a mixture of practice patterns responded to the questionnaire (24% participation rate). Results: At the time of the study, 75% participated in adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment protocols, including 75% with adjuvant and 16% with neoadjuvant protocols. There was universal support for continued investigation of agents for adjuvant use in RCC with locoregional metastasis (100%) and nearly universal support for investigation of agents in patients with "high risk" (99%) and "intermediate risk" (91%) localized RCC after nephrectomy. The vast majority of respondents also supported investigation of neoadjuvant therapies in patients with advanced RCC (98%) or locally-advanced RCC (98%), with 70% also supporting neoadjuvant trials in patients with localized RCC. Importantly, 98% of respondents indicated interest in participating in future adjuvant and neoadjuvant trials. Conclusion: Urologic cancer specialists surveyed in late 2010 demonstrated nearly universal support for trials to investigate the role of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies for RCC of all stages. With appropriate patient selection and outcome assessment, this widespread support indicates great potential for future clinical trials which will require the participation of urologic surgeons.