BOSTON, Mass. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — This year alone, 81,000 people will be diagnosed with kidney cancer. More than 14,000 will die from it. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of it, and it can be difficult to treat as many symptoms don’t occur until it’s almost too late. The good news is that advancements in surgery, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies have significantly improved survival rates. And now, a new drug is giving patients more hope that they can beat this disease.
Chuck Stravin is determined to complete his bucket list.
“Watch all four girls graduate high school, watch all four girls’ graduate college,” he told Ivanhoe are two of the items on it.
But in 2015, Chuck was diagnosed with a fist-sized tumor on his right kidney. It was stage four kidney cancer.
“I didn’t know that your kidney is literally no larger than only a little larger than your fist,” he recalled.
Traditional treatments for renal cell carcinoma are surgery, ablation, and immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Toni Choueiri, MD, Director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute explained, “These are some sort of an immunotherapy that usually target a specific protein in the cancer.”
Now, doctors at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are using a new FDA approved drug to help patients like Chuck. Belzutifan blocks HIF-2a, a protein crucial in tumor growth. In clinical trials, Belzutifan reduced the risk of progression by 25% and had fewer side effects, giving patients, and their doctors another way to fight kidney cancer.
“Hopefully the time will come where patient, even with stage four kidney cancer, we can tell them, look, you have 50-50 chance of cure,” said Dr. Choueiri.
In the past two years, Chuck’s cancer has not progressed, and:
“I proudly walked Kayla down the aisle. The most important thing on my list is grandkids. And having been a girl dad now for the last 30 plus years, you know, I’m pulling for a grandson or two,” he said.
A decade ago, a person diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer had a survival rate of about a year. Today, advancements in treatment have significantly extended life expectancy more than five years.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Source:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/kidney-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO https://www.dana-farber.org/find-a-doctor/toni-choueiri
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
