As the hunt for a reliable biomarker for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) continues, two further studies this month reveal potential candidates. The first study, published in Targeted Oncology, describes serum (blood) α1-globulin as an independent predictor (prognostic factor) of overall survival and progression-free survival in metastatic RCC, and is correlated with a high amount of tumour in the body (tumour load).

The second study, published in Journal of Cancer, suggested that the activity of a gene called frizzled class receptor 1 (FZD1) could help to diagnose and predict the outcome of patients with clear cell RCC, and it may also be a potential drug target to overcome resistance to sunitinib treatment in RCC patients.

Read more about serum α1-globulin in UroToday here

Read more about frizzled class receptor 1 (FZD1) in UroToday here