A decade of pharmacogenomics research on tyrosine kinase inhibitors in metastatic renal cell cancer: a systematic review

Objective: The individual response to targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC) is highly variable. Outlined in this article are findings on potential biomarkers for TKI treatment outcome in mRCC and an evaluation of the status of clinical implementation.
Methods: Articles were selected by two independent reviewers using a systematic search in five medical databases on renal cell carcinoma, TKIs, and pharmacogenetics.
Results: Many researchers have focused on predictive biomarkers for treatment outcome of targeted therapies in mRCC patients. Attempts to explain differences in efficacy and toxicity of TKIs by use of genetic variants in genes related to the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the drug have been successful.
Conclusion: Most findings on potential biomarkers have not been validated and therefore biomarker testing to guide choice of therapy and dose in mRCC is not yet feasible.