Papillary Renal Carcinoma Type2

My name is Gustavo N. and I am an ENT / Head and neck surgeon in Brazil.
Approximately nine months ago (11/10/2004) my mother (53), was diagnosed with a left renal mass ( 9 cm in larger diameter) during routine
imaging exams. She was then seen by an renowned urologist whose specialty is urologic oncology. She underwent an open left radical nephrectomy and additional perihilar linphadenectomy (due to enlarged lymph nodes) on 11/23/2004 and
had an uneventful postoperative outcome. Pathologic analysis of the mass revealed a papillary renal cell carcinoma type II grade IV with capsular and perinephric fat invasion (pT3a)/ no malignancy was found in the enlarged
node. No adjuvant therapy was used.
During the followup, a chest / abdomen CT scan demonstrated multiple metastatic lesions in the lung and one in the liver (07/2005). Additional
imaging exams showed no brain (MRI) or bone metastasis (cintigraphy)(07/2005). I have been spending a lot of time online in the last few weeks searching for the most efficient therapy for cases involving metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma. Are you aware of any drugs or ongoing trials which may be indicated for
this type of cancer and how to apply for this trials (foreign patients forms). It won´t be a problem for us to stay in the US for long periods (6 mos- 1year) if necessary.

Thank you in advanced
Nogueira G F

See the messages posted under the discussion topic "Papillary Type, Spread to Lymph Node(s)" below.

Among the US doctors experienced in rare subtypes of renal cell carcinoma are Dr. Jan Dutcher at Our Lady of Mercy in the Bronx, New York; Dr. Robert Amato at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas and Dr. Ronald Bukowski at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Also, the US National Institutes of Health Urologic Oncology division http://www.ncifcrf.gov/research/kidney/invstgtr.html may be able to help you. They treat only people who fit into one of their research protocols; you do not need to be a US citizen to be treated there. They might also be willing to advise you on a physician-to-physician basis.

From ASCO there was a poster for a drug called XL880 where a phase 1 study was presented. They had 2/2 patients with papillary renal cell that had partial responses and allude to a phase 2 trial. The sponsor is Exelixis and you can check the website at www.exelixis.com

Good Luck