[Medical treatment of renal cell carcinoma].

Aim: To describe drugs used in renal cell carcinoma.
Method: Pubmed search for efficacy, mode of action and side effects for each molecule. Additional data were searched from the French regulatory agencies websites (HAS and ANSM).
Results: Since 2007, a total of three different therapeutic classes in the management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma are available. These three classes are tyrosine kinase inhibitors with sunitinib and sorafenib, the anti-VEGF antibodies (bevacizumab which is associated with alpha interferon in the treatment of advanced kidney cancer) and mTOR inhibitors with temsirolimus and everolimus. These targeted therapies are a major progress in the treatment of patients with metastatic kidney cancer. The side effects encountered with these molecules are numerous but serious side effects are less than 5% of all reported side effects.
Conclusions: A better understanding of molecular mechanisms has enabled the development of new therapies for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In the future, a personalized approach taking into account the biology of each tumor could be created to provide a more targeted treatment.
(Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)