Dr. Linehan on Gene Mutations in Papillary Kidney Cancer

W. Marston Linehan, MD, chief, Urologic Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, discusses gene mutations in papillary kidney cancer.

Hereditary papillary renal carcinoma (HPRC) is a hereditary kidney cancer that is studied to help better understand non-hereditary kidney cancer. The patients with HRPC who have a germline MET-gene mutation are highly likely to develop bilateral, multifocal, type 1 papillary kidney cancer.

The MET-gene is mutated in a significant number of these patients, explains Linehan. The gene is altered in over 80% of tumors from patients with type 1 papillary kidney cancer.