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Berghen et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2021;7:58 Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2021.123
Metastasis and Treatment

Review Open Access

The role of radiation therapy and particle therapy in
renal cell carcinoma: current evidence and future

perspectives

1
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Charlien Berghen , Maarten Albersen , Robin De Roover , Kato Rans , Benoit Beuselinck , Karel
1
1
4
2
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Decaestecker , Kenneth Poels , Francois-Xavier Otte , Steven Joniau , Karin Haustermans , Gert De
Meerleer 1
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Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
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Department of Urology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
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Department of General Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven Cancer Institute, and Laboratory of
experimental Oncology, Department of Oncology, Catholic University Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
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Department of Urology, Ghent University Hospital, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
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Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels 1000, Belgium.
Correspondence to: Dr. Charlien Berghen, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49,
Leuven 3000, Belgium. E-mail: charlien.berghen@uzleuven.be
How to cite this article: Berghen C, Albersen M, De Roover R, Rans K, Beuselinck B, Decaestecker K, Poels K, Otte FX, Joniau S,
Haustermans K, De Meerleer G. The role of radiation therapy and particle therapy in renal cell carcinoma: current evidence and
future perspectives. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2021;7:58. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2021.123
Received: 25 May 2021 First Decision: 29 Jun 2021 Revised: 29 Jul 2021 Accepted: 20 Aug 2021 Published: 20 Oct 2021
Academic Editors: Lucio Miele, Boris Reva Copy Editor: Yue-Yue Zhang Production Editor: Yue-Yue Zhang
Abstract
For both primary and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), treatment with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)
has found its way into clinical practice. Being a non-invasive outpatient procedure, SBRT requires only a few visits
to the radiation department and may be of interest for the elderly or, in the case of primary RCC, for patients who
are not considered surgical candidates due to technical limitations, medical comorbidities, or in the event that the
maintenance of kidney function is compromised. In the treatment landscape of oligometastatic RCC, SBRT shows
promise in eradicating metastatic disease and delaying the initiation of systemic treatment. Technical
advancements in the planning and administration of radiation treatment and improvements in movement
management allow irradiating the tumor and/or metastatic lesions with very high doses in few fractions while
maximally sparing the surrounding organs at risk, thus minimizing toxicity. In that context, the increasing
availability of particle therapy, such as proton beam radiotherapy or carbon ion radiotherapy, could further
optimize the delivery of radiation treatment in order to reduce toxicity and improve outcome.

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
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