Objectives: To analize the current role of target therapies in the treatment of small renal masses.
Methods: We performed a bibliographic review on the effect of target therapies on primary renal tumor, including our initial experience with two cases of small renal tumor in single kidneys treated with sunitinib.
Results: There is very limited experience with target therapies, being possible to use them, as the reviewed literature shows, to increase safety in nephron sparing surgery or tissue ablation technique, or as the treatment for small renal tumors in patients with single kidney in whom nephron sparing surgery is not feasible. Of our two cases with small renal tumors in patients with single kidney, the first case has had complete response to sunitinib after 21 months of follow up, and the second has had tumor stabilization after 33 months of follow up, shifting from sunitinib to pazopanib due to intolerance.
Conclusions: The indication of target therapies in the treatment of metastatic renal cancer could be expanded. These therapies could be useful in localized small renal cancer and, although experience with this indication is limited, results are promising.