An Oncologist's Perspective on Kidney Cancer Research Over the Last 25 Years

I appreciate the opportunity to reflect on the last 25 years of kidney cancer research, having seen my first kidney cancer patients as a second-year fellow at the University of Chicago exactly 25 years ago under the mentorship of Drs. Nicholas Vogelzang and Walter Stadler; from day one, I found the biology of the disease interesting, even though at the time there were almost no therapeutics and most of our patients received clinical trial therapy. I remember one early patient encounter of a young man with advanced disease where, after delivering my rehearsed speech about interferon, interleukin-2, and clinical trial options, his wife's poignant question, "Do you mean that's all you've got?", brought me back to earth and has driven my personal journey of kidney cancer drug development ever since. I learned from Dr. Vogelzang to always appreciate and advocate for the patient perspective and to do everything possible to optimize patient outcomes.