The current role of immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma in the era of targeted therapeutics.

The migration from cytokine therapy to the use of recently approved tyrosine kinase inhibitors and targeted therapeutic strategies may deprive some patients of a chance for long-term survival, as many clinicians now see these new agents as "easy fixes" for treating renal cell carcinoma (RCC). New developments pertaining to the mechanism, patient selection, predictive biomarkers, and administration of interleukin-2 mandate a reassessment of the clinical landscape and the clinical trial information upon which our current practices are based. Recalibration of the scales that we use to weigh the various possible therapies for advanced kidney cancer is also needed. Despite the shift away from cytokine therapy in the current treatment paradigm, new therapeutic approaches continue to build upon the undisputed fact that RCC can be cured with immunotherapy.