A study to find out more about kidney cancer (TRACERx Renal)
Cancer type:
Status:
Phase:
This is a study to find out more about how kidney cancer develops and how it spreads.
It is for people in one of the following situations you:
- have a type of kidney cancer called renal cell cancer
- are having surgery to remove your kidneys for another reason than cancer
- have a cancer, that is not renal cell carcinoma, but is linked with a family history of a gene change (
mutation 
) that means you are more likely to get renal cell carcinoma
More about this trial
The main treatment for early kidney cancer is surgery. For some people their kidney cancer can come back after surgery. Why this happens isn’t understood.
Doctors can use drug treatment to shrink or slow the growth of kidney cancer that has come back or spread to another part of the body. But over time they can stop working. And the drugs can have unwanted side effects.
Researchers want to learn more about kidney cancer and why these things happen. In this study they will ask for people to give:
- tissue samples
- blood samples
- urine samples
They will look at the genes () of the cancer cells in these samples to find out why:
- kidney cancer comes back after surgery
- it spreads to other parts of the body
- drug treatments might stop working
Please note, you will not benefit directly from taking part in this study. But the results may help to improve our knowledge of cancer and improve cancer treatments in the future.
Who can enter
The following bullet points are a summary of the entry conditions for this study. Talk to your doctor or the study team if you are unsure about any of these. They will be able to advise you.
Who can take part
You may be able to join this study if one of the following apply. You:
- have renal cell carcinoma or your doctor suspects that you have this cancer
or
- are having surgery to remove your kidneys for another reason than cancer
or
- have a cancer (not renal cell carcinoma) that is linked to a family history of a gene change (
mutation ) that means you are more likely to get renal cell carcinoma
And both of the following apply. You are:
- having a
standard treatment - at least 18 years old
Who can’t take part
You cannot join this study if any of these apply.
- You have another medical condition or mental health problem that could affect you taking part.
- There is not enough tissue from your surgery or tissue sample (
biopsy ) available for the study team to access.
Trial design
The study team need 672 people to take part.
You give extra blood samples and urine samples as part of this study. Where possible these are taken when you have routine blood and urine samples done.
You also give permission for the trial team to access samples of tissue (biopsy) you have taken. This includes tissue taken out if you have surgery in the future or had surgery in the past.
We have information about what to expect when having a kidney biopsy
Optional extra tissue samples
Depending on where you are with your treatment the team may ask you to give some extra cancer tissue samples. Where possible they will take the samples when you are having tissue samples taken as part of your routine care. This could be:
- before starting treatment
- during treatment
- after finishing treatment
You don’t have to agree to give these extra tissue samples.
Researchers now and in the future will use these samples to look at the DNA of kidney cancer cells. They hope to learn more about kidney cancer and to gain better understanding as to why some treatments do or do not work.
CAPTURE Sub study
In this sub study the team looked at how well COVID-19 vaccines worked for people with cancer. We have the results of the CAPTURE sub study.
Hospital visits
There are no extra hospital visits if you take part.
Side effects
After having a sample of tissue (biopsy) taken you might have:
- pain or discomfort
- soreness and redness
- swelling
- bleeding and bruising
- a drainage tube from the site
- high temperature (fever)
- an infection
- a problem with the wound healing
- an allergic reaction to the local anaesthetic
Location
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Chief Investigator
Dr Samra Turajlic
Supported by
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
