Dr. Pavlos Msaouel, MD, PhD
- July 04, 2018
Congratulations to Pavlos Msaouel, MD, PhD on your new appointment as Assistant Professor, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Msaouel received his medical degree from the University of Athens and has committed a portion of his time to researching Renal Medullary Carcinoma (RMC). He has graciously agreed to provide us with an update on RMC.
It is encouraging to see that there is growing interest in understanding and treating renal medullary carcinoma. On October 11th 2017, an international panel of expert clinicians and researchers met for the second time to discuss our current understanding of this disease and what we can do to speed up research efforts. A consensus paper was written with updated recommendations on how to best diagnose and manage renal medullary carcinoma, and it is expected to be published in the next few months. We are also working on establishing an RMC Alliance (upcoming website at http://RMCAlliance.org) which will bring together expert clinicians, researchers, and patients advocates to better understand how and why renal medullary carcinoma occurs, and to develop better strategies to screen for, diagnose, and treat renal medullary carcinoma.
There are clinical trials currently active that are testing therapies that activate the immune system of patients. The hope is that these “immunotherapies” can make the immune system recognize and kill renal medullary carcinoma. One such trial specific to renal medullary carcinoma is currently enrolling patients at our institution:https://www.mdanderson.org/patients-family/diagnosis-treatment/clinical-trials/clinical-trials-index/clinical-trials-detail.ID2017-0201.html
As we are understanding more about the biology of renal medullary carcinoma, we hope to develop therapies that target specific weaknesses of renal medullary carcinoma cells. One such trial is expected to open in our institution in the coming months. Our hope is that clinical and laboratory research will allow us to expand our treatment options and improve the outcomes of patients with renal medullary carcinoma.