National Comprehensive Cancer Network

About NCCN

NCCN Updates Kidney Cancer Guidelines

JENKINTOWN, Pa., August 1, 2007 — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announces important updates to the NCCN Kidney Cancer Guidelines. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ are widely recognized and applied as the standard of care in oncology in the United States in both the community and the academic practice settings.

The panel added temsirolimus (TORISEL™, Wyeth) as an option in first-line therapy for patients with relapsed or medically unresectable stage IV renal cancer with both predominant clear cell histology and non-clear cell histology. This recommendation is based on the recent FDA approval of temsirolimus for treatment of renal cell carcinoma and on the safety and effectiveness of temsirolimus shown from the results of a large, multicenter, randomized clinical trial of 626 patients. The study showed that temsirolimus prolonged median overall survival. Temsirolimus is an inhibitor of mTOR (mammalian Target of Rapamycin), a regulator of cell proliferation, growth and survival. According to the panel, temsirolimus is a category 1 recommendation for patients with poor-prognosis and clear cell histology and category 2A for patients with non-clear cell histology.

Temsirolimus was also added as an option for subsequent therapy for patients with predominant clear cell histology.

The panel added bevacizumab (Avastin®, Genentech) in combination with interferon alfa-2a as first-line therapy for patients with relapsed or medically unresectable stage IV disease with predominant clear cell histology. This recommendation is based on the results of the AVOREN trial that was presented at the plenary session at the 2007 ASCO meeting.

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ are developed and updated through an evidence-based process with explicit review of the scientific evidence by multidisciplinary panels of expert physicians from NCCN Member Institutions. The most recent version of this and all the guidelines are available free of charge at www.nccn.org.

For questions about NCCN or for interview information, please contact Megan Martin 215.690.0576.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world’s leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives. For more information, visit NCCN.org.

The NCCN Member Institutions are:

• City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center
  Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
• Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Fox Chase Cancer Center
• Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center / Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
• The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
• Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
• The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
• Roswell Park Cancer Institute
• Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital / University of Tennessee Cancer Institute
• Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center
• University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center
• UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
• University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
• UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center
• The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center