Role of immunotherapy in metastatic renal cell cancer: past, present and future

It was only in the late 90s when the link between the immunology and oncology was known to scientists. Tumor shrinkage of sarcoma following injection of killed bacteria noted by Coley was one of the earlier observations which led to considering immunotherapy in cancer treatment (1). Although the initial studies on interferon gamma-1b failed to improve outcomes in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) (2), cases of spontaneous regression of metastatic lung lesions perpetuated investigations to study the potential role of immunotherapy in mRCC (3).