VIRO 2026 – Global Voices in Renal Oncology concluded its two-day programme with another international discussion spanning the rapidly changing landscape of kidney cancer. Organized by OncoDaily, the virtual congress brought together experts from different disciplines and regions to connect emerging evidence with real-world clinical practice and explore how renal cancer care can become more personalized, effective and equitable.
The congress was supported by AVEO Oncology and Arcus Biosciences, helping bring together the global renal oncology community for two days of scientific exchange and clinical discussion.
Day 2 moved across the full spectrum of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), from adjuvant treatment and localized high-risk disease to non-clear cell histologies, radiation therapy, biomarkers, lifestyle medicine, HIF-2α targeting, treatment resistance and emerging therapeutic platforms. The programme also addressed palliative care, patient perspectives, regional research needs and some of the most difficult treatment decisions facing clinicians today.
The Changing Role of Adjuvant Therapy in RCC
Viktor Grünwald opened the scientific programme with a discussion of the evolving landscape of adjuvant therapy in RCC.
His presentation examined how treatment after surgery is changing as new evidence continues to influence the management of patients considered at increased risk of recurrence.
Yüksel Ürün expanded the discussion to the broader perioperative and adjuvant treatment landscape for localized high-risk RCC, addressing the evolving strategies being considered around surgery and the growing importance of identifying which patients may benefit from additional systemic treatment.
Together, the sessions highlighted how management of localized RCC is increasingly extending beyond surgery alone and becoming an important area of systemic therapy research and clinical decision-making.
Non-Clear Cell RCC: Moving Beyond a Single Disease Model
The programme then shifted toward forms of kidney cancer that fall outside conventional clear cell RCC.
Hossein Taghizadeh focused on first-line treatment of chromophobe RCC, reviewing the current evidence and emerging therapeutic strategies for this less common histologic subtype.
Francesco Massari addressed the treatment of non-clear cell RCC with a particular focus on papillary histologies, highlighting the need to consider individual tumor subtypes rather than treating non-clear cell disease as a single entity.
These presentations reflected a broader movement in renal oncology toward more histology-specific treatment strategies as the biological differences between RCC subtypes become increasingly relevant to clinical care.
The Role of SBRT in Oligoprogressive Kidney Cancer
Ciro Franzese examined the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in oligoprogressive kidney cancer.
The presentation focused on the role of highly targeted radiation in situations where limited sites of disease progress while the remainder of the cancer remains controlled.
The session highlighted the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of advanced RCC management, where local therapies may complement systemic treatment in carefully selected clinical scenarios.
Beyond Precision Oncology: The Emerging Role of Exercise and Lifestyle Medicine in Urologic Cancer
Sabine D. Brookman-May explored the emerging role of exercise and lifestyle medicine in urologic cancer, broadening the congress discussion beyond conventional precision oncology.
Her presentation highlighted the growing interest in incorporating lifestyle-related factors into comprehensive cancer care and considering how supportive interventions may contribute to patients’ overall health and well-being throughout their cancer journey.
When Localized RCC Cannot Be Treated Surgically
Karine Trindade addressed the role of systemic therapy for localized, inoperable disease, focusing on a challenging group of patients for whom standard surgical management may not be feasible.
She then returned for a second presentation examining real-world treatment sequencing for advanced RCC in Latin America.
Together, the sessions connected two important themes of VIRO 2026: finding treatment strategies for difficult clinical situations and understanding how those strategies are implemented within different healthcare systems.
The Latin American perspective also reinforced the importance of considering access, available therapies and local healthcare realities when translating international evidence into everyday practice.
Radiotheranostics: A New Direction for RCC?
Darren Feldman examined the current status and future directions of radiotheranostics in renal cell carcinoma.
The session explored an emerging field that brings diagnostic targeting and therapeutic delivery together, reflecting continued efforts to develop new treatment approaches beyond established systemic therapies.
The presentation highlighted how advances in tumor biology and molecular targeting may create new opportunities to identify and treat RCC in increasingly precise ways.
Who Benefits From Immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy has become central to advanced RCC treatment, but not every patient derives the same degree of benefit.
Zin W. Myint discussed biomarkers of response and resistance to immunotherapy in RCC, focusing on efforts to better predict which patients are most likely to benefit.
The session addressed one of the major unresolved goals in renal oncology: moving from broadly effective immunotherapy strategies toward more reliable biomarker-informed treatment selection.
Could the Microbiome Influence RCC Treatment?
Ulka Vaishampayan explored the impact of microbiome therapy in RCC.
The presentation highlighted the growing scientific interest in the relationship between the microbiome, immune function and cancer treatment, including the possibility that manipulating the microbiome may eventually influence therapeutic response.
The session expanded the concept of precision oncology beyond tumor genomics alone and into the broader biological environment surrounding the patient and their treatment.
Targeting HIF-2α in Clear Cell RCC
HIF-2α has emerged as an important therapeutic target in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
Jaime R. Merchan reviewed the current evidence and clinical applications of HIF-2α targeting, examining its developing role within the RCC treatment landscape.
Moshe Ornstein then focused on the potential role of HIF-2α-directed therapy in combination with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Together, the presentations examined how targeting a central pathway in clear cell RCC biology may be integrated into existing treatment strategies and how combination approaches could further shape future therapy.
Adjuvant Pembrolizumab: From Evidence to Everyday Practice
Michael B. Atkins addressed adjuvant pembrolizumab in RCC, connecting evidence from KEYNOTE-564 with its application in clinical practice.
The session focused on the transition from clinical trial evidence to real-world decision-making for patients with RCC at increased risk of recurrence following surgery.
The discussion complemented the earlier Day 2 sessions on perioperative and adjuvant therapy, emphasizing how clinicians are increasingly required to integrate recurrence risk, available evidence and individual patient characteristics when considering postoperative systemic treatment.
Integrating Palliative Care Into RCC Management
Biren Saraiya brought supportive care directly into the renal oncology discussion with a presentation on integrating primary palliative care into RCC management.
The session emphasized that palliative care is not limited to the final stages of cancer care but can form part of comprehensive oncology management.
By addressing symptoms, quality of life and patient priorities alongside anti-cancer treatment, the presentation reinforced the importance of considering the complete patient experience throughout the course of RCC.
ADCs, Cellular Therapies and Bispecific T-Cell Engagers
The programme then looked toward emerging treatment platforms that may expand the therapeutic options available for advanced RCC.
Guru Sonpavde discussed antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) being explored for RCC, highlighting a treatment approach that combines targeted recognition with delivery of an anti-cancer payload.
David Aggen examined novel cellular therapies and bispecific T-cell engagers in advanced RCC, bringing immunologic treatment strategies beyond established checkpoint inhibition into the discussion.
Together, these presentations demonstrated the breadth of approaches under investigation as researchers seek new ways to treat patients whose cancers may not be adequately controlled with current therapies.
Real-Time Diagnosis and Surgical Margin Assessment
Ketan K. Badani discussed confocal microscopy in RCC and its potential role in real-time diagnosis and surgical margin assessment.
The presentation highlighted how emerging diagnostic technologies may provide clinicians with more immediate information during the management of renal tumors.
The session reinforced the increasingly close connection between advances in imaging, pathology and surgery as renal cancer care becomes more technologically sophisticated.
Who Still Benefits From Cytoreductive Nephrectomy?
The role of surgery in metastatic RCC has continued to evolve alongside advances in systemic treatment.
Eric A. Singer examined which patients may benefit from cytoreductive nephrectomy today, focusing on the need for careful patient selection in the modern treatment era.
The session highlighted how the question is no longer simply whether surgery has a role in metastatic disease, but which patients, under which circumstances, may derive meaningful benefit from it.
What Mouse Models Can Teach Us About tRCC
James Brugarolas explored the genetics of translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) through insights derived from mouse models.
The presentation highlighted the role of laboratory models in understanding the biology and genetic drivers of uncommon renal cancers.
By connecting preclinical research with disease biology, the session illustrated how laboratory discoveries can contribute to a more precise understanding of rare RCC subtypes and potentially inform future therapeutic development.
Why Does Immunotherapy Fail?
Despite the major impact of immunotherapy in RCC, resistance remains one of the field’s most important challenges.
Hans Hammers examined why immunotherapy fails and how resistance may potentially be overcome.
The presentation focused attention on the biological and clinical complexity of treatment resistance, highlighting the need to understand why some tumors fail to respond initially while others eventually progress after a period of disease control.
Overcoming resistance remains central to extending the benefits of immunotherapy to more patients and achieving more durable outcomes.
What Are Patients Telling Us?
The scientific programme also incorporated the patient perspective.
Eric Jonasch discussed findings from the International Kidney Cancer Coalition Global Patient Survey, bringing the experiences and priorities of people living with kidney cancer into the congress conversation.
The session emphasized the importance of listening directly to patients when evaluating the quality and accessibility of cancer care and identifying areas where healthcare systems can better respond to patient needs.
The Evolving Role of TKIs in Second-Line RCC
Manojkumar Bupathi reviewed the changing role of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and other targeted therapies in second-line RCC.
As first-line treatment increasingly involves combination regimens, later-line decision-making has also become more complex.
The session addressed how targeted therapies continue to fit within the treatment sequence as clinicians consider previous exposure, disease behavior and the growing number of available systemic options.
Papillary RCC in 2026
Arpita Desai returned the programme to non-clear cell disease with a discussion of papillary RCC in 2026.
Her presentation emphasized the heterogeneity of papillary renal cancer and the continuing shift toward defining it through more precise pathological and biological characteristics.
The session reinforced why papillary RCC increasingly requires its own evidence base and treatment framework rather than simply borrowing approaches established for clear cell disease.
SBRT for Primary Localized RCC
Radiation therapy returned to the programme as Steven Seyedin examined the role of SBRT for primary, non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
The presentation focused on the potential place of stereotactic radiation within the management of localized disease, particularly as technological advances expand the range of local treatment approaches available to patients.
Together with the earlier discussion of oligoprogressive RCC, the session demonstrated the growing role of radiation oncology across different stages of kidney cancer.
Current Clinical Trials in RCC
Kelly Fitzgerald provided an overview of current clinical trials in renal cell carcinoma.
The presentation highlighted the continued pace of investigation across the RCC landscape as researchers evaluate new drugs, combinations, biomarkers and treatment strategies.
Clinical trials remain central to answering many of the questions raised throughout VIRO 2026, from treatment sequencing and resistance to novel therapeutic platforms and disease-specific approaches.
New Classifications and Diagnostic Challenges in Renal Tumors
Evita Sadimin addressed new classifications and diagnostic challenges in selected renal cell neoplasms.
The session highlighted the increasing complexity of renal tumor classification as pathology incorporates new morphological, molecular and genetic information.
Accurate classification is becoming increasingly important not only for diagnosis, but also for understanding prognosis and selecting disease-specific therapeutic approaches.
Should Non-Clear Cell RCC Still Be Treated Like Clear Cell Disease?
The scientific programme concluded with a panel featuring Giuseppe Fornarini, Hossein Taghizadeh, Arpita Desai, Enrique Grande, Kelly Fitzgerald and Pedro Barata.
The panel addressed a deliberately challenging question: Should community oncologists stop using generic clear-cell IO/TKI combinations for patients with non-clear cell RCC entirely?
The discussion brought together several themes that had run throughout Day 2: the biological diversity of kidney cancer, the limitations of applying clear cell evidence across different histologies and the growing need for more disease-specific treatment strategies.
As understanding of non-clear cell RCC continues to improve, the panel highlighted the importance of moving toward treatment decisions that better reflect the individual biology and evidence base of each renal cancer subtype.
Pedro Barata delivered the closing remarks, bringing VIRO 2026 – Global Voices in Renal Oncology to a close after two days of international scientific and clinical exchange.
Two Days of Global Voices in Renal Oncology
VIRO 2026 concluded after two days of discussions spanning the entire renal cancer continuum—from localized disease and surgical decision-making to metastatic RCC, immunotherapy, targeted treatment, biomarkers, radiation oncology, supportive care and emerging therapeutic platforms.
Across both days, the congress also repeatedly looked beyond treatment itself. Regional access, locally relevant research, lifestyle medicine, palliative care, social factors and patient perspectives all formed part of the conversation.
Together, these discussions reflected a central message of VIRO 2026: advances in renal oncology are creating more possibilities than ever before, but the next step is ensuring that those advances translate into better, more individualized and more equitable care for patients around the world.
Don’t miss the Highlights from VIRO 2026 – Global Voices in Renal Oncology, Day 1
Disclaimer: This event is intended for educational purposes and does not promote or make representations regarding specific pharmaceutical products or investigational compounds.