[Interdisciplinary recommendations on targeted therapy in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma]. / Interdisziplinäre Therapieempfehlungen zur Behandlung des metastasierten Nierenzellkarzinoms.

Recently, new data have been published on the treatment of metastasized renal cell cancer using targeted therapies. With the approval of the tyrosine kinase inhibitors Sunitinib and Sorafenib, two of these new therapies are now available in clinical practice. This has raised both new opportunities and new questions for the health care professionals involved. Here we report on a consensus conference addressing these questions with answers based on evidence from the recent literature.

Macrophages within the human adrenal gland.

There is increasing evidence for an immune-adrenal interaction in which macrophages may play an important role. However, few data are available with respect to a human intra-adrenal macrophage system. In this study, we have investigated the density, distribution and phenotype of human adrenal macrophages using monoclonal antibodies. Macrophages are localized in all zones of the adrenal gland. These cells exhibit the phenotype of the phagocytotic macrophage compartment (CD11c+, KiM8+). At the ultrastructural level, macrophages are frequently attached to the endothelial wall, but also lie in direct contact with cortical and chromaffin cells. This investigation reveals the cellular basis for the possible role of macrophages in the local immune-neuroendocrine axis.