Nick Pannoni, 62, renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), Forestdale, with Dr. Toni Choueiri, Director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, Dana-Farber

Nick Pannoni, 62, renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), Forestdale, with Dr. Toni Choueiri, Director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, Dana-Farber ? Six years ago, Nick, a father of four, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but it was caught early enough where doctors only needed to remove his prostate for him to be declared cancer-free. ? Unfortunately, three years later, cancer had returned, but this time it was a completely different type of cancer: kidney cancer. Specifically known as renal cell carcinoma, Nick’s left kidney was removed as it had been encased in the cancer. ? Once Nick recovered, his oncologist Dr. Steven Chang mentioned that he may want to see Dr. Toni Choueiri, the lead author of the KEYTRUDA study. ? Nick entered the clinical trial as a double-blind participant, meaning he would not know if he received the medication or a placebo. Though there isn’t a way to know for sure, Nick believes he received the drug as he experienced several of the common side effects. ? Once high-risk, there is now no evidence of disease. Nick continues to move forward and live his everyday life. He gets blood work and scans every four months, but only to make sure that cancer has not come back. Kidney cancer facts ? Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the kidney. Cancer starts when cells in the body begin to grow out of control. ? About 79,000 new cases of kidney cancer (50,290 in men and 28,710 in women) will be diagnosed in 2022. ? Kidney cancer is about twice as common in men than in women. ? Most people with kidney cancer are older. The average age of people when they are diagnosed is 64 with most people being diagnosed between ages 65 and 74. Kidney cancer is very uncommon in people younger than age 45. Dr. Toni Choueiri ? Dr. Toni Choueiri is the Director of our Genitourinary (GU) Oncology Disease Center and the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology. ? Dr. Choueiri can speak about the challenges of treating kidney cancers and the importance of clinical trials. ? He is the lead investigator of multiple national and international phase one, two and three trials in GU cancers. ? Dr. Choueiri is interested in developing novel therapies (including immunotherapies) and biomarkers in GU malignancies, including kidney cancer. His research also focuses on epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment outcomes of GU cancers using large scale approaches such as meta-analyses from available published trials or national databases.