Haris Zahoor, MD

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an immunogenic tumor and immune check point inhibitors (ICI) have shown promising clinical efficacy with durable complete responses in a subset of patients. The specific aims of this applications are development a radiomic signature of (1) CD8+ T cell infiltration and (2) PD-L1 expression. We will first develop a prototype signature in a discovery cohort extracting radiomic and pathologic data. We will then validate our findings in an independent validation cohort to create a final radiomic signature. This proposal is significant because it addresses an unmet need of identification of a non-invasive and dynamic biomarker for ICI treatment. This in turn will help identify patients who can respond to the treatment and thereby avoid unnecessary financial and therapeutic toxicity in other patients.