Experiences of the 2026 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS)

A blog from UMVI member Dr Mouhamad Ismail, who recently attended the 2026 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS) in Paris, from 16-18 April. At the Symposium, Dr Ismail presented a poster on the International Neoadjuvant Kidney Cancer Consortium (INKCC), using data from the UMVI’s ARTIST project.

Attending the 2026 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS) was an invaluable opportunity to learn from leaders in the field of kidney cancer and to engage with the latest developments in translational and clinical research. As an oncology trainee with a growing interest in kidney cancer, this was a great opportunity to deepen my understanding of the rapidly evolving treatment landscape and to connect with clinicians and researchers working to improve outcomes for patients with renal cancer.

A particular focus for me was the ongoing development of neoadjuvant approaches in kidney cancer. My current work explores how we can optimise patient selection for neoadjuvant clinical trials, with the aim of identifying which patients are most likely to benefit from early systemic treatment prior to surgery. With immunotherapy being at the forefront of neoadjuvant treatments, there is a clear need to better define the patients most suitable for these studies. Many of the discussions at IKCS particularly around risk stratification, imaging, molecular profiling, and translational endpoints were highly relevant to this area of research and provided valuable perspectives that will help shape my own work going forward.

I presented a poster on INKCC, co-led by UMVI lead Professor Grant Stewart. The poster explored the discordance between clinical and pathological staging in clear cell renal cell carcinoma and demonstrated that a substantial proportion of patients with cT1–2 disease are upstaged to pT3+ following surgery, with significantly worse disease-free survival outcomes. We also showed that tumour size may help identify patients at higher risk of pathological upstaging, supporting future work on improving patient selection for peri-operative and neoadjuvant trials. The work generated strong interest from clinicians and researchers, particularly around its implications for future neoadjuvant trial design and risk stratification in localised RCC.

It was also great to see strong representation from Cambridge throughout the meeting. Contributions from Professor Maxine Tran, Dr James Jones (UMVI’s Translational Research Lead), Dr Tom Mitchell, Dr Will Ince, and others highlighted the breadth of kidney cancer research taking place locally, spanning translational science, clinical trials, and surgical innovation. Seeing Cambridge work featured within international discussions was both motivating and encouraging.

Beyond the scientific programme, one of the highlights of IKCS was the collaborative atmosphere. The opportunity to speak with trainees, clinicians, and researchers from across the world made the meeting especially rewarding and reinforced the importance of multidisciplinary and international collaboration in advancing kidney cancer care.

Overall, IKCS 2026 was an inspiring and educational experience that strengthened my enthusiasm for academic oncology and kidney cancer research.