Study of Hydroxychloroquine Before Surgery in Patients With Primary Renal Cell Carcinoma

Autophagy is a cellular survival mechanism that protects from stress-induced programmed death. Autophagy may enable renal cancer to escape from cytokine therapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy or targeted agents. Hydroxychloroquine prevents autophagy by blocking acidification of lysosomes, and is being studied in clinical trials as a means of enhancing of cancer therapy. This phase Ib clinical trial will test the hypothesis that pre-operative exposure to HC reduces biologic markers of autophagy in peripheral blood, normal kidney and renal cancer specimens obtained at the time of nephrectomy. These data will be used in the design and pharmacodynamic monitoring of future therapeutic trials of HC in combination with high dose interleukin-2 and other systemic therapies for advanced RCC.