Preface and Statement of Peer Review

1. Introduction

1.1. Conference Introduction

The 2025 International Kidney Cancer Symposium—Europe (IKCSEU25) was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 1 to 3 May 2025, organized by the Kidney Cancer Association (KCA). This annual event serves as the premier European meeting dedicated to kidney cancer research and clinical innovation, fostering collaboration across academia, industry, and advocacy.

The symposium showcased cutting-edge research in kidney cancer, highlighting advancements in tumor biology, translational science, real-world evidence, biomarkers, imaging, therapeutics, and quality of care. IKCSEU25 also featured interactive sessions such as Practice Changing Papers, The Woodfire, and Young Investigator Highlights, encouraging multidisciplinary dialog and translational collaboration. The educational activity learning objectives for the symposium were as follows:

• Characterize the various therapies currently available for locally advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinoma;
• Identify the novel approaches to non-clear RCC patient management;
• Understand the role of the tumor microenvironment in kidney cancer;
• Discuss how to design biomarker-driven clinical trials in kidney cancer.

In support of improving patient care, Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits have been planned and implemented by The France Foundation (TFF) and the KCA. TFF is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. TTF designated this live activity for a maximum of 11.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM. The 2025 IKCS: Europe, Amsterdam, Netherlands 01/05/2025–03/05/2025 has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME^®) with 8.5 European CME credits (ECMEC^®s).

1.2. Organizers

The meeting was organized under the auspices of the Kidney Cancer Association (KCA), led by Salvatore La Rosa, PhD (Chief Scientific Officer), in collaboration with the Scientific Planning Committee comprising Dr. Axel Bex from The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Dr. Ignacio Durán, from Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Spain, and Dr. Lisa Pickering from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, UK.

1.3. Scopes and Topics

IKCSEU25 encompassed both clinical and translational aspects of renal cell carcinoma, with thematic sessions including the following:

• Tumor biology and microenvironment;
• Novel therapeutics and immunotherapy combinations;
• Translational and biomarker studies;
• Real-world evidence and registry-based research;
• Imaging and surveillance strategies;
• Quality of care, disparities, and patient-reported outcomes;
• Preclinical models and artificial intelligence applications.

1.4. Program and Schedule

The program featured three days of plenary lectures, oral sessions, posters, and panel discussions, complemented by networking events and sponsor symposia. Abstracts were accepted for oral or poster presentation and published in this proceedings volume. The meeting also hosted satellite symposia organized by partner institutions and industry sponsors.

2. Committee Members

2.1. Organizing Committee

• Salvatore La Rosa, Chief Scientific Officer, KCA, USA.
• Gabriela Galvan, Program Coordinator, KCA, USA.
• Jeanette Stensgaard, ShePlans Co, USA.
• Kristen Brady, TFF, USA.
• Ashley Smeaton, TFF, USA.

2.2. Scientific Committee Co-Chairs

• Axel Bex, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Netherlands.
• Ignacio Durán, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Spain.
• Lisa Pickering, Royal Marsden Hospital, UK.

2.3. Scientific Committee Members

• Christian Beisland, Haukeland University Hospital, Norway.
• Annika Fendler, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
• Roberto Iacovelli, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Italy.
• Stéphane Oudard, Université Paris Cité, France.
• Cristina Suárez, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Spain.
• Maxine Tran, University College London, United Kingdom.

3. Sponsors

The 2025 IKCS: Europe was made possible with the generous support of our sponsors: MSD, Eisai, Ipsen, Pfizer, Arcus Biosciences, and Telix.

4. Statement of Peer Review

In submitting conference proceedings to Medical Science Forum, the volume editors of the proceedings certify to the publisher that all papers published in this volume have been subjected to peer review administered by the volume editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal.

• Type of peer review: single-blind.
• Conference submission management system: SessionBoard.
• Number of submissions sent for review: 6.
• Number of submissions accepted: 6.
• Acceptance rate (number of submissions accepted/number of submissions received): 1.
• Average number of reviews per paper: 1.8.
• Total number of reviewers involved: 5.

5. Peer Review Criteria and Process

The abstracts and conference proceeding papers were evaluated for scientific merit, originality, relevance, and ethical compliance by domain experts. After the first round of review, manuscripts were sent back to authors for revisions. Final acceptance was based on reviewer recommendation and further review by the volume editors to ensure coherence, accuracy, and alignment with the symposium’s scope.