Current treatment landscape and translational priorities in malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney

Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney (MRTK) is a rare and highly aggressive pediatric renal malignancy characterized by early dissemination, frequent presentation in infancy, and persistently poor survival despite multimodal therapy. Over the past decades, intensified treatment strategies combining surgery, multiagent chemotherapy, and selective radiotherapy have modestly improved outcomes, particularly in patients with localized disease. However, infants and those with stage III/IV or metastatic tumors continue to experience dismal prognosis, highlighting the limitations of further empiric escalation. The molecular hallmark of MRTK is loss of SMARCB1, a core subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. This event provides a biologic framework for diagnosis, risk interpretation, and therapeutic development, and has shifted attention toward epigenetic and cell-cycle vulnerabilities. Early translational efforts, including EZH2 inhibition and CDK4/6 blockade, support proof of principle for biomarker-informed treatment, although renal-specific clinical evidence remains limited and single-agent activity has been modest. Immunotherapy and other emerging strategies are also being explored, but their roles in MRTK remain undefined because predictive biomarkers and disease-specific clinical datasets are lacking. In this Mini Review, we summarize the current treatment landscape of MRTK, examine why conventional multimodal therapy remains necessary but insufficient, discuss the preclinical model landscape that supports therapeutic translation, and define major priorities required to move the field toward renal-specific precision care. We argue that the next meaningful advance will depend on collaborative trials that integrate molecular profiling, faithful experimental models, rational combinations, and correlative biomarker studies from diagnosis onward.