The sarcomatoid variant of renal-cell carcinoma (SRCC), a clinically aggressive 
subtype of renal parenchymal tumors, is typically resistant to systemic 
treatments and carries a poor prognosis. The authors report a case of a 
57-year-old male with advanced SRCC who had a durable complete response after 
MAID (mesna, adriamycin, ifosfamide and dacarbazine) chemotherapy, and remains 
free of disease four years after completing treatment. To the authors' 
knowledge, this is the first report of a remission from MAID chemotherapy in 
SRCC. A review of published literature revealed occasional responses after 
systemic chemotherapy. Notably, all responses were seen with doxorubicin 
containing regimens, suggesting that doxorubicin is a critical component in 
chemotherapy regimens for SRCC.