By integrating data on the function of essential metabolic enzymes with genetic, protein, and metabolic abnormalities associated with ‘clear cell’ renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), researchers have determined that enzymes important in multiple pathways are universally depleted in ccRCC tumors. Kidney cancer, one of the ten most prevalent malignancies in the world, has increased in incidence over the last decade, likely due to rising obesity rates.