Objectives To study the prevalence of hypogonadism in male patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) starting with targeted therapies and the impact of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (VEGFR-TKIs) sunitinib and pazopanib on the luteinizing hormone (LH)/testosterone (TT)-axis. Methods Male mRCC patients starting with targeted therapies were prospectively included in this study. TT- and LH-levels were sampled at start as well as during systemic therapy. Endpoints of the study were gonadal status (TT- and LH-levels) at start of targeted therapy and TT- and LH-evolution during targeted therapy. Results Sixty-three patients were included in this study. At start of targeted therapy, 30% of patients were eugonadal and 48% had secondary hypogonadism. Decreased TT- and increased LH-levels were associated with inflammatory state and poor prognosis. During sunitinib therapy, TT-levels decreased with 32% (p = 0.004) and LH-levels with 14% (p = 0.03). TT-levels were 13% lower (p = 0.007) and LH-levels 15% lower (p = 0.004) on day 28 compared to day 1. In four patients, a dramatic TT decrease was observed shortly after starting sunitinib. In patients treated with pazopanib, no impact on TT- or LH-levels was observed. Conclusion Hypogonadism is a frequent finding in male mRCC-patients at start of targeted therapies. In contrast to pazopanib, during sunitinib therapy, TT- and LH-levels tend to decrease, leading to an increased incidence of secondary hypogonadism.
Acta clinica Belgica. 2018 May 18 [Epub ahead of print]
Julie Bastin, Emilie Werbrouck, Annelies Verbiest, Kevin Punie, Oliver Bechter, Sherida Feng Woei-A-Jin, Pascal Wolter, Hans Wildiers, Evelyne Lerut, Herlinde Dumez, Brigitte Decallonne, Paul Clement, Dirk Vanderschueren, Maarten Albersen, Raymond Oyen, Patrick Schöffski, Benoit Beuselinck
a Department of General Medical Oncology , University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven Cancer Institute, KULeuven , Leuven , Belgium., b Department of General Medical Oncology , St. Nikolaus-Hospital Eupen , Eupen , Belgium., c Department of Pathology , University Hospitals Leuven, KULeuven , Leuven , Belgium., d Department of Endocrinology , University Hospitals Leuven, KULeuven , Leuven , Belgium., e Department of Urology , University Hospitals Leuven, KULeuven , Leuven , Belgium., f Department of Radiology , University Hospitals Leuven, KULeuven , Leuven , Belgium.