Utilization of Sunitinib for Renal Cell Cancer: an Egyptian University hospital experience

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) status as poor prognosis improved with the introduction of tyrosinekinase inhibitors, especially sunitinib. There is sparse data reporting from our region on use of sunitinib in metastatic RCC.

Thus the present study explores sunitinib usage at our institute.

An unselected population of patients with metastatic RCC receiving sunitinib was analyzed with respect to patient characteristics, response, toxicity, and outcomes.

Fortynine patients with a median age of 50.5 years (range 2171 years) were included. Most were male (61.2%). Twentyone (42.9%) had metastatic disease at presentation. Sunitinib was first line therapy in 45. Conventional clear cell carcinoma was the most common pathology present (39 patients; 79.59 %). The most common site of metastasis was the lung (75.5%). Most patients (30) were started at a dose of 50 mg once a day for 4 weeks and then 2 weeks rest. Clinical benefit rate was 73.5% (n= 36), and 22.5% (n=11) demonstrated progressive disease at first imaging evaluation within the first 36 months. The following objective response performed for patients was 48.9% (n=24) and progression at 24.5 % (n=12). The median followup was 16 months (range, 434 months), the overall estimated median PFS was 9 months and the estimated median OS was 15 months.

This study demonstrated sunitinib is tolerable and effective in advanced/metastatic RCC Egyptian patients and indicates we should further seek second and third lines to increase survival equivalence as reported in the worldwide literature.

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. 2016 [Epub]

Go “Beyond the Abstract” - Read an article commentary written by the authors

Ezz El Din M

Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Depatment, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt Email : .