Sunitinib is effective and tolerable in Chinese patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: a multicenter retrospective study in China

Ten years-experience of sunitinib in the treatment of advanced pan-NETs: an update on safety profile

INTRODUCTION

Sunitinib still represents a milestone in the treatment for progressive, well-differentiated, advanced panNETs.

AREAS COVERED

We performed an evidence reappraisal to critically discuss its safety profile. We included nine studies, five clinical trials and four real-world (RW) studies. Within non-real-world (NRW) studies, diarrhea was the most frequent clinical AE. With regard to G3-4 AEs, fatigue and hypertension were the two most frequent, while neutropenia was the most recurrent hematological one. Considering four real-world trials, hand-foot-syndrome (HFS) was the most frequent clinical any-grade AE of any grade and neutropenia was the most common G3-4. Alongside to the AEs rate, the discontinuation rate of sunitinib due to TRAEs was variable among all the nine selected studies, ranging from 10% to 35% in the NRW setting and from 7% to 31% in the RW setting. Conversely, temporary interruption is an accepted strategy to reduce toxicity, even though not specifically tested in pan-NET.

EXPERT OPINION

Till now, sunitinib continues to be one of the main therapeutic options for patients with well differentiated advanced panNETs, potentially covering any line of treatment. Therefore, tolerability plays a crucial role to increase adherence to therapy and maximize QoL.

Update in clinical management for gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinoma (GB-NEC) is rare and there are few reports at present. We sought to review the current knowledge of GB-NEC and provide recommendations for clinical management.

METHODS

A systemic literature research was conducted in the websites of Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data using the keywords including gallbladder combined with neuroendocrine carcinoma or neuroendocrine tumor or neuroendocrine neoplasm. Two reviewers independently screened the articles by reading the title, abstract and full-text.

RESULTS

In computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, a well-defined margin, gallbladder replacing type with larger hepatic and lymphatic metastases could be helpful for differential diagnosis of GB-NEC and gallbladder adenocarcinoma (GB-ADC). Older age, unmarried status, large tumor size (>5 cm), positive margins, and distant Surveillance, Epidemiology and End result (SEER) stage are independently associated with poor survival. Surgical resection remains as the preferred and primary treatment. The potential survival benefit of lymphadenectomy for patients remains controversial. Platinum-based postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy may improve the survival. The efficacy of other treatments including immunotherapy, targeted therapy and somatostatin analogue needs further investigation.

CONCLUSION

Typical imaging features could be helpful for preoperative diagnosis. Age, margin status, tumor size, marital status, histopathologic subtype and SEER stage may be independent predictors for the survival. Remarkable advances regarding the treatment for GB-NEC have been achieved in recent years. Further studies are needed to investigate the survival benefit of lymphadenectomy for patients with GB-NEC.

Does sunitinib have a patient-specific dose without diminishing its antitumor effect on advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms?

PURPOSE

Because it is unknown whether adjusting the dose of sunitinib can benefit patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (Pan-NENs), this retrospective study examined maximum tumor shrinkage rates and prognoses in patients with and without low doses of sunitinib administration.

METHODS

Eighty-seven patients with metastatic and unresectable neoplasms, treated with sunitinib for > 1 month, were divided into a low-dose (LD) or high-dose (HD) group. The tumor response rates were investigated over time using computed tomography according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors criteria.

RESULTS

The LD and HD groups included 42 and 45 patients, respectively. There were no differences in baseline characteristics (tumor size, Ki-67 index, mitosis, and differentiation) between the two groups. Progressive disease (PD), stable disease (SD), and partial response (PR) were observed in 16.7, 54.8, and 28.6% of patients in the LD group, respectively, and in 13.3, 60, and 26.7% of patients in the HD group, respectively. There were no differences in tumor shrinkage rates between the two groups (p = 0.87). The 3-year progression-free survival rates for the LD and HD groups were 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively (p = 0.67), and the 3-year overall survival rates were 57.9% and 70.5%, respectively (p = 0.76). The occurrence of adverse events was similar between the two groups (61.9% vs. 60.0%, p > 0.95).

CONCLUSIONS

Dose reduction of sunitinib did not alter tumor shrinkage rates or prognoses for patients with advanced Pan-NENs.

Sunitinib in patients with pre-treated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: A real-world study

INTRODUCTION

Besides data reported in a Phase-III trial, data on sunitinib in pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (panNETs) are scanty.

AIM

To evaluate sunitinib efficacy and tolerability in panNETs patients treated in a real-world setting.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Retrospective analysis of progressive panNETs treated with sunitinib. Efficacy was assessed by evaluating progression-free survival, overall survival, and disease control (DC) rate (stable disease (SD) + partial response + complete response). Data are reported as median (25th-75th IQR).

RESULTS

Eighty patients were included. Overall, 71.1% had NET G2, 26.3% had NET G1, and 2.6% had NET G3 neoplasms. A total of 53 patients (66.3%) had received three or more therapeutic regimens before sunitinib, with 24 patients (30%) having been treated with four previous treatments. Median PFS was 10 months. Similar risk of progression was observed between NET G1 and NET G2 tumors (median PFS 11 months and 8 months, respectively), and between patients who had received ≥ 3 vs ≤ 2 therapeutic approaches before sunitinib (median PFS 9 months and 10 months, respectively). DC rate was 71.3% and SD was the most frequent observed response, occurring in 43 pts (53.8%). Overall, 59 pts (73.8%) experienced AEs, which were grade 1-2 in 43 of them (72.9%), grade 3 in 15 pts (25.4%), and grade 4 in one patient (1.7%). Six pts (7.5%) stopped treatment due to toxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

The present real-world experience shows that sunitinib is a safe and effective treatment for panNETs, even in the clinical setting of heavily pre-treated, progressive diseases.

Propranolol enhanced the anti-tumor effect of sunitinib by inhibiting proliferation and inducing G0/G1/S phase arrest in malignant melanoma

Both sunitinib, a multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and propranolol, a non-selective β-blocker, have proven therapeutic effects on malignant melanoma (MM). This study reports a synergistic effect of propranolol and sunitinib upon A375, P8 MM cell lines and mice xenografts. Cell viability assays detected a significant decrease of sunitinib IC50 in combination with propranolol, which was confirmed by a colony formation assay. Western blot showed that propranolol and sunitinib combination significantly down-regulated phospho-Rb, phospho-ERK, Cyclin D1, and Cyclin E, but had no effect on Bax, Bcl-2, or cleaved PARP expression. The average tumor size of propranolol and low-dose sunitinib (Sun L) combination treated mice was reduced and similar to high-dose sunitinib treated A375 xenografts. The Ki67 index was significantly reduced in propranolol and Sun L combination treated group compared with single Sun L treated group. This synergistic effect between propranolol and sunitinib to inhibit MM proliferation was through suppressing ERK/Cyclin D1/Rb/Cyclin E pathways and inducing G0/G1/S phase arrest, rather than by inducing tumor cell apoptosis.

Dose and schedule modification are required for long-term continuation of sunitinib in Japanese patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

PURPOSE

This study aimed to clarify the efficacy and safety of sunitinib in Japanese patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET), especially by focusing on dose and schedule modification.

METHODS

Sixteen patients with advanced PNET treated with sunitinib were reviewed retrospectively. Efficacy was evaluated by progression-free survival (PFS) and objective tumor response. Toxicity profile was assessed regularly. Correlation between relative dose intensity (RDI) and treatment period was also evaluated.

RESULTS

The median PFS was 25.8 months, and the probability of PFS at 1-year was 92%. The objective response rate and clinical benefit rate were 44% and 69%, respectively. The common adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were hand-foot syndrome (88%), neutropenia (75%), leucopenia (75%), and diarrhea (63%). Due to the development of severe ADRs, 81% required dose reduction and 31% discontinued sunitinib treatment, respectively. Prolonged treatment period was significantly correlated with decreased RDI (Spearman r = - 0.57, P = 0.022). The median RDI among 9 patients whom continued sunitinib more than 1 year was 49%.

CONCLUSIONS

Sunitinib showed significant clinical benefit in Japanese patients with advanced PNET in the real-world clinical setting. Successful management of ADRs with appropriate dose reduction and interruption can enable long-term continuation of sunitinib.