Sunitinib in metastatic renal cell carcimoma: A single-center experience

Demographic Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma With Clear Cell Histology: A Single-Center Experience From India

Background Treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC) has revolutionized with the introduction of anti-VEGF tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). There is limited data in the literature on the outcomes of Indian patients treated with TKI. Here, we report the outcome of mRCC treated with first-line TKI in a resource-poor setting. Material and methods This is a single-center retrospective study of clear cell mRCC treated with first-line TKI from June 2012 to December 2022. Demographic characteristics and treatment details, including outcome data, were captured from electronic medical records. Patients who received at least one week of therapy were eligible for survival analysis. Results A total of 345 patients with metastatic clear cell histology were analyzed, with a median age of 61 years (range: 20-84 years). One hundred and eighty patients (52%) underwent nephrectomy before systemic therapy. The majority received pazopanib (257 patients, 75%), followed by sunitinib (36 patients, 10%) and cabozantinib (21 patients, 6%); 145 (45%) patients required dose interruption, and 143 (43%) required dose modification of TKI for adverse events. After a median follow-up of 44 months, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 20.3 months (95% CI: 17.8-24.8), and the median overall survival (OS) was 22.7 months (95% CI: 18.8-28.3). In the poor-risk International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) group, no prior nephrectomy emerged as an independent poor-risk factor for both PFS and OS in multivariate analysis. Conclusion This is the largest single-center cohort of clear cell mRCC from Asia. Median PFS was 20.3 months with predominantly TKI monotherapy. In the poor-risk IMDC group, no prior nephrectomy emerged as an independent poor-risk factor for both PFS and OS.

Cost-Effectiveness of the First Line Treatment Options For Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma in India

PURPOSE

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as sunitinib and pazopanib are the mainstay of treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) in India. However, pembrolizumab and nivolumab have shown significant improvement in the median progression-free survival and overall survival among patients with mRCC. In this study, we aimed to determine the cost-effectiveness of the first-line treatment options for the patients with mRCC in India.

METHODS

A Markov state-transition model was used to measure the lifetime costs and health outcomes associated with sunitinib, pazopanib, pembrolizumab/lenvatinib, and nivolumab/ipilimumab among patients with first-line mRCC. Incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained with a given treatment option was compared against the next best alternative and assessed for cost-effectiveness using a willingness to pay threshold of one-time per capita gross-domestic product of India. The parameter uncertainty was analyzed using the probabilistic sensitivity analysis.

RESULTS

We estimated the total lifetime cost per patient of ₹ 0.27 million ($3,706 US dollars [USD]), ₹ 0.35 million ($4,716 USD), ₹ 9.7 million ($131,858 USD), and ₹ 6.7 million ($90,481 USD) for the sunitinib, pazopanib, pembrolizumab/lenvatinib, and nivolumab/ipilimumab arms, respectively. Similarly, the mean QALYs lived per patient were 1.91, 1.86, 2.75, and 1.97, respectively. Sunitinib incurs an average cost of ₹ 143,269 ($1,939 USD) per QALY lived. Therefore, sunitinib at current reimbursement rates (₹ 10,000 per cycle) has a 94.6% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness to pay threshold of 1-time per capita gross-domestic product (₹ 168,300) in the Indian context.

CONCLUSION

Our findings support the current inclusion of sunitinib under India's publicly financed health insurance scheme.

Feasibility of therapeutic drug monitoring of sunitinib and its implications on response and toxicity in patients with metastatic renal cell cancer

PURPOSE

Sunitinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). High variability in pharmacokinetics coupled with a proven exposure-effect relationship makes sunitinib an ideal candidate for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). The feasibility of TDM of sunitinib in patients with mRCC was evaluated in this prospective observational study in a real-world scenario.

METHODS

Seventy patients with mRCC treated with sunitinib at a fixed dose of 50 mg per day were enrolled in the study. Total trough plasma level (TTL) of sunitinib (sunitinib and its active metabolite, SU12662), was measured between days 14/15 of cycle 1. The discriminatory potential of TTL of sunitinib for the prediction of responders and occurrence of grade ≥ 3 toxicity was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

RESULTS

The median TTL of sunitinib was 76 ng/mL. Forty six out of 70 patients were evaluable for response, whereas 60 out of 70 patients were evaluable for toxicity. Threshold concentrations obtained from ROC analysis showed that TTL of 60.75 ng/mL and 82.3 ng/mL was discriminatory for response and occurrence of grade ≥ 3 toxicity respectively. 31/34 (91.7%) patients having TTL ≥ 60.75 ng/mL responded to treatment, while only 5/12 (41.6%) responded when TTL was < 60.75 ng/mL (P = 0.001). On the other hand, the incidence of grade ≥ 3 toxicity was 9/24 (37.7%) in patients with TTL ≥ 82.3 ng/mL compared to 4/36 (11.1%) in patients with TTL < 82.3 ng/mL (P = 0.024).

CONCLUSION

The TTL range of 60.75-82.3 ng/mL was found to be optimal in terms of safety and efficacy. More than 50% of patients in our cohort attained TTL of sunitinib outside the optimal range, thus demonstrating the feasibility of TDM to improve safety and efficacy of sunitinib in mRCC.

Technical Intraoperative Maneuvers for the Management of Inferior Vena Cava Thrombus in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Introduction

Renal vein or inferior vena cava (IVC) invasion by neoplastic thrombus in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is not an obstacle for radical oncological treatment. The aim of this study is to present our technical maneuvers for complete removal of the intracaval thrombus without compromising hemodymanic stability of the patient.

Materials and methods

Between 2000 and 2014, 15 RCC patients with IVC involvement of levels I–III were treated with curative intent and were prospectively studied. The operative technique varied according to thrombus extent. For type I, extraction of the thrombus is facilitated by a 2–3 cm longitudinal incision on the IVC that begins at the level of the renal vein and extends cranially, encompassing a vessel wall rim of the orifice of the resected renal vein. For type II cases, the IVC is clamped above the neoplastic thrombus, and for type III, the IVC clamping is combined with hepatic blood flow control with “Pringle maneuver.” For type IV, the IVC is clamped above the diaphragm, or if the thrombus extends into the right atrium cardiothoracic input is appropriate.

Results

The main operative steps include preparation and control of the renal vessels and the IVC. Occasionally, for type III tumor thrombi, the patient becomes hemodynamically unstable when IVC is clamped suprahepatically. In such a case, a novel operative maneuver of milking the thrombus below the orifice of the hepatic veins, and subsequently the IVC clamp also beneath the hepatic veins, allowing release of the “Pringle maneuver” is performed. This operative step restores hepatic blood flow and hemodynamic stability and is based on the floating nature of the thrombus into the IVC. Mean operative time was 120 min (range from 90 to 180 min), and average liver and renal warm ischemia time was 20 min (range from 15 to 35 min). Postoperative overall hospital stay ranged from 7 to 13 days.

Conclusion

The technical solutions employed in the current study allow successful removal of neoplastic thrombi from the IVC in most cases, associated with minimal perioperative complication rate even for patients who due to multiple comorbidities would be considered otherwise inoperable.

Assessment of ethnic differences in sunitinib outcome between Caucasian and Asian patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

An increasing number of studies have reported ethnic differences in sunitinib outcome in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients. However, a comprehensive analysis is still lacking. Therefore, we systematically collected available published data and performed a meta-analysis to compare sunitinib efficacy and toxicity in Asian and Caucasian mRCC patients.

METHODS

Data were extracted from published results from clinical trials, expanded access program and real-world clinical practice. Progression-free survival (or time to tumor progression), overall survival, objective response rate and adverse events were used as endpoints to evaluate the differences of sunitinib outcome between the two ethnicities. For adverse events, we focused the following clinically relevant side effects: diarrhea, fatigue, mucositis/stomatitis, hand-foot syndrome, hypertension, leukopenia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia.

RESULTS

A total of 33 publications including 9977 patients were available for meta-analysis. The efficacy of sunitinib in Asian patients was similar to that in Caucasian patients. However, Asian patients showed a higher incidence of all grades toxicity of hand-foot syndrome, > grade 2 fatigue, > grade 2 hand-foot syndrome and > grade 2 thrombocytopenia.

CONCLUSION

Ethnic differences in adverse events of sunitinib in mRCC patients existed and dose adjustment in Asian patients may be considered.

Highly Expressed Antisense Noncoding RNA in the INK4 Locus Promotes Growth and Invasion of Renal Clear Carcinoma Cells via the β-Catenin Pathway

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) antisense noncoding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) is involved in several human cancers. However, the role of ANRIL in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unclear. This study aimed to explore whether, and how, ANRIL affects the progression of RCC. First, the expression of ANRIL in clinical tumor tissues and four kinds of RCC cell lines was evaluated. After transfection, cell viability, colony number, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were assessed. The expression of proteins related to apoptosis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the β-catenin signaling pathway was then assessed. In addition, the effect of IWR-endo (β-catenin inhibitor) on cell viability, migration, and invasion, as well as β-catenin expression, was also evaluated. The results showed that ANRIL was highly expressed in RCC tissues and RCC cell lines. ANRIL significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT but inhibited cell apoptosis. Additionally, the expression levels of β-catenin, Ki-67, glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β), phosphorylated GSK-3β, T-cell transcription factor 4 (TCF-4), and leukemia enhancer factor 1 (LEF-1) were all markedly upregulated by ANRIL. The effect of ARNIL silencing was opposite to that of ANRIL overexpression. The effect of ARNIL on proliferation, migration, and invasion of RCC cells was found to be reversed by IWR-endo. In conclusion, ANRIL, which is highly expressed in RCC, acted as a carcinogen in RCC cells through the activation of the β-catenin pathway.

Managing metastatic renal cell carcinoma-challenges, pitfalls, and outcomes in the real world

INTRODUCTION

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common cancer of the kidney accounting for 85% of renal tumors. Metastatic RCC (mRCC) had a poor prognosis and with the introduction of tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, such as sunitinib, pazopanib the outcomes improved. There is only one study reported from India on the use of sunitinib in mRCC. We present our analysis of mRCC and use of sunitinib at our institute over 5 years.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All patients with mRCC receiving sunitinib were analyzed with respect to patient characteristics, response, toxicity, and outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 108 patients were seen during the study period. The male to female ratio was 9.8:1. The median age of patients at presentation was 58 years (range: 15-80 years). Of the 108 patients, 68.51% had metastatic disease at initial presentation. The most common sites of metastases were lung followed by bone. Of the 97 patients eligible for sunitinib, only 76 received at least one cycle of sunitinib, out of which only 48 received further cycles (range: 2-36). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in our patients were 10.2 and 28.2 months, respectively. The most common adverse effect noticed in our population was mucositis followed by hand-foot syndrome.

CONCLUSION

Sunitinib is an option for the treatment of mRCC and shows a good PFS in Indian patients. Median OS and PFS in this study are similar to other reported studies despite the presence of poor risk factors in the patient population. The pitfall in this study is significant attrition due to poor compliance to treatment and follow-up, which is a major factor in the clinic thereby compromising outcomes.

Patterns of Care and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma-Results From a Tertiary Cancer Center in India

INTRODUCTION

The current treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) revolves around targeted agents, which have resulted in a median overall survival of 22 to 26 months in registration trials. However, the outcomes in a non-trial, real-world Indian population have not yet been evaluated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was a part of a prospective Clinical Trials Registry-India-registered study, the Kidney Cancer Registry, a prospectively maintained kidney cancer registry. The data of patients with a diagnosis of mRCC from February 2007 to August 2015 who were potential candidates for systemic therapy were extracted from the database and analyzed for treatment patterns and outcomes.

RESULTS

The data from 212 patients were eligible for analysis. Of these 212 patients, 204 (96.2%) received first-line systemic treatment with sunitinib (40.6%), sorafenib (37.7%), pazopanib (2.8%), temsirolimus (2.8%), or everolimus (1.9%). The risk status of 91% of the patients could be stratified using the Heng criteria into favorable (18.9%), intermediate (43.9%), and poor risk (28.3%) categories. The response rate, clinical benefit rate, median progression-free survival, and median overall survival with first-line targeted therapy were 22.5%, 60.7%, 7.09 months, and 12.87 months, respectively. The common adverse events seen included skin rash (31.7%), hypertension (29.4%), grade 3 hand-foot syndrome (27.4%), mucositis (26.4%), dyslipidemia (20%), and hyperglycemia (17.6%). Patients receiving second-line therapy (22.6%) had superior overall survival to patients who had not (16.46 vs. 10.67 months; P = .032).

CONCLUSION

The present registry-based study is the first, to the best of our knowledge, of its type from India and showed that the overall outcomes in this real-world cohort appear comparable to non-trial data worldwide. An increased incidence of metabolic adverse events that require monitoring during treatment was also found.

Toxicity and early outcomes of regorafenib in multiply pre-treated metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma-experience from a tertiary cancer centre in India

BACKGROUND

Regorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor (MKI) approved for use in multiply pre-treated metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRC). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of regorafenib from India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Records of 23 cases treated with regorafenib at our centre between June 2013 till September 2015 were reviewed. All had received at least two non cross resistant lines of therapy prior to regorafenib. Toxicity was recorded using CTCAE version 4.03. Responses were assessed using RECIST 1.1 criteria. Response evaluation was done every three months or earlier if clinically indicated. Five patients were still on therapy at the time of this report.

RESULTS

The median age was 50 years. Thirty-nine percent (9/23) had upfront metastatic disease. Twenty-six percent (6/23) and 39% (9/23) patients had received prior treatment with cetuximab and bevacizumab respectively. Mean duration of regorafenib treatment was 3.8 months. At least one grade III/IV toxicity was noted in 65% (15/23) cases. The most common were handfoot syndrome (HFS) and fatigue seen in 86.9% (20/23) patients. Grade II and III HFS was seen in 65% patients. One patient required stoppage of treatment due to grade III hepatotoxicity. Dose reduction was required for 86.9% (20/23) patients. Best response noted was stable disease in 34.8% (8/23), partial response in 8.7% (2/23) patients and progression in 56.5% (13/23). Median progression free survival was 3 months and median follow-up was 4.5 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Regorafenib, although an effective treatment strategy in multiply pre-treated mCRC, is associated with significant side effects.

Efficacy and toxicity of sunitinib in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients in Egypt

BACKGROUND

To evaluate our results in terms of response, survival and toxicity profile of sunitinib among Egyptian patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between January 2010 and December 2013, 44 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who received sunitinib at an oncology center of Cairo university hospitals were enrolled in this retrospective analysis.

RESULTS

The median age of the patients was 53 years, 22 (50%) having localized disease at presentation ,while the remaining half of the patients presented with metastasis. At a median follow up of 19 months, 9 (21%) patients achieved partial remission, while disease was reported stable in 20 cases (45%) and progressive in 7 (16%), 4 (9%) being lost to follow up, and 4 (9%) had discontinued therapy due to toxicity. The median overall survival was 23 months (95%CI 15.2 - 30.9), while progression free survival was 12 months (95%CI 11.6 - 12.3). The most commonly reported non hematological grade 3 adverse events included mucositis (15.9%), hand-foot syndrome (13.6%), and fatigue (9%), while the predominant grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities were neutropenia (6.8%), followed by anemia in 4.5% of patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our efficacy data were comparable to the published literature in terms of progression free survival and overall survival , while toxicity profile is different from Asian and western countries. However, sunitinib adverse events were manageable and tolerable in most of our Egyptian patients.