Purpose: To assess the activity, safety and treatment patterns of sunitinib in patients with poor-risk metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).
Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of poor risk patients treated with sunitinib from October 2006 to July 2013 who met the eligibility criteria. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Tumor radiological response was measured according to RECIST 1.1 and adverse events (AEs) were assessed through standard criteria.
Results: Median OS was 8.16 months (95% CI, 5.73-10.59). Of the 53 patients included in this analysis, 9 (17.0%) achieved partial response, 12 (22.6%) had stable disease. Median treatment duration was 3.30 months (95% CI: 1.96-4.63) and 26.4% of patients discontinued treatment due to toxicity. Grade 3 or higher AEs occurred in 39.6% of patients, the most common being fatigue (15.1%), neutropenia (9.5%), nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (7.5% each).
Discussion: Sunitinib may benefit some unselected poor-risk patients, although the rates of AEs and drug discontinuation suggest a need for careful patient monitoring.