Metastatic renal cancer: evolution of five complete response cases after the antiangiogenic discontinuation

Bull Cancer. 2011 Jun 9. doi: 10.1684/bdc.2011.1368. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Antiangiogenic therapies have led to substantial progress in the management of kidney cancer, highly vascular tumor, and chemoresistant. These molecules have improved the prognosis of metastatic renal cancer. However, only a few isolated cases of complete response have been described and the evolution of these patients after treatment discontinuation remains unclear. From a series of patients treated for kidney cancer with antiangiogenic in first line, the purpose of this study was to identify patients in complete response in whom treatment had been interrupted. Complete response was defined according to RECIST criteria and data were collected retrospectively at the Centre François Baclesse - Caen. Five patients were identified in complete response with a treatment discontinuation among sixty-seven patients. These five patients of good or intermediate prognosis received an initial nephrectomy followed by a first-line treatment by Sunitinib (ten cycles on average). After one year of stopping treatment, two patients are still in complete response and three patients relapsed at three, 12 and 15 months. The treatment of relapsing disease was surgical followed by monitoring or resumption of sunitinib resulting in new complete response for the all three patients. The interruption of antiangiogenic treatment seems acceptable after a complete response.