Severe clinical toxicities are correlated with survival in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma treated with sunitinib and sorafenib.


In advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), sunitinib and sorafenib tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) are associated with several clinical side effects, with no definitive established data concerning their clinical impact.

Methods:

From June 2006 to June 2008, main clinical TKI-induced toxicities, including digestive, cardiac, dermatologic and asthenia were retrospectively collected using the NCI-CTC version 3.0 in patients treated with TKI for an RCC.

Results:

The median overall survival was significantly improved in patients with grade 3–4 clinical toxicities (36 vs 12 months, P=0.009). In multivariate analysis, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center risk groups (good vs intermediate or poor) and clinical toxicities (grade 3–4 vs 1–2) were identified as independent prognostic factors of better survival (P=0.002 and P=0.02, respectively). The Charlson comorbidity index score (>7 vs <7) was identified as independent predictive factor of severe clinical TKI-induced toxicities (P=0.02).

Conclusion:

In this unselected patients of RCC, clinical TKI-related severe toxicities were more frequent in patients with comorbidities and were associated with better survival.source:BJC