This article appears in the following Annals of Oncology issue: Expanding the boundaries of clinical practice: building on experience with targeted therapies 12 September 2008, Stockholm, Sweden [View the issue table of contents]
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Tyrosine kinase inhibition in renal cell carcinoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumours: case reports
1 Department of General Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven Cancer Institute, Catholic University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
2 Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, Pepper Pike, OH, USA
3 Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
4 Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy, Hopital Saint-Andre, Bordeaux, France
Correspondence to: Professor Dr Patrick Schöffski, Department of General Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven Cancer Institute, Catholic University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Tel: +32-16-346900; Fax: +32-16-346901; E-mail: patrick.schoffski{at}uz.kuleuven.be
Background: Sunitinib malate is approved multinationally for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and advanced imatinib-refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST). Greater exposure to sunitinib is associated with improved efficacy. Therefore, minimising the impact of adverse events (AEs) on patient quality of life is important to enable patients to achieve optimal exposure to sunitinib and maximum clinical benefit.
Design: This report describes four patient cases in which sunitinib was utilised for the management of advanced malignancies: two cases describe mRCC patients who received first-line sunitinib and two cases describe the use of targeted therapies, including sunitinib, in patients with advanced GIST.
Results: In all four cases, effective AE management enabled patients to receive long-term therapy with sunitinib and achieve sustained clinical benefit. The two mRCC cases show prolonged responses and manageable AEs with sunitinib. The two GIST cases demonstrate that patients with imatinib-refractory GIST with KIT exon 9 mutations, including elderly patients, can achieve sustained responses to sunitinib.
Conclusions: These case studies support the long-term efficacy and safety of sunitinib in the management of mRCC and imatinib-refractory GIST and demonstrate how AE management can be used to optimise patient responses.
Key words: gastrointestinal stromal tumour, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, sunitinib malate, tyrosine kinase inhibitor
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  C. N. Sternberg Expanding the boundaries of clinical practice: building on experience with targeted therapies Ann. Onc., May 1, 2009; 20(suppl_1): i1 - i6. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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