Abstract
Objective:
Sunitinib is seldom initiated and managed by urologists, and patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma are often referred to geographically distant centres. We present the outcomes of patients on sunitinib therapy in a single-centre urological department. To the best of our knowledge, we provide one of the only urology-led services for these patients in the United Kingdom.
Method:
Between August 2009 and January 2013, an unselected group of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving sunitinib therapy were analysed. Twenty-eight patients (20 males, eight females) with an average age of 64.8 years were included in our study.
Results:
Patients were seen on average 10.8 days following MDT and were given fortnightly appointments to monitor progress. There were 176 cycles of sunitinib delivered. A total of 39.3% patients required at least one dose reduction. The commonest adverse events were diarrhoea (71%), mucositis (46%) and hand-foot syndrome (36%). Partial response and stable disease were observed in 27.1% and 45.8% of patients, respectively. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 8.6 months and 15.2 months, respectively. Compared to the literature, there were lower rates of haematological adverse events in our study; however, PFS and OS, response rates and dose reductions were comparable.
Conclusions:
This study highlights that such patients can be safely and effectively managed in a local hospital setting with a dedicated urological team, allowing for better continuity of care.
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