This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
VEGF inhibitors not effective for locally advanced kidney cancer
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Although the VEGF inhibitors sorafenib and sunitinib are widely used and typically effective in the treatment of metastatic kidney cancer, use of the agents in the adjuvant setting did not improve outcomes for patients with locally advanced kidney cancer, according to study results presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.
An interim analysis of data from the phase 3 ASSURE trial indicated that these agents did not reduce disease recurrence; however, they did not worsen patient outcomes, either.
Naomi B. Haas
“Nobody is more disappointed than me, except possibly the patients who participated in this trial and patients with kidney cancer,” Naomi B. Haas, MD, associate professor of medicine at Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said during a press conference.
Observation is the standard approach in the adjuvant setting for patients with locally advanced kidney cancer at high risk for recurrence. Haas and colleagues indicated their trial is the largest to assess the efficacy of VEGF inhibitors in this setting.
The researchers enrolled 1,943 patients with locally advanced renal cell carcinoma who were at high risk for recurrence based on the size and grade of their tumors or other factors, such as the spread of cancer to the lymph nodes.
Researchers randomly assigned patients to 1 year of adjuvant therapy with sorafenib (Nexavar; Bayer, Onyx), sunitinib (Sutent, Pfizer) or placebo.
Researchers observed similar results in all three treatment arms, with approximately 40% of patients in each group experiencing recurrence. Median DFS was 5.6 years for patients assigned sorafenib, 5.6 years for patients assigned sunitinib and 5.7 years for patients assigned placebo.
Haas and colleagues are still analyzing patients enrolled on the study and hope to identify a subset who can still benefit from these drugs.
“The mechanism by which anti-angiogenic therapies work is very different than chemotherapy approaches and immunotherapy approaches,” Haas said. “As we analyze smaller subsets of patients on this trial, hopefully we will learn more about who might benefit from these types of approaches and who this kind of approach is detrimental toward.” – by Anthony SanFilippo
Reference:
Haas NB, et al. Abstract 403. Presented at: Genitourinary Cancers Symposium; Feb. 26-28, 2015; Orlando, Florida.
Disclosure: The researchers report research funding/honoraria from, consultant/advisory roles and employment relationships with, stock ownership in, speakers bureau roles with and other relationships with Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi and several other pharmaceutical companies.