Everolimus in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: preliminary experience from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Everolimus has been approved for second-line treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) after failure of sorafenib or sunitinib. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess the efficacy and safety of everolimus in Taiwanese patients with mRCC.

METHODS: Between March 2009 and August 2011, 24 mRCC patients treated with everolimus were analyzed. Prior to everolimus, each patient had received therapy with at least one vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS: Fifteen patients (62.5%) achieved stable disease. The median PFS was 7.1 months (95% confidence interval, 3.6-10.5 months). The median OS was 20.7 months (95% confidence interval, 5.0-36.4 months). The most frequent non-hematologic adverse events with everolimus were mucositis, rash, epistaxis and pneumonitis.

CONCLUSIONS: Everolimus is an effective second-line treatment for Taiwanese patients with mRCC. The toxicity is tolerable and manageable.