Second-line everolimus is safe and effective for VEGF-refractory patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), a recent study published online ahead of print in the European Journal of Cancer has shown.

For the study, researchers sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of everolimus in patients with mRCC who failed one or two anti-VEGF therapies, such as pazopanib, sorafenib, sunitinib, and axitinib.

A team of researchers led by Laurence Albiges, MD, Medical Oncology Department at Gustave Roussy in France, pooled data from four prospective, non-interventional studies conducted in Austria, France, Germany, and Greece. In total, 632 patients with mRCC were included, and of those, 493 received second-line everolimus 10 mg/day until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Results showed that the median time to progression was 6.3 months (95% CI: 5.9, 6.8) for the overall population and 6.4 months (95% CI: 5.8, 6.9) for the second-line everolimus population.

Researchers also found that median progression-free survival was 5.5 months (95% CI: 5.0, 6.1) and 5.8 months (95% CI: 5.0, 6.4) for the overall population and second-line everolimus population, respectively.

In regard to safety, the most common adverse events associated with everolimus use were stomatitis, anemia, and asthenia.

The findings ultimately "support everolimus as a standard of care for VEGF-refractory patients with mRCC," the authors concluded.

Reference

1. Albiges L, Kube U, Eymard J-C, et al. Everolimus for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma refractory to anti-VEGF therapy: results of a pooled analysis of non-interventional studies. E J Cancer. 2015. [epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2015.07.030.

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