Sunitinib therapy in metastatic papillary thyroid cancer

Tumori. 2013 Nov-Dec;99(6):285e-7e. doi: 10.1700/1390.15470.

Abstract

We present the case of a 51-year-old woman with a follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma. After surgery she experienced a relapse. Chemotherapy treatment led only to disease stabilization. In August 2009, we decided to start therapy with sunitinib 50 mg daily in an intermittent schedule (4 weeks on/2 weeks off). A CT scan after 3 months of treatment showed partial remission of disease according to the RECIST criteria. The patient continued sunitinib until January 2011, when CT evidenced progression in the mediastinal lymph nodes and pleura. Genetic analyses were carried out to determine if the clinical response in our patient was correlated with the presence of RET or BRAF mutations. No RET/PTC rearrangements or BRAF-V600E mutation, which are the two most common genetic alterations detected in papillary thyroid carcinoma, were found. It can be hypothesized that the activity of sunitinib in this patient was due to its antiangiogenic properties.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / administration & dosage
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / adverse effects
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
  • Carboplatin / administration & dosage
  • Carcinoma / blood
  • Carcinoma / drug therapy*
  • Carcinoma / pathology*
  • Carcinoma / surgery
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / blood
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / drug therapy*
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / pathology*
  • Carcinoma, Papillary / surgery
  • Cisplatin / administration & dosage
  • Disease Progression
  • Doxorubicin / administration & dosage
  • Drug Administration Schedule
  • Etoposide / administration & dosage
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Indoles / administration & dosage
  • Indoles / pharmacology
  • Indoles / therapeutic use*
  • Lung Neoplasms / blood
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Lymphatic Metastasis
  • Mediastinum
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / blood
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / drug therapy*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret / genetics
  • Pyrroles / administration & dosage
  • Pyrroles / pharmacology
  • Pyrroles / therapeutic use*
  • Sunitinib
  • Thyroglobulin / blood
  • Thyroid Cancer, Papillary
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / blood
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / surgery
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • Indoles
  • Pyrroles
  • Etoposide
  • Doxorubicin
  • Thyroglobulin
  • Carboplatin
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret
  • RET protein, human
  • BRAF protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf
  • Cisplatin
  • Sunitinib