Background: Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 is a reported mediator of molecular-targeted drug-induced keratinocyte toxicity.
Aim: Our purpose was to assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in STAT3 with hand-foot skin reactions (HFSR) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitors (mTKIs).
Patients and methods: Sixty-five Japanese patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma who were treated with any mTKI at Kobe University Hospital were retrospectively genotyped to elucidate a potential association between STAT3 polymorphisms and HFSR development.
Results: The final analysis included 60 patients. HFSR was observed in 46 patients. The GG, GC, and CC genotypes at rs4796793 were found in 9, 27, and 24 patients, respectively. Three other STAT3 polymorphisms exhibited tight linkage disequilibrium with rs4796793. A significant association was found between the rs4796793 allele and HFSR [G vs. C; odds ratio [OR], 4.33; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.80-10.45; P = 0.001]. The GG genotype had the highest OR compared with GC + CC genotypes (OR, 10.75; 95 % CI, 2.38-48.07; P = 0.001). In a time-to-event Kaplan-Meier analysis, a statistically significant difference was observed between the GC + CC and the GG genotypes (P = 0.009).
Conclusions: The rs4796793 genotype appears to be a novel factor for mTKI-induced HFSR in patients with mRCC. Prospective translational trials with larger numbers of patients are required to confirm our results. This research suggests a potential benefit of STAT3 polymorphism screening in patients treated with mTKIs.