Pfizer: Sutent prolongs progression-free survival in kidney cancer

Pfizer has announced results from a phase III clinical trial showing that Sutent (sunitinib malate) lengthens progression-free survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer – across all patient risk groups.

This prolonging of progression-free survival in patients administered with Sutent as a first-line treatment compared to those receiving interferon-alpha was seen in patients even with the poorest prognoses.

On average, progression free survival in the interferon-alpha group was 5.1 months, compared to 11 months in the Sutent patient arm, while administration with the latter compound also saw a tumour size change of 46 per cent, compared to 12 per cent in those receiving interferon-alpha.

Sutent is an orally-administered multi-kinase inhibitor that operates through the inhibition of angiogenesis in order to disrupt the process by which tumours receive nutrients and oxygen via blood vessels.

Dr Robert Motzer, lead investigator of the trial, said: “Sutent research is helping to reshape the treatment landscape in advanced kidney cancer.”

He added that this positive clinical trial data seen across all renal cell carcinoma patient groups added further evidence showing the safety and efficacy of Sutent as a treatment for the disease.

Pfizer recently reported on the efficacy of Sutent as a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, a “complex” condition which currently has limited treatment options.