Sunitinib in patients with pre-treated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: A real-world study

Abstract

Introduction: Besides data reported in a Phase-III trial, data on sunitinib in pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (panNETs) are scanty.

Aim: To evaluate sunitinib efficacy and tolerability in panNETs patients treated in a real-world setting.

Patients and methods: Retrospective analysis of progressive panNETs treated with sunitinib. Efficacy was assessed by evaluating progression-free survival, overall survival, and disease control (DC) rate (stable disease (SD) + partial response + complete response). Data are reported as median (25th-75th IQR).

Results: Eighty patients were included. Overall, 71.1% had NET G2, 26.3% had NET G1, and 2.6% had NET G3 neoplasms. A total of 53 patients (66.3%) had received three or more therapeutic regimens before sunitinib, with 24 patients (30%) having been treated with four previous treatments. Median PFS was 10 months. Similar risk of progression was observed between NET G1 and NET G2 tumors (median PFS 11 months and 8 months, respectively), and between patients who had received ≥ 3 vs ≤ 2 therapeutic approaches before sunitinib (median PFS 9 months and 10 months, respectively). DC rate was 71.3% and SD was the most frequent observed response, occurring in 43 pts (53.8%). Overall, 59 pts (73.8%) experienced AEs, which were grade 1-2 in 43 of them (72.9%), grade 3 in 15 pts (25.4%), and grade 4 in one patient (1.7%). Six pts (7.5%) stopped treatment due to toxicity.

Conclusions: The present real-world experience shows that sunitinib is a safe and effective treatment for panNETs, even in the clinical setting of heavily pre-treated, progressive diseases.

Keywords: Neuroendocrine tumors; Pancreas; Progressive disease; Sunitinib; Target therapy.