[Successful sunitinib treatment of a patient with Stauffer's syndrome]

Magy Onkol. 2014 Sep;58(3):162-5. Epub 2014 Aug 12.
[Article in Hungarian]

Abstract

Several potential biomarkers of response to targeted therapies are being evaluated in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to improve drug development and to determine which patient may benefit the most from the different treatment options. Stauffer's syndrome is a paraneoplastic syndrome that presents with the elevation of hepatic enzymes without hepatic metastases in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Hereby we report the case of our patient who suffered from multiple peritoneal metastases of renal cell cancer accompanied by Stauffer's syndrome. During his course of disease, the change in the serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels correlated well with the extent of metastatic spread. Hypertension, grade 2 hand-foot syndrome and hypothyreosis also developed in relation to the successful sunitinib treatment. These side effects are predictive biomarkers in patients responding well to sunitinib. As other potential causes of increased GGT and ALP were excluded, the elevation of these enzymes were attributed to Stauffer's syndrome. During treatment, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) follow-up showed complete regression, while the serum GGT and ALP levels halved. In this case, besides the known biomarkers, changes in serum GGT and ALP levels correlated well with the regression of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first case published in the medical literature to show GGT and ALP levels in Stauffer's syndrome as potential biomarkers.

A szerzõk a hazai irodalomban elsõként ismertetik Stauffer-szindrómában szenvedõ beteg sikeres sunitinibkezelését. Stauffer-szindróma alatt azt a paraneopláziás jelenséget értjük, mely során vesedaganatos betegeknél emelkedett a szérum alkalikusfoszfatáz- és transzaminázértéke anélkül, hogy a májban metasztázist lehetne kimutatni. Esetünkben a többszörösen recidiváló hashártya-metasztázis miatt sunitinibkezelésben részesülõ betegnél a kezeléssel összefüggõ hypertonia, grade 2-es kéz-láb szindróma (hand-foot syndrome, HFS), hypothyreosis alakult ki. Mindhárom mellékhatás biomarkere a sunitinibkezelésre jól reagáló betegcsoportnak. A magas GGT- és ALP-szint hátterében egyéb kórképeket sikerült kizárni, a jelenséget Stauffer-szindrómának tartjuk. Esetünkben azt tapasztaltuk, hogy az ismert biomarkerek mellett a szérum-GGT-, -ALP-szint változása jól korrelált a metasztatikus vesesejtes carcinoma regressziójával.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Alkaline Phosphatase / blood
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / blood*
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / complications
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / drug therapy*
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / secondary
  • Humans
  • Indoles / therapeutic use*
  • Kidney Neoplasms / complications
  • Kidney Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Kidney Neoplasms / pathology
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Paraneoplastic Syndromes / blood
  • Paraneoplastic Syndromes / etiology*
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms / blood
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Pyrroles / therapeutic use*
  • Sunitinib
  • Treatment Outcome
  • gamma-Glutamyltransferase / blood

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Indoles
  • Pyrroles
  • gamma-Glutamyltransferase
  • gamma-glutamyltransferase, human
  • Alkaline Phosphatase
  • Sunitinib