Sutent recommended as UK 1st-line mRCC drug

Global drug leviathan Pfizer's Sutent (sunitinib) has received a recommendation as a first-line treatment-of-choice for metastatic renal  cell carcinoma in the first ever independent UK guidelines on the  systemic treatment of the disease published in the British Journal of  Hospital of Medicine.

Sunitinib is the only oral treatment to show overall survival greater  than two years in advanced kidney cancer patients, according to Pfizer.  Median overall survival for those who received sunitinib compared to  interferon-alpha was 26.4 months versus 21.8 months respectively  (p=0.051). However, an exploratory analysis of subjects who received  only one line of treatment showed that sunitinib almost doubled the time  to median overall survival compared to IFN-a, 28.1 months vs 14.1 months  (p=0.0033)

"It is important that UK RCC oncologists have a set of robust clinical  guidelines, regarding the use of breakthrough treatments such as  sunitinib, that reflect true clinical practice," said lead author John  Wagstaff. "These guidelines, along with recently-published NICE guidance  will ensure that kidney cancer patients across the UK will have access  to the most beneficial treatment available to them," he added.