ASSET: Alternative schedule sunitinib in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC)—Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

Abstract

300 Background: Sunitinib (SUN) is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved for treatment of advanced RCC and high risk RCC after nephrectomy. Evidence suggests that a 2 week (wk) on, 1 wk off schedule (2/1) of SUN administration may be more tolerable than the standard 4 wk on, 2 wk off schedule (4/2). We investigated changes in cardiopulmonary function and related parameters over time in RCC patients treated with both schedules of SUN. Methods: Patients starting SUN for RCC, with KPS ≥80 and normal organ and marrow function, were enrolled and randomized 1:1 to schedule 4/2 or 2/1. Subjects were required to be able to walk and jog on a treadmill and to complete an acceptable CPET at baseline (BL). Primary endpoint was change in peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) on both schedules at 12 wk from BL. Key secondary endpoints were change from BL to 12 wk in: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), upper and lower body strength (1-RM), functional measures (chair stand, timed up-and-go [TUG], 6-minute walk test [6MWT], quality of life (QOL; FACT-Fatigue, FKSI-19), anxiety and depression (HADS) and exercise behavior (Godin Leisure Score). ANCOVA models controlling for baseline values were used to analyze the primary and secondary endpoints. Results: Between 11/20/2017 and 6/24/2019, 9 out of a planned 30 patients consented to participate at Duke. Two patients declined to participate and 7 patients were enrolled on study: 4 on Arm A and 3 on Arm B. All 7 patients completed the 12 wk study. Median age, BMI, and VO2peak were 65 yrs, 30.5 kg/m2, and 19.2 ml kg−1 min−1. We observed no difference in the primary endpoint of VO2peak between arms (p=0.84). We report BL to 12 wk change scores for all patients starting SUN (Table). In addition, mean change scores (SE) for QOL by FACIT-Fatigue and FKSI-19 were -2.88 (1.5) and 1.2 [9.8]; anxiety and depression by HADS 1.14 (1.3); and physical activity 1.14 (1.7). Conclusions: We observed non-significant declines in most measures of physical fitness and function during the first 12 wk of treatment with SUN. To our knowledge, this is the first reported study of these parameters in patients with RCC. Given that a VEGF TKI, alone and with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, remains a standard of care for metastatic ccRCC, studies should be undertaken to examine whether exercise training can prevent declines in physical fitness and function. Clinical trial information: NCT03109015 . [Table: see text]