Compared with a placebo, treatment with the oral, targeted drug Votrient® (pazopanib) delays progression of advanced kidney cancer. The results of this Phase III clinical trial were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology .
The kidneys are filled with tiny tubules that clean and filter the blood; this process removes waste and makes urine. Renal cell cancer (RCC) is a malignancy involving these tubules of the kidney. It is the most common type of kidney cancer.
Votrient is an oral medication that targets certain biological pathways involved in cancer growth and spread.
The efficacy of Votrient in locally advanced or metastatic RCC was evaluated in a Phase III clinical trial. The study enrolled 233 previously untreated patients and 202 patients who had previously been treated with either interferon or interleukin. Patients were assigned to receive either Votrient or a placebo.
- Treatment with Votrient delayed cancer progression. Progression-free survival was 9.2 months among patients treated with Votrient compared with 4.2 months among patients given a placebo.
- The benefit of Votrient was particularly apparent among previously untreated patients. In these patients progression-free survival was 11.1 months among patients treated with Votrient compared with 2.8 months among patients given a placebo. Among previously treated patients, progression-free survival was 7.4 months among patients treated with Votrient and 4.2 months among patients given a placebo.
- Patients will continue to be followed in order to asses Votrient’s effect on overall survival.
- The most common side effects of Votrient were diarrhea (52%), high blood pressure (40%), hair color changes (38%), nausea (26%), weight loss (22%), and vomiting (21%).
The results of this study suggest that compared with placebo, Votrient delays progression of advanced kidney cancer. Additional studies will compare Votrient to other targeted therapies for kidney cancer.
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