No Role for Adjuvant Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in High-Risk Renal Cancer

Patients with renal cancers larger than 4 cm at time of nephrectomy have systemic failure recurrence rates that range from 20% to 50%. Randomized trials showed that older biologic agents such as alpha interferon have no impact on the natural history of the disease.

To assess the effect of newer agents targeted against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the adjuvant setting, investigators performed a phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, in which 1943 renal cancer patients received the oral anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitors sunitinib or sorafenib versus placebo for 54 weeks following nephrectomy. Patients had pathological-stage, high-grade T1b or greater disease with completely resected nonmeta…