Combination of gemcitabine and doxorubicin in rapidly progressive metastatic renal cell carcinoma and/or sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) can be rapidly progressive when tumors exhibit sarcomatoid or Fuhrman grade 4 features. Efficacy of gemcitabine (Gem) with doxorubicin (Dox) in sarcomatoid or rapidly progressive mRCC has been reported. We retrospectively evaluated Gem + Dox in a consecutive cohort of this particular patient population.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or more and rapidly progressive mRCC or mRCC with sarcomatoid features. Gem (1,500 mg/m(2)) and Dox (50 mg/m(2)) were given every 2 weeks with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine patients were treated. Sarcomatoid features were predominant in 6 patients, while 14 tumors were Fuhrman grade 4. All patients had progressive mRCC within 4 months. No grade 4 toxicity or drug-related death was reported. One partial response (7 months), 1 mixed response, and 14 stable diseases (≥4 months for 9 patients) were observed and no response was seen in sarcomatoid tumors. The median disease-free survival was 3.7 months (≥6 months for 8 patients) and the median overall survival was 4.8 months (>12 months for 5 patients).

CONCLUSION

This study showed a lower response rate than previously reported. Nevertheless, some patients had prolonged survival outcomes. This combination could be an option in sarcomatoid histology (NCCN guidelines) or rapidly progressive disease, but this population represents an unmet medical need.