Axitinib Induces and Aggravates Hypertension Regardless of Prior Treatment With Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors.

Axitinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling and is approved for second-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Although the occurrence of hypertension with axitinib use has been documented, it is unclear whether a first-line TKI regimen can significantly affect the development of hypertension when axitinib is used as second-line therapy. In this single-center retrospective study, advanced RCC patients treated with axitinib after first-line chemotherapy were divided into 2 groups according to the use of TKIs as part of first-line treatment before the initiation of axitinib. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients who were treated with (TKI(+); n=11) or without (TKI(-); n=11) a TKI. Although 63.6% of all patients had hypertension at baseline, axitinib-induced hypertension developed in 81.8% of patients, and 36.4% of patients experienced Grade 3 hypertension. After initiation of axitinib, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures and the hypertension grade were significantly elevated both in the TKI(+) and TKI(-) groups, and the number of antihypertensive drugs was significantly increased among all patients. This study suggests the need for proper monitoring and management of blood pressure in RCC patients treated with axitinib, regardless of a prior regimen with or without TKIs.