Treatment with sorafenib and sunitinib in renal cell cancer: a Swedish register-based study.

Sorafenib and sunitinib are used for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The objective was to study the treatment duration and time to death in Swedish RCC patients on sorafenib or sunitinib as first-line or monotherapy or as sequential therapy. Patients with an RCC diagnosis were identified in the Swedish Cancer Register. Information on treatment with sorafenib and sunitinib was collected from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, and time of death from the Cause of Death Register. Outcome measures were duration of treatment and time to death on sorafenib or sunitinib as first-line or monotherapy and sequential therapy (sorafenib-sunitinib versus sunitinib-sorafenib). Poisson regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95\ua0% confidence intervals (CI). No difference was observed for sorafenib (n\ua0=\ua0123 patients) versus sunitinib (n\ua0=\ua0261 patients) in treatment duration (HR 1.00; CI 0.80-1.24) or risk for death (HR 1.30; CI 0.91-1.85) when used as first-line or monotherapy. The same applied for sequential therapy with sorafenib-sunitinib (n\ua0=\ua043 patients) versus sunitinib-sorafenib (n\ua0=\ua054 patients), HR 1.47 (CI 0.71-3.02) and HR 2.01 (CI 0.86-4.68), respectively. There was a difference between the two treatments in how the duration of first-line treatment influenced the duration of second-line treatment and time to death, in favor of starting with sorafenib. In conclusion, no difference was detected between sorafenib and sunitinib in the duration of treatment or time to death when used as first-line or monotherapy. The impact of the duration of first-line treatment differed between the two sequences, and the results indicated that sorafenib as first-line treatment is a favorable choice

Testicular-cancer survivors experience compromised language following chemotherapy: Findings in a Swedish population-based study 3-26 years after treatment

Background. Studies suggest an increased risk for compromised cognitive function among cancer survivors. It is unclear to what extent chemotherapy is the cause and how the dysfunction, when present, affects everyday life. The objective was to study self-reported behaviours that may depend on cognitive function, among testicular-cancer survivors who received various cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy by comparing them with those who did not. Material and methods. We identified 1173 eligible men diagnosed with non-seminomatous testicular cancer treated according to the national cancer-care programs SWENOTECA I-IV between 1981 and 2004. During an 18-month qualitative phase we constructed a study-specific questionnaire including questions about specific activities and behaviour in everyday life. Results. We obtained information from 960 of 1173 (82%) testicular-cancer survivors diagnosed on average 11 years previously. The prevalence of "saying similar but incorrect words" at least once a week was 5% among those having received no chemotherapy versus 16% among those having received five or more cycles, giving a prevalence ratio ("relative risk", RR) of 3.3 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.5 to 7.1. The corresponding figure for "saying words in the wrong order" was 3.1 (1.7-5.8), for "difficulties understanding what other people mean" 3.1 (1.3-7.7), for "saying words other than planned" 2.2 (1.1-4.5) and for "difficulties completing sentences" 2.0 (1.0-3.6). The relative risks for those with a low level of education ranged between 4.9 (1.6-14.9) and 15.3 (1.9-120.5). Conclusion. Testicular-cancer survivors in Sweden who have received five or more cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy experience an increased incidence of long-term compromised language; the effect is primarily seen among men with a low level of education

High-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support in patients with metastatic non-seminomatous testicular cancer - a report from the Swedish Norwegian Testicular Cancer Group (SWENOTECA)

Background. The SWENOTECA IV protocol from 1995 is a prospective population-based study in metastatic non-seminomatous germ cell testicular cancer (NSGCT), designed for early identification of patients with poor response to standard cisplatin-based chemotherapy. A slow tumor marker decline (HCG T(1/2) > 3 days, AFP T(1/2) > 7 days) after BEP or BEP plus ifosfamide was regarded as poor response. The aim of this study was to present survival and toxicity data for patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) within the SWENOTECA IV cancer care program. Material and methods. In total 882 adult men diagnosed with metastatic NSGCT between July 1995 and June 2007 in Sweden and Norway (except one center) were included in SWENOTECA IV and treated accordingly. Among these, 55 men (6.2%) were treated with HDCT according to three different indications in the protocol: A) poor response to standard-dose intensified chemotherapy (BEP plus ifosfamide); B) vital cancer at surgery after intensified chemotherapy; and C) selected relapses after previous chemotherapy. In situation A and C two HDCT cycles and in situation B one HDCT cycle was recommended. Situation A was the reason for HDCT in 36 patients, B in seven and C in 12 patients. The first HDCT cycle consisted of carboplatin 28 x (GFR + 25) mg, cyclofosfamide 6000 mg/m(2) and etoposide 1750 mg/m(2), administered over four days. In cycle two, etoposide was replaced by tiotepa 480 mg/m(2). Results. After a median follow-up of 7.5 years, overall survival was 72%, 100% and 58%, while failure-free survival was 64%, 71% and 42% in situation A, B and C, respectively. Three patients (5.5%) died during HDCT (renal failure or intracerebral hemorrhage). Nephrotoxicity was the most common non-hematological grade 4 toxicity (n = 5, 9%). Conclusion. The population-based SWENOTECA strategy, selecting patients who do not respond adequately to primary standard-dose chemotherapy for immediate treatment intensification with HDCT, is feasible and might be advantageous