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Background/aim: Sunitinib is used for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Asian patients, including Japanese, tend not to tolerate long-term sunitinib therapy of 50 mg p.o. once daily for 4 weeks, followed by 2 week off treatment due to severe adverse events at this dosage level. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the optimal dose of sunitinib for long-term continuation in Asian patients with mRCC., Patients and Methods: The study cases were 50 patients with mRCC who were treated with sunitinib between June 2008 and December 2017. Risk analysis for "unacceptable" adverse events (depending on the physician, ranging from grade 2 to ≥ grade 3) leading to discontinuation of sunitinib was determined by time-dependent Cox proportional hazard regression analysis., Results: A total of 54 unacceptable adverse events leading to discontinuation occurred. Multivariable analysis indicated that a sunitinib dose of ≤ 37.5 mg/day significantly reduced the risk of discontinuation due to adverse events in comparison with 50 mg/day [hazard ratio (HR) 0.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03-0.21, p < 0.001). The progression-free survival (PFS) with a sunitinib dose ≤ 37.5 mg/day was longer than that associated with a dose of 50 mg/day, albeit not to a statistically significant degree (120 days for ≤ 37.5 mg/day vs 41 days for 50 mg/day, HR 0.39, 95% CI 0.10-1.44, p = 0.157)., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the optimal dose of sunitinib for Asian, including Japanese, patients with mRCC is ≤ 37.5 mg/day.

Background/aim: Cholinergic syndrome frequently occurs within the first 24 h after irinotecan injection. We evaluated the prophylactic effect of scopolamine butylbromide on irinotecan-related cholinergic syndrome., Patients and Methods: Fifty-nine patients who received irinotecan-based regimens at our outpatient chemotherapy clinic between April 2013 and May 2014 were enrolled. Patients who developed irinotecan-related cholinergic syndrome were prophylactically administered scopolamine butylbromide at the next scheduled treatment. Risk factors for irinotecan-related cholinergic syndrome were determined using logistic regression analysis., Results: Irinotecan-related cholinergic syndrome occurred in 50.8% of patients. Scopolamine butylbromide administration significantly reduced the incidence to 3.4% (P < 0.01). The irinotecan dose (≥ 150 mg/m 2 ) was the only risk factor associated with irinotecan-related cholinergic syndrome. The incidence of cholinergic syndrome in patients with this risk factor was 75%., Conclusion: Scopolamine butylbromide was effective in preventing irinotecan-related cholinergic syndrome. It is recommended for patients receiving ≥ 150 mg/m 2 irinotecan who may develop cholinergic syndrome at high frequency.

The treatment for patients with lung cancer undergoing hemodialysis, who are frequently elderly and have poor performance status, becomes a more important subject. However, the feasibility of afatinib in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis has not, so far, been reported. Here, afatinib was administered to three patients with NSCLC harboring EGFR mutation and chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis. Pharmacokinetic (PK) data of afatinib supported the safety of afatinib treatment. After receiving their written informed consent from all patients, they were administered 30 mg afatinib daily with HD three times a week. We performed PK analyses of afatinib on days 1, 2, 10, and 11 after initial administration of afatinib. All three patients exhibited a partial response without any serious adverse events during the administration of afatinib. These PK data were similar to those of patients with normal organ function, which were previously reported. Our findings may be particularly useful given the current opportunity to use afatinib as a first-line treatment for EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients, providing an additional option for patients with impaired renal function.

Purpose: Anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody is effective for KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), but frequently causes several adverse reactions, including hypomagnesemia and skin disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between the incidence of adverse reactions and therapeutic effects in mCRC patients receiving anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody in combination with first-line chemotherapy., Methods: Forty-three mCRC patients who received cetuximab or panitumumab between April 2012 and December 2015 were the subjects of the present study. All patients were pretreated with oral minocycline in combination with skin treatment using moisturizer for prevention of skin rash. Hypomagnesemia and acneiform rash were graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3.0. Overall response rate (ORR) and time to treatment failure (TTF) were compared between patients with and without these adverse events., Results: The incidence rates of hypomagnesemia and acneiform rash were 32.6 % (grade 1: 20.9 %, grade 2: 11.6 %) and 93.0 % (grade 1: 41.9 %, grade 2: 41.9 %, grade 3: 9.3 %), respectively. ORR was significantly higher in patients with hypomagnesemia than in those without it (71.4 vs 34.5 %, P = 0.048). Median TTF tended to be longer, though not significantly, in patients with hypomagnesemia than in those without it. However, no significant difference in both ORR and median TTF was observed between patients with and without acneiform rash., Conclusion: Hypomagnesemia may become a predicting factor for therapeutic effects of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody in mCRC patients.