Long-term response of metastatic hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma syndrome associated renal cell carcinoma to bevacizumab plus erlotinib after temsirolimus and axitinib treatment failures

Abstract Background Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC) is a rare hereditary kidney cancer syndrome in which affected individuals are at risk of skin and uterine leiomyomatosis and kidney cancer. HLRCC-associated kidney cancer is a lethal disease with a highly aggressive behavior, and there is no standard treatment option for metastatic disease. Case presentation Here, we report a 29-year-old patient with a locally advanced HLRCC-assiciated RCC. He was administrated temsirolimus initially, then underwent surgical removal of kidney, retroperitoneal lymph nodes, inferior vena cava and tumor thrombi. Unfortunately, multiple liver metastases were confirmed 1 month after surgery, so axitinib was given but failed immediately. We tried bevacizumab plus erlotinib, which achieved long-term good response lasting more than 18 months. He is alive with disease and maintains bevacizumab plus erlotinib treatment. Conclusion The promising results obtained in this patient suggest that combined bevacizumab plus erlotinib may offer a valid treatment option for advanced HLRCC-associated kidney cancer, even after failures of mTOR inhibitor and/or VEGFR TKI based therapies.