Management of side effects associated with sunitinib therapy for patients with renal cell carcinoma

Advances in the understanding of the biology of renal cell carcinoma have led to recent approval of several new agents including drugs that target vascular endothelial growth factor. Sunitinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor which interferes with multiple intracellular tumorogenic pathways, and has demonstrated impressive antitumor activity in phase II and subsequently improvement in progression free survival in phase III renal cancer trials. We review the unique side effects of sunitinib therapy with emphasis on establishing effective patient education for anticipation and early management of therapy-related side effects.