Prognostic analysis of Chinese patients with metastasis renal cell cancer receiving sorafenib: results from a multicenter long-term follow-up retrospective study

The effects of sorafenib for Chinese patients with metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC) were evaluated to figure out the relationship between clinical variables and prognosis. The data were analyzed retrospectively from six comprehensive cancer centers in Northeast China. All cases were diagnosed as mRCC histopathologically without exception. Patients were taken 400 mg sorafenib orally twice daily until progression of disease or intolerable toxic reaction occurred. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and the influence of clinical variables on survival were appointed as main outcome measures. Clinical data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. A total of 131 patients were available for survival analysis. The median follow-up periods were 16.9 months, and the median OS and PFS were 16.1 months and 10.5 months, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), metastatic sites, and previous therapy were significantly associated with OS, whereas PFS was merely associated with ECOG PS and previous therapy. The multivariate analysis suggested that ECOG PS, metastatic sites, and previous therapy were the independent prognostic factors for OS, and ECOG PS and previous therapy as the independent prognostic factors for PFS. In the subgroup analysis for patients with visceral metastasis, the prognosis of patients with lung metastasis alone was better than those cases with liver metastasis alone or multiple organs metastasis. In our study, sorafenib shows a higher curative activity for patients with mRCC in Northeast China. ECOG PS, metastatic lesions, and previous therapy may be important parameters for OS and PFS prediction. Lung metastases alone may be a more sensitive indicator for sorafenib than other organ metastases.