Sorafenib in metastatic uveal melanoma: efficacy, toxicity and health-related quality of life in a multicentre phase II study

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to analyse efficacy, safety, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for sorafenib treatment in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. METHODS: A multicentre, single-arm phase II trial was conducted. The primary objective was to determine the non-progression rate (RECIST) at 24 weeks for patients receiving sorafenib at a dose of 800 mg per day. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), toxicity, and HRQoL. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were included. Ten patients showed non-progression at 24 weeks (31.2%) without objective tumour responses. The estimated 24-week PFS was 31.2% (95% CI: 14.8%–47.6%) and the estimated 24-week OS was 62.5% (95% CI: 45.4%–79.6%). Ten patients (34.3%) had at least one grade 3 or 4 adverse reaction and 12 patients (41.4%) required dose modifications due to toxicity. At 24 weeks, no patient had an improvement in global HRQoL and 87.5% experienced a permanent increase in physical fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Sorafenib demonstrated non-progression at 24 weeks in 31.2% of patients. However, 41.4% of patients required dose modifications due to toxicity and no improvement in HRQoL was demonstrated.