Pazopanib confers survival benefits in advanced soft tissue sarcoma

Treatment with pazopanib provides clinical benefit in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma in a Turkish cohort, with an acceptable safety profile, according to a study.

The investigators conducted this retrospective study to assess the clinical outcomes of Turkish patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma who received pazopanib. Included patients were aged ≥18 years, had histologically proven advanced soft tissue sarcoma, and received pazopanib at least 1 day.

Seventy-nine patients (median age, 49.6 years) were eligible for analysis. The average dose intensity of pazopanib was 767 mg (400–800), and the median duration of treatment was 6.11 months. Fourteen patients (17.7 percent) used pazopanib as first-line therapy for advanced soft tissue sarcomas.

Pazopanib was well tolerated. Disease progression (89.6 percent) was the most common cause of treatment cessation. Anaemia was the most frequent grade ≥3 side effect, while hyperbilirubinaemia and anaemia were common grade ≤2 side effects.

The median progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 3.97 and 11.40 months, respectively, during a median follow-up of 32.72 months. Longer PFS was associated with female gender, good performance status, and the presence of pazopanib-induced hypothyroidism. Longer OS correlated with good performance status and being a responder to first-line treatment.

“This is the first study that suggests pazopanib-induced hypothyroidism may act as a predictive marker for better outcomes in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma,” the investigators said.

“Soft tissue sarcomas are a heterogeneous and rare group of cancers with a short median OS despite the chemotherapy. Pazopanib has approval for the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma,” they noted.