Congress Abstracts 2005

78

SU11248: A NOVEL DRUG GIVING RENAL CANCER PATIENTS NEW HOPE. Suzanne Sweeney, RN, Patricia Fischer, RN, MSN, and Anne Valentini, RN, BSN, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

SU11248 is a new oral drug giving hope to renal cancer patients. It is classified as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, currently used in phase II trials to treat metastatic renal cell cancer (RCC). This drug works by blocking multiple tumor growth factor receptors, which interrupts signaling pathways to prevent tumor growth and cause tumor regression. Oncology nurses are crucial in the management and education of patients enrolled on trials and play an essential role whenever new drugs are introduced.

RCC is diagnosed in approximately 30,000 Americans annually. The 5-year survival rate for metastatic disease is around 10%. Cytokines are standard therapy for RCC but only 15% of patients respond to treatment. The purpose of this presentation is to inform oncology nurses of a new treatment option for metastatic RCC, and report our experience managing patients enrolled in clinical trials. Eligibility criteria, treatment schedule, toxicity profile, and ongoing evaluation/followup will be reviewed.

Patients who have failed prior cytokine therapy were eligible for this trial. Calendar/diaries were used to measure patient compliance with the protocol. Patients were taught to record the date and time of daily administration of the SU11248 capsule as well as document side effects. Some common side effects noted were fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea, a rash on the hands, mouth soreness, and yellow skin discoloration. If side effects were significant, the drug was held, reduced, or discontinued. A weekly multidisciplinary meeting was held to discuss findings to ensure patient safety.

SU11248 has shown anti-tumor activity as second-line therapy for patients with metastatic RCC. Overall, this medication is relatively well tolerated. extensive patient education, symptom management and close followup allowed patients to be treated safely.

By closely monitoring patients taking SU11248, oncology nurses are able to ensure the safe administration of this novel drug in clinical settings. This presentation will provide educational material, and discuss the toxicity profile and the nurse’s role in managing these patients. Future plans include a Phase III randomized trial comparing this agent with Interferon to determine its efficacy as a first-line therapy.