Researchers involved in a multicenter trial have reported that axitinib (AG-013736) has activity for the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer. The details of this study were presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in June.  

Thyroid cancer is treated by surgery and 131Iodine. Patients who fail these therapies respond poor to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Thus, new treatments are needed for patients who fail conventional therapy. Axitinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor which also inhibits VEGF receptors 1, 2, and 3. This agent has shown activity in several cancers including: breast, lung and possibly pancreatic. In the current study, 60 patients with advanced thyroid cancer were treated with axitinib. These patients were deemed refractory to or unsuitable for treatment with 131Iodine. Approximately half the patients had papillary histology. Eighty eight percent had prior surgery, 70% had received prior 131Iodine, 45% had received prior radiotherapy and 15% prior chemotherapy. A partial response was observed in 22% of patients with a response duration of 1-16 months. An additional 50% of patients had stable disease lasting 4-13 months. Progression-free survival has not been reached with a median of 9 months follow-up. Side-effects included stomatitis/mucositis, diarrhea, hypertension and nausea. These authors also reported that soluble VEGFR2 and VEGFR3 decreased with increased VEGF in the blood. These authors conclude that “AG has substantial anti-tumor activity in advanced thyroid cancer.”  

Comments: These findings are very important as there are very few effective treatments available for refractory advanced thyroid cancer.

Reference:  A Phase II study of Axitinib (AG-013736[AG]) in patients (pts) with advanced thyroid cancers. Proceeding from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Conference. Chicago, IL. 2007. Abstract # 6008.

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