Sunitinib is a broad-spectrum multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor mainly used as second-line therapy for non-resectable gastrointestinal stromal or first-line treatment option of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), and as an "off-label" option in pediatric oncology. It has been previously reported that sunitinib elevates the mean corpuscular volume of erythrocytes (MCV) in treated subjects. The aim of this study was to assess time-dependent changes of this effect and evaluate its possible clinical relevance. In this study, 179 adult and 21 pediatric patients with solid tumors treated with sunitinib were retrospectively analyzed. The laboratory and treatment-related data were collected for each treatment period. The regression model with a broken-line relationship was used to fit time dependence of the MCV. In the adult group, the MCV was increasing during the first 21.6 weeks (median) of treatment in a median level of 99.8 fL, where it stabilized. MCV increase was faster in the patients who suffered from treatment-related adverse events (21.3 vs. 24.6 weeks, p = 0.010). In the pediatric cohort, the MCV dynamics were similar to adults. In conclusion, MCV changes during sunitinib treatment in pediatric and adult patients may be of clinical utility in monitoring sunitinib treatment course.

Department of Biochemistry Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Comprehensive Cancer Care Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Žlutý kopec 7 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Comprehensive Cancer Care Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute Žlutý kopec 7 656 53 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Internal Cardiology Medicine Faculty of Medicine University Hospital Brno and Masaryk University Jihlavska 20 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Laboratory Medicine Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute Zluty kopec 7 656 53 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Laboratory Medicine University Hospital Brno Jihlavska 20 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Laboratory Methods Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Pediatric Oncology Faculty of Medicine University Hospital Brno and Masaryk University Cernopolni 9 613 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Pharmacology Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

The International Clinical Research Centre of St Anne's University Hospital in Brno Pekarska 53 656 91 Brno Czech Republic

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