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.

• Keywords
• MCV, mean corpuscular volume, sunitinib, toxicity,
• MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Erythrocyte Indices MeSH
• Indoles adverse effects   MeSH
• Carcinoma, Renal Cell * drug therapy   pathology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Kidney Neoplasms * drug therapy   pathology   MeSH
• Antineoplastic Agents * adverse effects   MeSH
• Pyrroles adverse effects   MeSH
• Retrospective Studies MeSH
• Sunitinib pharmacology   therapeutic use   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Indoles MeSH
• Antineoplastic Agents * MeSH
• Pyrroles MeSH
• Sunitinib MeSH