Sunitinib-associated hypertension and neutropenia as efficacy biomarkers in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients

Background: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) prognostic models may be improved by incorporating treatment-induced toxicities. Methods: In sunitinib-treated mRCC patients ( N =770), baseline prognostic factors and treatment-induced toxicities (hypertension (systolic blood pressure ⩾140 mm Hg), neutropenia (grade ⩾2), thrombocytopenia (grade ⩾2), hand–foot syndrome (grade >0), and asthenia/fatigue (grade >0)) were analysed in multivariate analyses of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) end points. Results: On-treatment neutropenia and hypertension were associated with longer PFS ( P =0.0276 and P