Herrmann E et al. - In a study to evaluate self-reported quality-of-life (QoL) during second-line therapy in 51 consecutive pts with cytokine-refractory kidney cancer treated with sorafenib or sunitinib, it seems that this regimen does not adversely affect pts' global QoL after 16 weeks of treatment. Evaluation of baseline QoL can help to further stratify pts into risk groups predicting overall response and progression free survival (PFS) Methods- QoL was assessed by the EORTC QoL questionnaire QLQ-C30 at baseline and at weeks 4, 6, 10, 12, and 16
Results- Global QoL deteriorated significantly during the first 4 weeks of treatment
- Pts experienced a reduction of their role, cognitive, and social function
- Fatigue, nausea/vomiting, and pain as well as dyspnoea, insomnia, appetite loss, and diarrhoea increased significantly
- After 16 weeks, fatigue, pain, appetite loss, and diarrhoea were still influenced by the therapy, while all functional scales recovered
- Global QoL at baseline was predictive of overall response and PFS
- A better physical function at baseline, a better ECOG performance status, and a low-risk profile according to MSKCC risk groups correlated with a longer PFS
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