Criteria for Responses of Renal Cancer Metastases to Targeted and Immunotherapy

Objective: to compare the criteria for tumor response to targeted therapy and immunotherapy for metastatic
kidney cancer.

Subjects and methods. The paper presents the results of diagnosis and treatment in 20 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Of these, 10 patients took interferon-α as immunotherapy, 10 patients received sorafenib as targeted therapy. The response of targeted foci was assessed using computed tomography according to the RECIST 1.1, Choi, mChoi, and SACT criteria. Control CTs were performed every 3 months until the disease progressed. The progression-free time was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results. The investigation revealed the coincidence according to the RECIST 1.1, Choi, mChoi and SACT criteria in terms of progression in all assessed cases; that according to the partial response criterion in 50% of cases, and that according to the stability criterion in 8.7%. Other cases displayed a discrepancy in the interpretation of the results. The progression-free time for patients receiving immunotherapy according to the RECIST 1.1 criteria, the Choi and mChoi criteria, and the SACT criteria was 6.3 ± 0.7, 4.3 ± 0.6, and 4.5 ± 0.7 months, respectively. The progression-free time for patients receiving targeted therapy according to the above criteria was 10.3 ± 1.2, 6.4 ± 1.2, and 6.7 ± 1.3 months.

Conclusion. Tumor response to therapy is critical in evaluating the efficiency of anticancer treatment. Targeted and immunological drugs cause not only a tumor size change, but also necrosis and cystic degeneration. The criteria based not only on changes in size, but also on those in the density of tumor foci have a shorter progression-free time and make it possible to identify patients with disease progression at an earlier date.

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