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Georges Pompidou European Hospital,Paris, France.
J Urol 2009;181:2470–5.
Editor’s note: This article describes a retrospective analysis of 15 patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from France and the US with pancreatic metastasis treated with sunitinib in any setting (first-, second-, or third-line). The authors preface their report by stating that the pancreas is a rare site for metastatic disease, occurring in approximately 2% of patients with RCC (
World J Surg 2006;30:1536–42). Interestingly, the pancreas is the single site of metastatic disease in 60% of these cases, and pancreatic metastasis is usually associated with a relatively good prognosis (
Ann Surg Oncol 2003;10:922–6,
Ann Surg Oncol 2006;13:75–85). Previously, guidelines have been published recommending surgical treatment of isolated pancreatic metastasis, especially as treatment with interferon-
α has not been particularly efficacious. In light of the development of the novel targeted therapies, the authors of this report wished to investigate whether the multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib is effective in patients with pancreatic metastases.