key papersKey paper
DECISION: sorafenib in radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer
Sorafenib was the first drug shown to delay progression in iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, adding about five months compared with placebo and opening the era of kinase inhibitors for the disease.
Overview
Phase 3 placebo-controlled trial of 417 patients with progressive radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer randomised to sorafenib or placebo.
Median progression-free survival was 10.8 versus 5.8 months (hazard ratio 0.59) with response 12.2 versus 0.5 percent; hand-foot skin reaction, diarrhoea, alopecia and rash were common.
Randomised controlled trialChanged practice417 participants
Authors
Brose MS, Nutting CM, Jarzab B, et al.
Published
The Lancet, 2014
Findings
- Median progression-free survival 10.8 vs 5.8 months; hazard ratio 0.59.
- Objective response 12.2 percent vs 0.5 percent.
What it means
Sorafenib is an approved option for iodine-refractory thyroid cancer, now usually used after or instead of lenvatinib depending on tolerability.
Caveats
- No overall survival benefit; response rate low compared with lenvatinib.