Abstract
Tyrosine kinase receptors have been shown to play an important role in epithelial thyroid tumor growth and angiogenesis. Thyroid cancers commonly present oncogene mutations involved in MAPK kinase pathway like BRAF and RET; they are also frequently dependent on VEGF stimuli. Preliminary clinical experiences suggest a promising role of sunitinib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor) for the treatment of advanced thyroid cancers. This review deals with the available data on the effect of sunitinib in the treatment of metastatic, radioiodine refractory thyroid cancers. We also report our experience with the off-label use of sunitinib in such patients.
MeSH terms
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Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
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Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacokinetics
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Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
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Clinical Trials as Topic
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Humans
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Indoles / chemistry
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Indoles / pharmacokinetics
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Indoles / therapeutic use*
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Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
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Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / metabolism
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors / chemistry
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacokinetics
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
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Pyrroles / chemistry
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Pyrroles / pharmacokinetics
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Pyrroles / therapeutic use*
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Sunitinib
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Thyroid Neoplasms / drug therapy*
Substances
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Antineoplastic Agents
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Indoles
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors
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Pyrroles
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Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases
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Sunitinib