phase III sunitinib study for stage 3 kidney cancers - any experience?

keets10
keets10 Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Kidney Cancer #1
Has anybody had experience with the clinical trial for sunitinib and sorefaneb? What was your staging and what helped you decide to join or not join the study? The side effects from the drugs seem to be very severe and these are possibly very toxic to the body.

I was staged with pT3a tumor because my small kidney cancer tumor was not all that they found in my kidney. They found microscopic invasion in one place in the renal sinus fat. That upstaged my small <2cm tumor from pT1a to pT3a. They offered me to join the clinical trial of sunitinib and sorefaneb (sp?). I'm not sure if I should do it because of the side effects. They told me 70% chance (based upon my tumor size, stage, etc.) that I will be fine. I can't decide how to choose to join the study or not join the study.

Comments

  • buddharefuge280
    buddharefuge280 Member Posts: 2
    sunitinib and sorafenib study
    Hi there, Im a 44 year old woman and I've very recently joined the ASSURE clinical trial that you speak of. My tumor was a grade 4, stage 3. I have sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma and had a football-sized tumor removed, along with my kidney, in June 2010. I decided to join the clinical trial for sunitinib and sorafenib because my cancer is a very aggresive type and chance of recurrence is very high for me. After consulting with 3 oncologists that specialize in this type of cancer and having been told that there are no other conventional therapies, ie. chemotherapy or radiation, that will work for me currently, I decided that I wanted to be part of the trial and get a chance at receiving the drugs. Taking a "watchful wait" approach was not for me, so after much deliberation I decided that I need to take a chance to get the drugs that will choke off any developing tumors by stopping their ability to start new blood vessels. I too am worried about the side-effects that may occur, but to tell you the truth I am hoping to get a few mild ones so that I know Im not just getting the placebo. I am not sure what I would do if I had a 70% chance that I would be fine. My prognosis is poor, so that Im in a kind of mind set where trying something to stop recurrence is better than nothing. I wish you well. :)