Sutent Dosage And Side Effects

Hi-

My dad is currently on his first round of sutent, and is having a difficult time. It seems that his side effects are pretty much the opposite of what most experience. His blood pressure is high when he first wakes up, but then drops drastically. He gets very dizzy, and falls if he tries to stand up, and becomes disoriented. (orthostatic hypotension). He was having problems with low blood pressure for about a year before he was diagnosed. He's extremely tired as well, and is having problmes with constipation, not diarrhea - atypical side effects, according to his doctor.

I was wondering about the different dosages and their effectiveness. He's currently on the 50mg, 28 days on, 14 days off cycle. I've read about many people switching to the 37.5mg dose. He doesn't want to do that, since he wants to fight it as best he can. (He had a very large tumor removed a couple of months ago, and has multiple lung nodules)

Are there results of any studies that compare the effectiveness of the 37.5 daily dose to the 50mg 4weeks on, 2 weeks off dose? Should he stick it out for a few more cycles and see if the se's get any better?

I saw a reference to the "experts" at the Las Vegas conference comparing the 37.5 dose to the 50mg. Is there a peer reviewed journal article reporting these findings? My dad's doctors definitely feel that better results are obtained by the 50mg dose.

Thanks!

Hi Cayenne

 Don;t know if this helps but I hope so. As it is his first round I would continue for another round or two as is. I know myself and others will agree that the side effects will change from round to round. I have been on Sutent for 1 1/2 yrs or so and the only side effect that seems to repeat itself is a rash on my face and arms. Others are there on month but not the next but will  then reappear after two cycles along with something else.

So like I said being only one cycle into the treatmeant I would keep him on the 50 mg unless of course something comes u that is unbearable. IAlso after my fifth cycle my onc put me on 3 weeks on and one week off and I had no lessening of the effects of the Sutent. Still holding everything stable. Hope this helps good luck and God bless.

                                                 Paul fro Holbrook MA

My 60 year old husband is on his 5th cycle of Sutent.  He had a kidney removed in 1990 and was clean until last year when lung nodules appeared.  At first they were not growing but once they showed activity, one was biopsied and conformed to be metastatic renal cell carcinoma. He went on Sutent, 50 mg. and he had such severe flu like symptoms that he had to stop after 3 weeks.  He could barely get out of bed, had no appetite and slept all the time.  After a 2 week rest, they put him on the 37.5mg dose - 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off.  After 2 cycles at the lower dose, he had a CT scan that showed a 30% decrease in size of the largest tumor in his lung.  Some of the smaller spots were not visible.  The Drs. were pleased (as were we!) with this result and we were told that they are having very good success at the lower dosage.  He goes for another CT scan once he finishes this round.  His symptoms are mostly fatigue, stomach upset, and metallic taste in his mouth.  The symptoms are worse in the last 2 weeks of taking the Sutent.  All in all, they are tolerable although he has lost quite a bit of weight.  Of course, each case is different so it may come down to a personal decision - you do have that choice.  Have you been reporting these side effects to his Dr.?  Many times there is something that can be done to help symptoms.  Hope this helps! 

I am 60 and currently on my 4th cycle of sutent. I was on 50mg for the first 3 cycles but reduced to 37.5mg this time because the side effects were getting me down during weeks three & four of the cycles (28-day sutent followed by 2 weeks recovery cycles).

I am anxious about whether the sutent will be as effective at the reduced dose because my lung tumours shrunk significantly after the first two cycles of 50mg sutent. I have further ct-scans after this 4th cycle completes and will discuss with my consultant whether to increase my dose again then. I'll update this message as my treatment pregresses.

By the way it is sometimes hard to remember how well the body bounces back during the 2-weeks recovery period. For me I generally feel okay during the whole cycle apart from the 3rd and 4th weeks. I had a large secondary bone tumour in my left femur as well as clusters of secondary tumours in my lungs. So my sutent side effects have been complicated by my efforts to recover from a titanium left tumour and hip replacement op with follow-up radiation treatments. I find that life is still very good and I'm walking without crutches now, cycling and sailing etc. I'm a big sutent fan and enjoy my life a day at a time.

Keith