Therapeutic Drug Monitoring for Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Introduction : Inter-individual variability in drug response pose significant challenges to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). TKIs meet traditional criteria for using therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), but research is still limited. Understanding the role of TDM in individualizing treatment strategies could help optimize treatment. Here we review the state of knowledge of TDM for TKIs in mRCC treatment. Methods A comprehensive literature review of original research studies focusing on TDM of TKIs in mRCC treatment, clinical in vivo studies reporting on pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics, therapeutic ranges, drug concentrations, dose adjustments, clinical outcomes, or other relevant aspects related to TDM. We reviewed studies involving human subjects published in peer-reviewed journals. A narrative synthesis approach was employed to summarize the findings. Key themes and trends related to TDM of TKIs in mRCC treatment were identified and synthesized to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge. Results Our search yielded 25 articles. Most were observational. The most consistently reported association between plasma concentration and effect was pazopanib Ctrough > 20 μg/mL, but this concentration was not significant across all studies. We found inconsistent evidence for sunitinib and cabozantinib. For axitinib, we found a clear exposure-response relationship, but research was too diverse to conclude on a therapeutic window to use for TDM. Conclusion We found much heterogeneity between recommended time of measurement (Cmin, Cmax, AUC) and large variation in plasma concentration associated with clinical outcomes, which makes it difficult to recommend specific concentration intervals based on one or more of these measurements. Results were more consistent with TKIs continuously administered. Further research is needed to elucidate the long-term impact of TDM to possibly establish standardized therapeutic intervals. Prospective studies are suggested. The application of TDM in TKI-combination therapy is warranted in future research.