Phase ii prospective study with sorafenib in advanced soft tissue sarcomas after anthracycline-based therapy

Introduction: We investigated the activity and safety of sorafenib, a multitargeted tyrosine-kinase inhibitor, in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Patients and methods: An open-label nonrandomised multicentre phase II study was conducted in advanced STS patients pre-treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Patients received sorafenib 400 mg twice daily for 28 days. The primary end point was the progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 6 months. Toxicity was assessed. Clinical outcomes were evaluated in all histologies and in leiomyosarcoma (L) and angiovascular sarcomas (A). Results: Between November 2006 and January 2010, 101 patients (36 L, 19 A, and 46 others) were enrolled; 76 patients per-protocol (PP) and 100 per intention-to-treat (ITT) were assessable for the primary end point. In the PP analysis, 11 (14.5) achieved partial response and 25 (32.9) stable disease; 6-month PFS rates were all histologies, 34.5; L, 38.4; and A, 56.3. In the ITT analysis, 6-month PFS results were 27.1, 35, and 35.5 in all histologies, L, and A, respectively. When stratified by histology, we observed a better PFS favouring leiomyosarcoma versus other histologies (P 0.033). Treatment was well tolerated. Conclusions: Sorafenib appears to be a promising option in leiomyosarcoma patients. This finding warrants further evaluation in histology-driven trials.