ent. All patients should be observed closely for signs and symptoms of thyroid dysfunction on SUTENT treatment. Patients with signs and/or symptoms suggestive of thyroid dysfunction should have laboratory monitoring of thyroid function performed and be treated as per standard medical practice.
Treatment-emergent acquired hypothyroidism was noted in eight GIST patients (4%) on SUTENT versus one (1%) on placebo. Hypothyroidism was reported as an adverse reaction in sixty-one patients (16%) on SUTENT in the treatment-naïve RCC study and in three patients (1%) in the IFN-α arm. Hypothyroidism was reported as an adverse reaction in 6/83 patients (7%) on SUTENT in the Phase 3 pNET study and in 1/82 patients (1%) in the placebo arm.
Cases of hyperthyroidism, some followed by hypothyroidism, have been reported in clinical trials and through post-marketing experience.
5.8 Wound Healing
Cases of impaired wound healing have been reported during SUTENT therapy. Temporary interruption of SUTENT therapy is recommended for precautionary reasons in patients undergoing major surgical procedures. There is limited clinical experience regarding the timing of reinitiation of therapy following major surgical intervention. Therefore, the decision to resume SUTENT therapy following a major surgical intervention should be based upon clinical judgment of recovery from surgery.
5.9 Adrenal Function
Physicians prescribing SUTENT are advised to monitor for adrenal insufficiency in patients who experience stress such as surgery, trauma or severe infection.
Adrenal toxicity was noted in non-clinical repeat dose studies of 14 days to 9 months in rats and monkeys at plasma exposures as low as 0.7 times the AUC observed in clinical studies. Histological changes of the adrenal gland were characterized as hemorrhage, necrosis, congestion, hypertrophy and inflammation. In clinical studies, CT/MRI obtained in 336 patients after exposure to one or more cycles of SUTENT demonstrated no evidence of adrenal hemorrhage or necrosis. ACTH stimulation testing was performed in approximately 400 patients across multiple clinical trials of SUTENT. Among patients with normal baseline ACTH stimulation testing, one patient developed consistently abnormal test results during treatment that are unexplained and may be related to treatment with SUTENT. Eleven additional patients with normal baseline testing had abnormalities in the final test performed, with peak cortisol levels of 12–16.4 mcg/dL (normal >18 mcg/dL) following stimulation. None of these patients were reported to have clinical evidence of adrenal insufficiency.
5.10 Laboratory Tests
CBCs with platelet count and serum chemistries including phosphate should be performed at the beginning of each treatment cycle for patients receiving treatment with SUTENT.
6ADVERSE REACTIONS
The data described below reflect exposure to SUTENT in 660 patients who participated in the double-blind treatment phase of a placebo-controlled trial (n=202) for the treatment of GIST [see Clinical Studies (14.1)], an active-controlled trial (n=375) for the treatment of RCC [see Clinical Studies (14.2)] or a placebo-controlled trial (n=83) for the treatment of pNET [see Clinical Studies (14.3)]. The GIST and RCC patients received a starting oral dose of 50 mg daily on Schedule 4/2 in repeated cycles, and the pNET patients received a starting oral dose of 37.5 mg daily without scheduled off-treatment periods.
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