Abstract
BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas (STS) have limited therapeutic options. Sorafenib (BAY 43-9006) is a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor of raf, vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 (VEGFR1) through 3, platelet-derived growth factor B, fms-like tyrosine kinase 3, and c-kit, and some of these may be relevant in STS. METHODS: The authors tested sorafenib at a dose of 400 mg twice daily in patients with advanced vascular sarcoma (VS), high-grade liposarcomas, and leiomyosarcomas who had received 0 or 1 previous regimens for advanced disease. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients were accrued to the study, and 37 were evaluable for toxicity and response. There were no unexpected side effects and no confirmed responses. The median progression-free survival was 3 months, and the median overall survival was 17 months. Six of 8 patients in the VS cohort had prolonged clinical benefit (stable disease or better), resulting in a median progression-free survival of 5 months compared with 2 to 3 months for the patients who had liposarcoma and leiomyosarcomas. CONCLUSIONS: Sorafenib at the dose and schedule studied did not result in any responses in the VS, liposarcoma, or leiomyosarcoma cohort according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors.