Sunitinib Malate Schedule 4/2 vs. Sunitinib Malate Continuous Dosing As First-Line Therapy For Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer (RCC)

This trial has two parts. The purpose of the first part of the trial is to determine the doses of 2 drugs, sunitinib malate and interferon alfa-2b, that can be given safely in combination. This part is currently closed to enrollment.

The purpose of the second part of the trial is to see if sunitinib malate given on a 4/2 schedule (4 weeks on treatment, 2 weeks off treatment cycle) is any better at delaying progression of renal cell cancer than sunitinib malate given on a continuous dosing schedule. The trial will also determine the number of patients whose cancer responds to the treatments, whether life of patients can be extended, what the side effects are of the treatments, how bothersome disease or treatment-related symptoms are to patients, and whether tests can be found that will predict which patients may or may not respond to these treatments in the future.

• Drug: Sunitinib Malate Continuous Daily Dosing
  
  Sunitinib malate starting dose 37.5 mg daily continuous daily regimen.
• Drug: Sunitinib Malate Schedule 4/2
  
  Sunitinib malate starting dose 50 mg per day for four weeks, followed by a two week off-drug period. This six week cycle is repeated.

• Experimental: C
  
  Intervention: Drug: Sunitinib Malate Continuous Daily Dosing
• Experimental: A
  
  Intervention: Drug: Sunitinib Malate Schedule 4/2

• Grünwald V, Lin X, Kalanovic D, Simantov R. Early Tumour Shrinkage: A Tool for the Detection of Early Clinical Activity in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma. Eur Urol. 2016 Dec;70(6):1006-1015. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2016.05.010. Epub 2016 May 26.
• Grünwald V, McKay RR, Krajewski KM, Kalanovic D, Lin X, Perkins JJ, Simantov R, Choueiri TK. Depth of remission is a prognostic factor for survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Eur Urol. 2015 May;67(5):952-8. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2014.12.036. Epub 2015 Jan 7.
• Motzer RJ, Hutson TE, Hudes GR, Figlin RA, Martini JF, English PA, Huang X, Valota O, Williams JA. Investigation of novel circulating proteins, germ line single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and molecular tumor markers as potential efficacy biomarkers of first-line sunitinib therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2014 Oct;74(4):739-50. doi: 10.1007/s00280-014-2539-0. Epub 2014 Aug 7.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Advanced renal cell carcinoma of clear cell origin or a component of clear cell histology.
• Measurable disease

Exclusion Criteria:

• Prior systemic therapy of any kind for advanced renal cell cancer
• History of brain metastases
• Uncontrolled hypertension