Renal cell cancer presented with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis effectively treated with sorafenib

Sorafenib has been approved in the U.S. and the European Union for patients with advanced renal cell cancer (RCC). There is evidence that treatment with sorafenib can achieve partial remissions in patients with brain metastases of RCC.

We report of a patient with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis of RCC, who 10 days after initiation of sorafenib therapy showed a noticeable decrease in contrast enhancement of the tumor in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain. This partial response was verified by an MRI scan on day 74.

Results of a sub-evalution of a randomized phase III trial show that sorafenib offers encouraging activity in the treatment of patients with RCC and brain metastases.

This case shows that sorafenib can achieve rapid tumor response in a patient with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis of RCC. This partial remission can persist for at least 10 weeks.