Real-World Efficacy and Safety of Lenvatinib in Advanced or Recurrent Thymic Carcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study in Japan.

BACKGROUND

Lenvatinib is recommended for the treatment of advanced and recurrent thymic carcinomas. However, there is a paucity of data on lenvatinib's use in real-world clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib in patients with thymic carcinoma.

METHODS

This multicenter retrospective cohort study assessed the efficacy and tolerability of lenvatinib in the treatment of patients with advanced or recurrent thymic carcinoma between March 2021 and March 2024.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven patients from six institutions in Japan were enrolled in this study. The median progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR) were 9.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.8-14.5), 33% (95% CI 16.5%-54%), and 85% (95% CI 66.3%-95.8%), respectively. Although the number of patients was small, the median PFS of the first-, second-, and third- or later-line treatment groups was 21.3 months (n = 5), 9.0 months (n = 13), and 5.8 months (n = 9) (p = 0.171), respectively. Dose reduction was required in all patients, with 17 (63%) presenting grade ≥ 3 adverse events, including hypertension in seven patients and proteinuria in six. No grade ≥ 4 adverse events were observed.

CONCLUSION

The real-world efficacy and safety of lenvatinib are consistent with those reported in previous clinical trials of second-line lenvatinib. Furthermore, despite the relatively small sample size, our findings suggest that lenvatinib may be effective for the treatment of thymic carcinoma.