External Validation of the 2003 Leibovich Prognostic Score in Patients Randomly Assigned to SORCE, an International Phase III Trial of Adjuvant Sorafenib in Renal Cell Cancer.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

The 2003 Leibovich score guides prognostication and selection to adjuvant clinical trials for patients with locally advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after nephrectomy. We provide a robust external validation of the 2003 Leibovich score using contemporary data from SORCE, an international, randomized trial of sorafenib after excision of primary RCC.

METHODS:

Data used to derive the 2003 Leibovich score were compared with contemporary data from SORCE. Discrimination and calibration of the metastasis-free survival outcome were assessed in data from patients with clear-cell RCC, using Cox proportional hazards regression, Kaplan-Meier curves, and calculation of Harrell's c indexes. Secondary analyses involved three important SORCE groups: patients with any non-clear-cell subtype, papillary, and chromophobe carcinomas.

RESULTS:

Four hundred seven recurrences occurred in 982 patients in the Leibovich cohort and 520 recurrences were recorded in 1,445 patients in the primary SORCE cohort. Clear discrimination between intermediate-risk and high-risk SORCE cohorts was shown; hazard ratio 2.74 (95% CI, 2.29 to 3.28), c-index 0.63 (95% CI, 0.61 to 0.65). A hazard ratio of 0.61 (95% CI, 0.53 to 0.70) confirmed poor calibration of the two cohorts. Discrimination was observed in secondary populations, with c-indexes of 0.64 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.69) for non-clear-cell RCC, 0.63 (95% CI, 0.56 to 0.69) for papillary RCC, and 0.65 (95% CI, 0.55 to 0.76) for chromophobe RCC.

CONCLUSION:

The 2003 Leibovich score discriminates between intermediate-risk and high-risk clear-cell and non-clear-cell RCC groups in contemporary data, supporting its use for risk stratification in adjuvant clinical trials. Over time, metastasis-free survival for patients with locally advanced RCC has improved. Contemporary data from adjuvant RCC trials should be used to improve prognostication for patients with RCC.

• Authors: Bhavna Oza, Tim Eisen, Eleni Frangou, Grant D Stewart, Axel Bex, Alastair W S Ritchie, Rick Kaplan, Benjamin Smith, Ian D Davis, Martin R Stockler, Laurence Albiges, Bernard Escudier, James Larkin, Steven Joniau, Barry Hancock, Gregers G Hermann, Joaquim Bellmunt, Mahesh K B Parmar, Patrick Royston, Angela Meade
• Journal: Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (J Clin Oncol) Vol. 40 Issue 16 Pg. 1772-1782 (06 01 2022) ISSN: 1527-7755 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 35213214 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Phase III, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Sorafenib

Topics

• Carcinoma, Renal Cell (drug therapy, surgery)
• Humans
• Kidney Neoplasms (drug therapy, surgery)
• Nephrectomy
• Prognosis
• Recurrence
• Sorafenib (therapeutic use)