PISCES: A horoscope for first-line targeted therapy of metastatic renal cell carcinoma

摘要

Escudier et al1 recently published a repbrt of the PISCES (Patient Preference Study of Pazopanib Versus Sunitinib in Advanced or Metastatic Kidney Cancer) trial, which assessed treatment preferences for pazopanib versus sunitinib in newly diagnosed patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma. We wish to congratulate the authors for the novelty of the study design. However, we are unsure whether the tested concept of a 10-week course of one targeted therapy followed by a 2-week washout and another 10-week period of a second targeted therapy (or vice versa) is of value, especially when treatment selection is made in a real-life clinical setting, where patients continue to receive therapy until disease progression or intolerable toxicity.