Sunitinib-induced hypothyroidism / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Sunitinib is an oral multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is effective for advanced renal cell carcinoma and imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Currently, sunitinib is being investigated in multiple other tumor types including non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and endocrine tumors. Recent studies have shown that sunitinib induces thyroid dysfunction, mainly hypothyroidism during treatment. The incidence of sunitinib-induced hypothyroidism has been reported to be 36~85%. Although several hypotheses have been suggested, the mechanisms by which sunitinib induces hypothyroidism are not clear. As considered the fairly high incidence of sunitinib-induced hypothyroidism, thyroid function should be regularly monitored in all patients treated with sunitinib.