Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.

Sunitinib is a vascular endothelium growth factor inhibitor. This agent may in some cases be associated with life-threatening complications. We report a case of a 64-year-old woman, with a topical recurrence of a papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) who had been treated with sunitinib and presented...

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Main Authors: Katopodis Ourania, Lerikou Maria, Karagiorgis Georgios, Arvanitakis Spyridon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2025-04-01
Series:Forum of Clinical Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/fco-2024-0002
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author Katopodis Ourania
Lerikou Maria
Karagiorgis Georgios
Arvanitakis Spyridon
author_facet Katopodis Ourania
Lerikou Maria
Karagiorgis Georgios
Arvanitakis Spyridon
author_sort Katopodis Ourania
collection DOAJ
description Sunitinib is a vascular endothelium growth factor inhibitor. This agent may in some cases be associated with life-threatening complications. We report a case of a 64-year-old woman, with a topical recurrence of a papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) who had been treated with sunitinib and presented with generalized convulsive status epilepticus. A diagnosis of Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome (RPLS) was made, which was attributed to an abrupt cessation of antihypertensive medication, although there have been cases attributed to sunitinib. Interestingly, after her hypertension was controlled and her clinical symptoms and radiological findings resolved, sunitinib treatment was safely reintroduced, with a good clinical outcome. Aggressive treatment of hypertension allowed the reintroduction of sunitinib, in a case where there were no other significant treatment alternatives. Intensive follow-up and proactive management enabled a successful outcome.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1792-362X
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Sciendo
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series Forum of Clinical Oncology
spelling doaj-art-d4c9bcc347eb42a282c8405f6a3304ea2025-08-25T06:11:53ZengSciendoForum of Clinical Oncology1792-362X2025-04-01151141810.2478/fco-2024-0002Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.Katopodis Ourania0Lerikou Maria1Karagiorgis Georgios2Arvanitakis Spyridon3Department of Medical Oncology, Euroclinic of Athens, Athens, GreeceDepartment of Medical Oncology, Euroclinic of Athens, Athens, GreeceDepartment of Neurology, Euroclinic of Athens, Athens, GreeceDepartment of Medical Oncology, Euroclinic of Athens, Athens, GreeceSunitinib is a vascular endothelium growth factor inhibitor. This agent may in some cases be associated with life-threatening complications. We report a case of a 64-year-old woman, with a topical recurrence of a papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) who had been treated with sunitinib and presented with generalized convulsive status epilepticus. A diagnosis of Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome (RPLS) was made, which was attributed to an abrupt cessation of antihypertensive medication, although there have been cases attributed to sunitinib. Interestingly, after her hypertension was controlled and her clinical symptoms and radiological findings resolved, sunitinib treatment was safely reintroduced, with a good clinical outcome. Aggressive treatment of hypertension allowed the reintroduction of sunitinib, in a case where there were no other significant treatment alternatives. Intensive follow-up and proactive management enabled a successful outcome.https://doi.org/10.2478/fco-2024-0002sunitinibreversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndromerenal cell carcinomahypertensionstatus epilepticus
spellingShingle Katopodis Ourania
Lerikou Maria
Karagiorgis Georgios
Arvanitakis Spyridon
Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.
Forum of Clinical Oncology
sunitinib
reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome
renal cell carcinoma
hypertension
status epilepticus
title Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.
title_full Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.
title_fullStr Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.
title_full_unstemmed Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.
title_short Sunitinib and Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome: the usual suspect but not always the culprit. A case report.
title_sort sunitinib and reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome the usual suspect but not always the culprit a case report
topic sunitinib
reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome
renal cell carcinoma
hypertension
status epilepticus
url https://doi.org/10.2478/fco-2024-0002
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