Sunitinib: An Unusual Cause of Pneumothorax in a Patient With Metastatic Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumothorax secondary to sunitinib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor, is an extremely rare side effect of this class of medications. In this report, we present the case of a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who developed bilateral pneumothoraces after starting on sunitinib. This case report recognizes pneumothorax as a life-threatening side effect of sunitinib.

Metastatic Type II Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma With Recurrent Complete Responses to Sunitinib: A Case Report With a Literature Review

“…RCC is the sixth and ninth most diagnosed cancer in men and women, respectively [ 4 , 5 ]. It is one of the more lethal urological malignancies originating from the renal cortex.…”

“…Risk factors include smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, comorbidities such as hypertension and chronic kidney disease, prolonged use of drugs such as antihypertensive medication, and environmental causes. RCC subtyping depends on the cell of origin, morphology, growth pattern, and histochemical and molecular characteristics [ 4 - 7 ]. The subtypes include clear cell RCC (which accounts for 75% to 80% of cases) [ 1 , 2 ].…”