Abstracts...

Sometimes I wonder about abstracts, or maybe I just don't understand them. A few days ago I read an abstract, Early experience with targeted therapy and dendritic cell vaccine in metastatic renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy. Maybe it's just me, but I found the whole study questionable. For starters, the study only involved 2 male patients with metastatic RCC, and there was no mention as to where their metastatic disease was. How can only 2 people in a study be conclusive?


From the abstract: 
Sunitinib (50 mg per day) was given for 4 weeks, followed by radical nephrectomy after two weeks. DC vaccine was initiated immediately after surgery and repeated monthly. Sunitinib was restarted daily after 2 to 3 weeks of surgery with a 7-day interval every 4 weeks. 


Results: Follow-up in these patients at 9 and 10 months demonstrated a stable disease in both, as shown by imaging and clinical findings, with no further treatment required. 


Conclusion: The immune response obtained with DC vaccine combined with the antiangiogenic effect of sunitinib and the potential benefits of cytoreductive nephrectomy in advanced disease could represent a new option in the treatment of metastatic RCC. Further prospective trials are needed not only to elucidate the ideal dosing and schedule, but also to better define the proof-of-concept proposed in this report and its role in clinical practice.


The abstract never mentions the length of the study. How long were they on Sunitinib after the radical nephrectomy? It only mentions they had a 7 day break every 4 weeks. The DC vaccine was given monthly. For how many months? The follow-up was at 9 and 10 months. They both were stable, with no further treatment required. And...  Sorry, but this abstract is lacking information.


I love the last line in the conclusion. Further prospective trials are needed not only to elucidate the ideal dosing and schedule, but also to better define the proof-of-concept proposed in this report and its role in clinical practice. 


Obviously!!


Update: I found the original abstract, and it did answer a few of my questions. Here's the link to the original.