Efficacy and tolerability of initial low-dose lenvatinib to treat differentiated thyroid cancer

Abstract

Some patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) may require an initial low dose (LD) of lenvatinib. However, few studies have investigated the efficacy of LD lenvatinib. We compared the efficacy and tolerability of lenvatinib at an initial LD to those of the standard initial dose of 24mg in patients with DTC. In this cross-sectional study, records of patients with DTC treated with lenvatinib were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the initial dose of lenvatinib: a full-dose (FD) group that received an initial dose of 24mg/d and a LD group that received an initial dose of less than 24mg/d. Categorical variables were compared with the Fisher exact test and continuous variables with Student t test. A progression-free survival (PFS) curve was constructed with the Kaplan-Meier method. A probability (P) value of