Summary of the safety profile
Pooled data of 674 patients with advanced RCC who continued to receive tivozanib as their initial on trial therapy in the five core RCC monotherapy studies have been evaluated in the overall assessment of safety and tolerability of tivozanib.
The most important serious adverse reaction is hypertension.
The most common adverse reactions of any grade include hypertension (47.6%), dysphonia (26.9%), fatigue (25.8%) and diarrhoea (25.5%).
In the five core RCC monotherapy studies tivozanib was discontinued in a total of 20 patients (3%) owing to adverse reactions, most commonly due to hypertension (0.4%), persistent severe hypertension (0.3%), or acute myocardial infarction (0.3%). The most frequent adverse reactions leading to tivozanib dose reduction/ interruption were hypertension (4.7%), diarrhoea (3.1%), fatigue (1.8%).
In patients receiving tivozanib as initial therapy, there were three adverse reactions with outcome death; one was uncontrolled hypertension in the setting of a suspected overdose (see section 4.9) and two were reported simply as death.
Tabulated summary of adverse reactions
Adverse reactions occurring in patients who continued to receive tivozanib as their initial on trial therapy in the five RCC monotherapy studies were pooled and are listed below by MedDRA body system organ class (SOC) and frequency. Frequencies are defined as follows: very common (≥ 1/10); common (≥ 1/100 to < 1/10); uncommon (≥ 1/1,000 to < 1/100), rare (≥ 1/10,000 to < 1/1,000) and not known (cannot be estimated from available data). Within each SOC, adverse reactions are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.
Table 1: Tabulated list of adverse reactions (presented using frequencies for all-causality adverse events)
| System Organ Class | Very common | Common | Uncommon | Rare | Not known |
| Infections and infestations | | | Fungal infection Pustular rash | | |
| Blood and lymphatic system disorders | | Anaemia | Thrombocytopenia Haemoglobin increased | | |
| Endocrine disorders | | Hypothyroidism | Hyperthyroidism Goitre1 | | |
| Metabolism and nutrition disorders | Decreased appetite | Anorexia | | | |
| Psychiatric disorders | | Insomnia | | | |
| Nervous system disorders | Headache | Peripheral neuropathy2 Dizziness Dysgeusia3 | Transient ischaemic attack Memory impairment4 | Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES)5 | |
| Eye disorders | | Vision impairment6 | Increased lacrimation | | |
| Ear and labyrinth disorders | | Vertigo Tinnitus | Ear congestion | | |
| Cardiac disorders | | Myocardial infarction (acute) / ischaemia7 Angina pectoris Tachycardia8 | Pulmonary oedema Coronary artery insufficiency Electrocardiogram QT prolonged | | |
| Vascular disorders | Hypertension | Haemorrhage9 Arterial thromboembolism10 Venous thromboembolism11 Persistent severe hypertension12 Flushing13 | | | Aneurysms and artery dissections |
| Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders | Dyspnoea14 Dysphonia Cough | Epistaxis Rhinorrhoea Nasal congestion | | | |
| Gastrointestinal disorders | Abdominal pain15 Nausea Diarrhoea Stomatitis16 | Pancreatitis17 Dysphagia18 Vomiting Gastrooesophageal reflux disease Abdominal distension Glossitis19 Gingivitis20 Dyspepsia Constipation Dry mouth Flatulence | Duodenal ulcer | | |
| Hepatobiliary disorders | | ALT increased / AST increased21 Gamma- glutamyltransferase increased Blood alkaline phosphatase increased | | | |
| Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders | Palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesi a syndrome / Hand foot skin reaction (PPE/HFS) | Skin exfoliation Erythema22 Pruritus23 Alopecia Rash24 Acne25 Dry skin | Urticaria Dermatitis26 Hyperhidrosis Xeroderma | | |
| Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders | Back pain | Arthralgia Myalgia Musculoskeletal chest pain | Muscular weakness | | |
| Renal and urinary disorders | | Proteinuria Blood creatinine increased | | | |
| General disorders and administration site conditions | Pain27 Asthenia Fatigue | Chest pain28 Chills29 Pyrexia Peripheral oedema | Mucosal inflammation | | |
| Investigations | Weight decreased | Amylase increased Lipase increased Blood thyroid stimulating hormone increased | | | |
Adverse reactions from clinical studies are presented using frequencies for all-causality adverse events. The following terms have been combined:
1 Goitre including goitre and toxic nodular goitre
2 Peripheral neuropathy including hyperaesthesia, hypoaesthesia, mononeuropathy, neuropathy peripheral, peripheral sensory neuropathy and paraesthesia
3 Dysgeusia including ageusia, dysgeusia and hypogeusia
4 Memory impairment including amnesia and memory impairment
5 PRES was not observed in patients treated with tivozanib in the five RCC monotherapy studies. One patient experienced Grade 4 PRES and hypertension in Study AV-951-09-901.
6 Vision impairment including reduced visual acuity, vision blurred and visual impairment
7 Myocardial infarction (acute) / ischaemia including acute myocardial infarction, ischaemia and myocardial infarction
8 Tachycardia including sinus tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia, tachycardia and tachycardia paroxysmal
9 Haemorrhage including adrenal haemorrhage, anal haemorrhage, cervix haemorrhage uterine, duodenal ulcer haemorrhage, gingival bleeding, haematemesis, haemoptysis, haemorrhagic anaemia, haemorrhagic erosive gastritis, haemorrhagic stroke, mouth haemorrhage, pulmonary haemorrhage and respiratory tract haemorrhage
10 Arterial thromboembolism including acute myocardial infarction, arterial thrombosis, iliac artery thrombosis, ischaemic stroke, myocardial infarction and transient ischaemic attack
11 Venous thromboembolism including deep vein thrombosis, embolism venous and pulmonary embolism
12 Persistent severe hypertension including hypertensive crisis
13 Flushing including flushing and hot flush
14 Dyspnoea including dyspnoea and exertional dyspnoea
15 Abdominal pain including abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain, abdominal pain lower, abdominal pain upper and abdominal rigidity
16 Stomatitis including oral discomfort, oral disorder and stomatitis
17 Pancreatitis including pancreatitis and pancreatitis acute
18 Dysphagia including dysphagia, odynophagia and oropharyngeal pain
19 Glossitis including glossitis and glossodynia
20 Gingivitis including gingival bleeding, gingival disorder, gingival pain and gingivitis
21 Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased / Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) increased including ALT increased and AST increased
22 Erythema including erythema, generalised erythema and palmar erythema
23 Pruritus including generalised pruritus and pruritus
24 Rash including rash, rash erythematous, rash generalised, rash maculo-papular, rash papular and rash pruritic
25 Acne including acne and dermatitis acneiform
26 Dermatitis including dermatitis and dermatitis bullous
27 Pain including bone pain, cancer pain, flank pain, groin pain, oral pain, pain, pain in extremity and tumour pain
28 Chest pain including chest pain and non-cardiac chest pain
29 Chills including chills and hypothermia
Description of selected adverse reactions
Hypertension
Hypertension was reported as an adverse reaction in 47.6% of patients receiving tivozanib as initial therapy; in 23.0% the hypertension was CTC ≥Grade 3. Persistent severe hypertension ('hypertensive crisis') was an adverse reaction in 1.0%, CTC Grade 3 or higher in 0.9%. One patient died as a result of uncontrolled hypertension in the setting of a suspected overdose.
Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES)
PRES (also known as reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS)) was confirmed in one non-RCC patient after approximately 8 weeks on tivozanib. PRES is a neurological disorder that may present with headache, seizure, lethargy, confusion, blindness and other visual and neurologic disturbances. Mild to severe hypertension may be present (see section 4.4).
Venous thromboembolism
Pulmonary embolism was reported in patients (0.7%) receiving tivozanib as initial therapy in the five core RCC monotherapy studies, with the majority CTC Grade ≥ 3 (see section 4.4). Deep vein thrombosis was also reported in two patients (0.3%) and was CTC Grade ≥ 3 in one patient (0.1%) receiving initial tivozanib therapy.
Arterial thromboembolic events
Arterial thromboembolic adverse reactions in the patients receiving tivozanib as initial therapy were ischaemic stroke (1.0%), myocardial infarction (0.7%), transient ischaemic attack (0.7%) and acute myocardial infarction (0.4%), the majority of which were at least CTC Grade 3, plus iliac artery thrombosis (0.1%). There were no deaths due to arterial thromboembolic adverse reactions in those receiving tivozanib as initial therapy but a myocardial infarction in a patient receiving second-line tivozanib had a fatal outcome.
Cardiac failure
Pulmonary oedema was reported in two patients (0.3%) receiving tivozanib as initial therapy in the five core RCC monotherapy studies. Both events were CTC Grade 3 (see section 4.4).
QT/QTc prolongation
QT prolongation was reported in two patients (CTC Grade 2 and Grade 3) in the tivozanib cardiac safety study, neither reaction was considered serious (see section 4.4 and section 5.1).
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism was reported as an adverse reaction for 5.6% of patients during initial therapy and was CTC Grade 2 or lower in all cases. It was reported as serious in one patient.
Haemorrhage
Haemorrhage adverse reactions were reported in the core monotherapy studies during initial treatment (see section 4.4).
Reporting of suspected adverse reactions
Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the Yellow Card Scheme Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store.