Bonnie Reichman

Second-line platinum therapy in patients with ovarian cancer previously treated with cisplatin.

In an effort to critically define the incidence and clinical characteristics of secondary responses to cisplatin-based therapy in patients with ovarian cancer previously treated with a cisplatin-based program, a retrospective review was undertaken of patients at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who received greater than or equal to two cisplatin/carboplatin-based programs. Eighty-two patients were identified who met the entry criteria of having had a cisplatin-free interval (CFI) of more than 4 months between the completion of their first regimen and the institution of a second cisplatin/carboplatin program. Of the 72 assessable patients (10 had no measurable disease, and a laparotomy was not performed to assess response), 31 (43%) responded, including 10 surgically defined complete responses (S-CRs). The overall response rates (and S-CR rate), based on duration of CFI, were 5 to 12 months, 27% (5%); 13 to 24 months, 33% (11%); and more than 24 months, 59% (22%). Twenty-nine patients (35%) received noncisplatin/carboplatin-containing treatments between the cisplatin programs. Patients without any treatment for more than 24 months from the completion of their initial therapy experienced a 77% (17 of 22) response rate and a 32% (seven of 22) S-CR rate. In conclusion, secondary responses to cisplatin/carboplatin-based treatment are common in patients with ovarian cancer who have previously responded to the agents and increase in frequency with greater distance from the initial therapy.

Intrahepatic or Systemic Infusion of Fluorodeoxyuridine in Patients with Liver Metastases from Colorectal Carcinoma: A Randomized Trial

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of direct hepatic arterial chemotherapy with systemic chemotherapy in patients with liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma. DESIGN Randomized trial with crossover allowed from systemic to intrahepatic therapy if tumor progression occurred on systemic therapy. SETTING Academic medical center, referral-based clinic. PATIENTS One hundred sixty-two patients with hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma agreed to be randomly assigned to treatment groups. At laparotomy, 63 were excluded from the study: 25 had hepatic resection; 33, extrahepatic disease; 1, infection; and 4, no tumor. INTERVENTION Fourteen-day continuous infusion of fluorodeoxyuridine each month using an infusaid pump (0.3 and 0.15 mg/kg body weight X d in the intrahepatic and systemic arms, respectively). MAIN RESULTS Intrahepatic therapy produced a significantly higher complete and partial response rate, 50%, compared with 20% for systemic therapy (p = 0.001). After tumor progression, 60% of the systemic patients crossed over to intrahepatic therapy; 25% then had a partial response, and 33% a minor response or stabilization of disease on intrahepatic therapy. Toxicity included ulcer disease (17%) and biliary sclerosis (8%) in patients receiving intrahepatic therapy and diarrhea (70%) in patients receiving systemic therapy. Extrahepatic disease occurred in 56% and 37% of the patients in the intrahepatic and systemic groups, respectively (p = 0.092). The median survivals were 17 and 12 months, for the intrahepatic and systemic groups, respectively. CONCLUSION When compared with systemic therapy, hepatic arterial chemotherapy significantly increases response rate for hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma and appears to be a more effective treatment.

Enhancement of radiation-induced downstaging of rectal cancer by fluorouracil and high-dose leucovorin chemotherapy.

PURPOSE To determine if fluorouracil (5-FU) plus high-dose leucovorin (LV) enhances local response in patients receiving preoperative radiation therapy (RT) for adenocarcinoma of the rectum, we compared the degree of downstaging in patients receiving preoperative RT with or without chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS For this comparison, three groups of patients who were treated with identical doses and techniques of preoperative pelvic RT (total dose of 5,040 cGy) were examined. Group 1 included 20 patients with unresectable disease who received combined RT and LV/5-FU. Group 2 included 11 patients with unresectable disease who received preoperative RT. Group 3 included 21 patients with invasive, resectable, primary disease who received preoperative RT. RESULTS Patients with unresectable disease who received LV/5-FU had a higher rate of pathologic complete response (20% v 0%) and a lower incidence of positive nodes (30% v 64%) compared with those who did not receive chemotherapy. Even when the most favorable group of patients was included (group 3), patients who received LV/5-FU still had a higher complete response rate (20% v 6%) and a lower incidence of positive nodes (30% v 53%) compared with those who received RT without LV/5-FU. Of those patients with initially unresectable disease, the resectability rate was higher in those who received LV/5-FU compared with those who did not receive LV/5-FU (90% v 64%). Patients who received LV/5-FU experienced slightly more grade 1 to 2 fatigue, stomatitis, nausea, and grade 3 diarrhea, tenesmus, and dysuria. CONCLUSIONS Despite the fact that patients who received chemotherapy (group 1) had more advanced disease compared with those with resectable disease (group 3), the addition of LV/5-FU increased the resectability and downstaging rates. The ultimate impact of a complete response as well as a decrease in the incidence of pelvic nodes on local control and survival remains to be determined. However, given the enhancement of down-staging in patients with unresectable rectal cancer, we are encouraged by the combined modality approach.

Paclitaxel and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor as initial chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE A phase II study of Taxol (paclitaxel; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Princeton, NJ) as initial chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer was conducted. Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) was used to ameliorate myelosuppression, the anticipated dose-limiting toxicity. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-eight patients with bidimensionally measurable breast cancer who had not received prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease were treated. Taxol was administered at 250 mg/m2 as a continuous 24-hour intravenous (i.v.) infusion every 21 days. rhG-CSF was administered at 5 micrograms/kg/d subcutaneously on days 3 through 10. RESULTS Objective responses were observed in 16 of 26 assessable patients (62%; 95% confidence interval, 41% to 80%). There were three (12%) complete responses (CRs) and 13 (50%) partial responses (PRs). Ten of 16 patients (63%) who had received prior adjuvant chemotherapy responded, which included one CR and four PRs among eight patients who had received prior doxorubicin-containing therapy. Responses were observed in all sites of metastatic disease. The median time to first objective response was 5 weeks (range, 1 to 14). Administration of rhG-CSF was associated with a short duration of neutropenia (median, 2 days with absolute neutrophil count < 500 cells/microL). Eight of 26 patients (31%) who received more than one course received subsequent therapy without dose reduction. One hundred seventy-eight cycles of treatment were administered, with a median of six cycles per patient (range, one to 19). Eight courses (4.5%) were associated with admissions for neutropenic fever. Twenty-two patients (79%) did not require admission for neutropenic fever. Treatment was well tolerated. Adverse effects included generalized alopecia in all patients. Myalgias, arthralgias, and peripheral neuropathy were mild. No hypersensitivity reactions and no cardiac toxicity were observed. CONCLUSION Taxol is highly active as initial chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. Administration of rhG-CSF reduced the incidence, depth, and duration of neutropenia, compared with published prior experience. Further studies of Taxol in breast cancer, including combinations with other active agents, are clearly warranted.

Phase I trial of intraperitoneal taxol: a Gynecoloic Oncology Group study.

PURPOSE To evaluate the safety and pharmacology of the intraperitoneal (IP) administration of the antineoplastic agent taxol. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-five pretreated patients who were entered onto a phase I clinical trial; 24 had advanced ovarian cancer. Patients were treated with taxol administered IP in 2 L of normal saline every 3 to 4 weeks. The starting dose was 25 mg/m2. There were no intrapatient dose escalations. RESULTS The dose-limiting toxicity was the development of severe abdominal pain at taxol doses more than 175 mg/m2. Moderate leukopenia (WBC count less than 2,000/mm3) was observed at IP doses of greater than or equal to 175 mg/m2. The exposure of the peritoneal cavity (peak levels and area under the time-versus-concentration curve [AUC]) to taxol after IP delivery exceeded that of the plasma by approximately 1,000-fold. However, concentrations of the agent previously shown to produce cytotoxicity in experimental systems were demonstrated in the systemic compartment after regional delivery, which was considered important. Significant concentrations of taxol persisted within the peritoneal cavity for more than 24 to 48 hours after a single IP installation. Several antitumor responses, which included control of platinum-refractory ascites, were documented. CONCLUSION Taxol can be delivered by the IP route with both an acceptable toxicity profile and a major pharmacokinetic advantage for cavity exposure.

Paclitaxel as second and subsequent therapy for metastatic breast cancer : activity independent of prior anthracycline response

PURPOSE Two phase II clinical trials were performed to determine efficacy and tolerability of paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Wallingford, CT) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor ([G-CSF] Neupogen; Amgen, Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA) as second or subsequent therapy for metastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Paclitaxel plus G-CSF was administered as a second stage IV regimen to 25 patients with metastatic breast cancer at a dose of 250 mg/m2 intravenously over 24 hours. Fifty-two patients received paclitoxel plus G-CSF at 200 mg/m2 as a third or subsequent regimen (no restriction on number of prior regimens or on prior high-dose chemotherapy). All patients had received prior anthracycline treatment, and ultimately had progressive bidimensionally measurable disease. RESULTS Twenty-five of 76 patients (32.8%) had a major objective response (95% confidence interval [CI], 14% to 37%). The median duration of response was 7 months (range, 1 to 20+). Responses were as likely in patients with disease demonstrated to be unresponsive to anthracycline, ie, de novo resistance (11 of 37, or 30%) as in those with disease that once exhibited anthracycline sensitivity, ie, acquired resistance, (10 of 31, or 32%). G-CSF administration was associated with febrile neutropenic episodes in 36 of 402 cycles (9%) in 16 of 76 patients (21%). CONCLUSION Paclitaxels clinically significant activity against metastatic breast cancer extends to patients with many prior chemotherapy regimens. The lack of impact of prior doxorubicin therapy on the likelihood of subsequent response to paclitaxel suggests an important role for this agent in the treatment of refractory metastatic breast cancer.

Combined modality therapy of rectal cancer: decreased acute toxicity with the preoperative approach.

PURPOSE We compared the combined radiation therapy (RT) plus chemotherapy segments of two separate parallel phase I trials to determine if combined pelvic RT, fluorouracil (5-FU), and high-dose leucovorin (LV) had less acute toxicity when delivered preoperatively versus postoperatively in patients with rectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with unresectable disease received preoperative RT plus LV and 5-FU followed by surgery and postoperative LV and 5-FU. Patients with resectable disease received identical doses, techniques, and schedules of RT and LV and 5-FU except all therapy was delivered postoperatively. On day 1, patients received LV and 5-FU times one cycle. RT began on day 8. A second cycle of LV and 5-FU was given concurrently with the fourth week of RT. RESULTS Although more patients (75% v 32%; P = .02) received the higher dose level of 5-FU (250 mg/m2), significantly fewer experienced acute grade 3 to 4 toxicity with preoperative versus postoperative therapy (13% v 48%; P = .045). There was no grade 3 to 4 myelosuppression in either group. The two grade 3 toxicities in the preoperative group were gastrointestinal. The grade 3 toxicities in the postoperative group included seven gastrointestinal and two genitourinary; four patients had a grade 4 toxicity. CONCLUSION Given the high incidence of grade 3 to 4 toxicity also reported in the postoperative combined modality adjuvant randomized trials, future adjuvant trials should explore the preoperative approach.

Responses to second-line cisplatin-based intraperitoneal therapy in ovarian cancer: influence of a prior response to intravenous cisplatin.

Phase II trials of second-line intraperitoneal (IP) cisplatin-based therapy in patients with ovarian cancer have demonstrated the ability of this approach to produce objective antitumor responses, including surgically defined complete responses (CRs), in individuals with persistent small-volume disease after front-line cisplatin-based intravenous (IV) treatment. To examine the influence of a prior response to systemic cisplatin on the activity of second-line IP cisplatin, we retrospectively analyzed two phase II trials of cisplatin-based IP therapy in persistent/recurrent ovarian cancer conducted at our institution. Of the 89 assessable patients on the two trials, 52 (58%) had previously responded to IV cisplatin. The overall response and CR rates to second-line IP cisplatin-based therapy in this previously responding population were 56% and 33%, respectively, compared with overall response and CR rates in the 37 nonresponders to IV cisplatin of 11% and 3%, respectively (P less than .001; chi 2, 1 df). In the 36 patients responding to systemic cisplatin and whose largest tumor mass measured less than 1 cm at IP cisplatin initiation, a 42% CR rate was observed, compared with a 7% CR rate in the 14 patients with the same bulk of disease who had previously failed to respond to systemic cisplatin (P less than .025). We conclude that a prior response to systemic cisplatin strongly influences the antineoplastic activity of second-line IP cisplatin in ovarian cancer.

Ifosfamide and mesna in previously treated advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: activity in platinum-resistant disease.

PURPOSE There is a critical need to find new antineoplastic drugs that are active in platinum-refractory ovarian cancer. We conducted a phase II trial of single-agent ifosfamide with mesna uroprotection in patients with ovarian cancer previously treated with an organoplatinum compound to assess its activity in this clinical setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS Ifosfamide (1.0 or 1.2 g/m2/d for 5 days, delivered on a monthly schedule) was administered to the 57 patients entered onto this trial. Dose reductions were permitted for unacceptable toxicities. RESULTS Toxicity included severe bone marrow suppression (WBC count less than 1,000/microL and/or platelet count less than 50,000/microL), renal dysfunction (serum creatinine level greater than 2.0 mg/dL), and reversible CNS dysfunction (disorientation, hallucinations, somnolence, and agitation), which occurred in 20%, 14%, and 12% of patients, respectively. Of 41 patients with strictly defined platinum-refractory ovarian cancer, five (12%) demonstrated a partial (four) or complete (one) response to this treatment program. CONCLUSION Single-agent ifosfamide has modest but unequivocal activity in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Further studies of this drug used as a front-line agent along with an organoplatinum compound or as part of a dose-intensification program with bone marrow, peripheral stem cell, or colony-stimulating factor support are indicated. In addition, single-agent ifosfamide is a reasonable standard second-line treatment strategy in appropriately selected patients with platinum-refractory ovarian cancer.

Influence of secondary cytoreduction at the time of second-look laparotomy on the survival of patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma

The value of secondary cytoreductive surgery at the time of second-look laparotomy in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma is not established. Sixty-seven patients with residual carcinoma found at the time of second-look laparotomy performed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between December 1, 1978, and May 30, 1986, were evaluated for survival relative to the success of secondary cytoreductive surgery. At second-look laparotomy, 17 patients had microscopic disease, 28 patients had disease less than 2 cm and 22 patients had disease greater than 2 cm. After secondary cytoreductive surgery 33 patients had microscopic disease, 26 patients had disease less than 2 cm, and 7 patients had disease greater than 2 cm (1 unknown). Five-year survival by Kaplan-Meier calculation was 62% for patients found to have microscopic disease at second-look laparotomy and 51% for patients whose disease was rendered microscopic by secondary cytoreductive surgery (P = 0.55). Patients left with gross disease (either less than or greater than 2 cm) had 5-year survivals of less than 10% (P = 0.013 compared with microscopic residual). Secondary cytoreductive surgery at the time of second-look laparotomy in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma may result in improved survival of patients who are reduced to microscopic residual disease.