Merry Tetef

High-dose chemotherapy and stem-cell rescue in the treatment of high-risk breast cancer: prognostic indicators of progression-free and overall survival.

PURPOSE To examine the predictive value of tumor- and treatment-specific prognostic indicators of relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with high-risk breast cancer (HRBC) treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and stem-cell rescue. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between June 1989 and September 1994, 114 patients with HRBC (stage II with > or = 10 axillary lymph nodes involved, stage IIIA, and stage IIIB inflammatory carcinoma) received adjuvant chemotherapy followed by HDCT with etoposide, cyclophosphamide, and either doxorubicin (CAVP) or cisplatin (CCVP). Variables analyzed included stage, tumor size, number of axillary nodes involved, grade and receptor status, and types of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy and HDCT. RESULTS With a median follow-up time of 46 months (range, 23 to 93), Kaplan-Meier estimates of 3.5-year OS for stage II, IIIA, and IIIB HRBC are 82% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67% to 97%), 79% (95% CI, 67% to 91%), and 72% (95% CI, 53% to 91%); RFS estimates are 71% (95% CI, 56% to 85%), 57% (95% CI, 43% to 72%), and 50% (95% CI, 29% to 71%) irrespective of the HDCT regimen. In univariate analysis, the risk of relapse was lower for patients with progesterone receptor (PR)-positive tumors (risk ratio [RR], 0.43; 95% CI, 0.22 to 0.81; P = .01) and higher for patients with inflammatory carcinoma (RR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.02 to 4.76; P = .05). OS was better for patients with PR (RR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.55; P = .003) and estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors (RR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.17 to 1.02; P = .05); OS was worse for patients with high-grade primary tumors (RR, 4.08; 95% CI, 1.21-13.7; P = .02). In multivariate analysis, PR positivity was associated with improved RFS (P = .01) and OS (P = .001). CONCLUSION HDCT in selected patients with HRBC is safe and warrants further evaluation. Patients with receptor-negative, high-grade, or inflammatory tumors require improvement in their therapeutic options. Better assessment of the role of HDCT awaits completion of ongoing randomized trials.

Treatment of germ cell cancer with two cycles of high-dose ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide with autologous stem-cell support.

PURPOSE To evaluate the activity of two cycles of high-dose ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide (ICE) with autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell support (aHPCS) in patients with poor-prognosis, chemotherapeutically sensitive germ cell cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty patients with germ cell tumor who had persistent disease or relapse from standard-risk or high-risk presentation were entered on this pilot study. The entry criteria included relapsed gonadal and extragonadal germ cell cancer unlikely to be cured by standard salvage therapy but without proven refractoriness to chemotherapy. Treatment consisted of two cycles of ICE chemotherapy with mesna uroprotection and aHPCS. On the first cycle, ifosfamide (IFX), 2 gm/m2; carboplatin, 400 mg/m2; and etoposide, 20 mg/kg, were administered on days -6, -5, and -4. On the second cycle, the doses and schedule of carboplatin and etoposide were identical, and patients with normal renal function received additional IFX, 2 g/m2 on day -3 and 1 g/ m2 on day -2. Mesna, 600 mg/m2 every 6 hours, was given until 24 hours following the final dose of IFX on each cycle, and autologous bone marrow and/or peripheral stem-cells were infused on day 0. RESULTS All twenty patients are assessable for toxicity and current disease status. Two patients received only one cycle of therapy, one because of the development of active hepatitis C following cycle 1, and one because of renal insufficiency. No patient died as a result of protocol therapy, and no patient developed debilitating peripheral neuropathy, symptomatic hearing loss, or severe renal insufficiency requiring dialysis. The median time to recovery of > or = 500 neutrophils/microL and platelets > or = 50,000/microL was day +11 and day +15, respectively. The median maximum creatinine was 1.6 mg/dL on each treatment cycle, and there was no other significant organ toxicity. With a median follow-up of 45 months, nine patients are alive and disease-free following protocol chemotherapy. One patient with embryonal cancer developed progressive pulmonary metastases 3 months after completing high-dose therapy, underwent complete resection of lung metastases, and remains disease-free at 63+ months. Eight patients are continuously disease free at 23+ to 70+ months after protocol therapy. Eleven patients died of progressive disease between 4 and 23 months following completion of treatment. CONCLUSION These results compare favorably to other studies in similarly selected patients undergoing salvage therapy with one or two cycles of chemotherapy containing high-dose carboplatin and etoposide with or without cyclophosphamide (CTX) or IFX. The excellent safety and tolerability profile of this regimen and its encouraging activity in poor-prognosis patients make it worthy of further study as part of initial therapy in randomized protocols for high-risk disease and early in the treatment of relapsed germ cell cancer.

Pharmacokinetics and toxicity of high-dose intravenous methotrexate in the treatment of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis

Purpose: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of high-dose intravenous (i.v.) methotrexate (MTX) with leucovorin in patients with meningeal carcinomatosis. Methods: Of 16 eligible patients entered on this study, 13 with meningeal carcinomatosis from breast cancer, lung cancer, or osteosarcoma were treated with MTX at loading doses of 200–1500 mg/m2, followed by a 23-h infusion of 800–6000 mg/m2. Three patients without meningeal disease were also treated and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) MTX concentrations were compared in patients with and without central nervous system (CNS) disease. Results: Patients without CNS disease had lower CSF MTX concentrations relative to the plasma MTX levels than those with CNS disease, who all had CSF MTX concentrations above the target cytotoxic concentration (1 μM). The CSF MTX concentrations correlated better with the free and the total plasma MTX concentrations than with the doses. The mean half-life of CSF MTX was 8.7 ± 3.4 h. The mean plasma clearance of MTX was not significantly different in patients with CNS disease (84 ± 41 ml/min per m2) versus without CNS disease (59 ± 38 ml/min per m2). All toxicities were grade 2 or less except grade 3 hematologic toxicity. No patient had an objective response in the CSF. Conclusion: This trial demonstrates that potentially cytotoxic CSF MTX concentrations (>1 μM) are delivered safely by i.v. infusion, a less invasive and better distributed CSF therapy compared with intrathecal MTX. Because of the excellent pharmacokinetics and toxicity, high-dose i.v. MTX should be evaluated at a loading dose of 700 mg/m2 and a 23-h infusion of 2800 mg/m2 with leucovorin in less heavily pretreated patients with carcinomatous meningitis.

Phase II Studies of Gemcitabine and Cisplatin in Heavily and Minimally Pretreated Metastatic Breast Cancer

PURPOSE Cisplatin and gemcitabine have single-agent activity in metastatic breast cancer, and preclinical data support synergy of the combination. Two parallel, phase II trials were conducted to evaluate the response rate, response duration, and toxicities of the combination. Genetic polymorphisms were analyzed for correlation with outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eligible women had measurable disease and heavily or minimally pretreated metastatic breast cancer. The heavily pretreated protocol required prior anthracycline and taxane therapy; cisplatin as part of high-dose therapy was allowed. All patients received cisplatin 25 mg/m(2) on days 1 through 4 and gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) on days 2 and 8 of a 21-day cycle with prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in the heavily pretreated group. Sera from a subset of patients were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism for polymorphisms in 10 genes of interest. RESULTS Of 136 women enrolled, 74 were heavily pretreated. Both protocols accrued to their two-stage design. The response rate for both the heavily and minimally pretreated cohorts was 26%, and the median durations of response were 5.3 and 5.9 months, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, hormone receptor-negative disease was associated with a higher response rate. The most common grades 3 or 4 toxicities were thrombocytopenia (71%), neutropenia (66%), and anemia (38%). In a subset of 55 patients, the xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD)-751, x-ray cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3) and cytidine deaminase polymorphisms were significantly associated with clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION Combination cisplatin and gemcitabine is active in metastatic breast cancer regardless of prior therapy. Genetic polymorphisms may tailor which patients benefit from this regimen.

Mitomycin C and menadione for the treatment of lung cancer: a phase II trial

SummaryA phase II trial of menadione [2.5 gm/m2 as a continuous intravenous (iv) infusion over 48 hours] followed by mitomycin C (10–20 mg/m2 iv bolus) administered every 4 to 6 weeks was performed in 23 patients with advanced lung cancer. Menadione, a vitamin K analog which lowers intracellular pools of reduced glutathione (GSH), was combined with mitomycin C in an attempt to overcome thiol-mediated resistance to alkylating agent chemotherapy. The median age of patients entered on this trial was 62 years; performance status ranged from 60–90%. Two of the 23 patients (9%; 95% confidence interval, 1% to 28%) had objective responses lasting 3.5 months and 13 months respectively, while 4 additional patients developed short unconfirmed responses (lacking follow-up response data to estimate response duration). Median survival for all patients was 5.5 months. Treatment with mitomycin C and menadione was well tolerated except for hematologic toxicity and cardiac events of unclear relationship to the study drugs. Thirty-one percent of treatment courses were complicated by grade 3 or 4 hematologic toxicity including one episode of hemolytic anemia. One patient developed interstitial pneumonitis. Two patients developed a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction: one patient remained asymptomatic, but the other patient developed congestive heart failure. Although only 9% of patients had confirmed objective responses, 28% (5 of 18) of the patients with non-small cell lung cancer demonstrated biological activity (tumor regressions fulfilling the criteria for objective response on a single occasion but 3 patients lacking a follow-up measurement to document response duration) to this combination of mitomycin C and menadione. We conclude that further studies of chemomodulation in non-small cell lung cancer are appropriate.

Mitomycin C and menadione for the treatment of advanced gastrointestinal cancers: a phase II trial

A phase II trial of menadione (2.5 g/m2 as a continuous intravenous infusion over 48 h) followed by mitomycin C (10–20 mg/m2 i.v. bolus) administered every 4–6 weeks was performed in 43 patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer. Menadione, a vitamin K analog that lowers intracellular pools of reduced glutathione, was combined with mitomycin C in an attempt to overcome thiol-mediated resistance to alkylating-agent chemotherapy. The median age of patients entered on this trial was 58 years; performance status ranged from 60%–100%. None of the 43 evaluable patients obtained an objective response to this combination regimen. Median survival was 6.6 months. Treatment with menadione and mitomycin C was reasonably well tolerated except for hematological toxicity. A total of 27% of treatment courses were complicated by grade 3 or 4 hematological toxicity including one episode of hemolytic anemia and one episode of hemolytic uremic syndrome. One patient developed irreversible interstitial pneumonitis, and 1 patient had an asymptomatic decrease in the left0ventricular ejection fraction. Despite preclinical evidence indicating that menadione pretreatment enhances the cytotoxicity of mitomycin C, our study documents the resistance of advanced gastrointestinal cancers, particularly colorectal cancer, to mitomycin C modulated by menadione.

Phase I trial of intraperitoneal gemcitabine in the treatment of advanced malignancies primarily confined to the peritoneal cavity

Purpose: To determine the maximally tolerated dose, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of i.p. gemcitabine. Experimental Design: Patients had peritoneal carcinomatosis. Gemcitabine (40, 80, 120, or 160 mg/m2) was administered into the peritoneal cavity in 2 L of warmed saline on days 1, 4, 8, and 12 of a 28-day cycle. Results: Thirty patients received 63 (median, 2; range, 0-6) courses. Tumors included ovary (14), uterus (2), colon (6), pancreas (3), and others (5). Dose-limiting toxicity included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dyspnea, fatal respiratory failure, and grade 3 elevation of alanine aminotransferase in three patients. Hematologic toxicity and pain were ≤grade 2. Three patients had decreased or resolved ascites. Of 19 patients evaluable for response, 10 had stable disease (median, 3.5 courses) and 9 had progressive disease. The median peak peritoneal concentration was 1,116-fold (range, 456-1,886) higher than the peak plasma level. Plasma and peritoneal levels were undetectable within 8 to 12 h. At 120 mg/m2, the median peritoneal area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) was 82,612 ng/mL × h (range, 53,296-199,830) and the plasma AUC was 231 ng/mL × h (range, 47.6-259.5). The mean peritoneal advantage (AUCperitoneal/AUCplasma) was 847 (range, 356-1,385). Conclusions: I.p. administration of gemcitabine is tolerated within the tested dosage range. Technical problems with the Porta-Cath device and i.p. therapy per se may have been exacerbated by the enrollment of many patients with a variety of advanced i.p. diseases. Given the significant increase in local dose intensity and the documented activity of this drug, this agent may be an excellent candidate for i.p. therapy in optimally debulked ovarian cancer, either alone or in combination.

High-dose paclitaxel in combination with doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and peripheral blood progenitor cell rescue in patients with high-risk primary and responding metastatic breast carcinoma: toxicity profile, relationship to paclitaxel pharmacokinetics and short-term outcome.

We assessed the feasibility and pharmacokinetics of high-dose infusional paclitaxel in combination with doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and peripheral blood progenitor cell rescue. Between October 1995 and June 1998, 63 patients with high-risk primary [stage II with ≥ 10 axillary nodes involved, stage IIIA or stage IIIB inflammatory carcinoma (n = 53)] or with stage IV responsive breast cancer (n = 10) received paclitaxel 150–775 mg/m2infused over 24 hours, doxorubicin 165 mg/m2as a continuous infusion over 96 hours, and cyclophosphamide 100 mg kg–1. There were no treatment-related deaths. Dose-limiting toxicity was reversible, predominantly sensory neuropathy following administration of paclitaxel at the 775 mg/m2dose level. Paclitaxel pharmacokinetics were non-linear at higher dose levels; higher paclitaxel dose level, AUC, and peak concentrations were associated with increased incidence of paraesthesias. No correlation between stomatitis, haematopoietic toxicities, and paclitaxel dose or pharmacokinetics was found. Kaplan–Meier estimates of 30-month event-free and overall survival for patients with primary breast carcinoma are 65% (95% CI; 51–83%) and 77% (95% CI; 64–93%). Paclitaxel up to 725 mg/m2infused over 24 hours in combination with with doxorubicin 165 mg/m2and cyclophosphamide 100 mg kg–1is tolerable. A randomized study testing this regimen against high-dose carboplatin, thiotepa and cyclophosphamide (STAMP V) is currently ongoing.

Pharmacokinetics and toxicity of 120-hour continuous-infusion hydroxyurea in patients with advanced solid tumors

Abstract A group of 18 patients with advanced cancer were entered on a phase I study of a 120-h continuous intravenous infusion of hydroxyurea. The dose of hydroxyurea was escalated in cohorts of patients from 1 to 2 to 3.2 g/m2 per day. The primary dose-limiting toxicity was neutropenia, often accompanied by leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and generalized skin rash. Prophylactic treatment of patients with dexamethasone and diphenhydramine hydrochloride prevented the skin rash, but not the hematopoietic toxicities. The pharmacokinetics of hydroxyurea were studied in all patients. The steady-state concentrations of hydroxyurea were linearly correlated with the dose (R2 = 0.71, n = 18, P<0.0001). The mean±SE concentrations were 93±16, 230±6 and 302±27 μM at 1, 2 and 3.2 g/m2 per day, respectively. The mean±SE renal and nonrenal clearances of hydroxyurea were 2.14±0.18 and 3.39±0.28 l/h per m2 (n = 16), neither of which correlated with the dose. The concentration of hydroxyurea in plasma decayed monoexponentially with a mean±SE half-life of 3.25±0.18 h (n = 17). The steady-state concentration of hydroxyurea was >200 μM in all nine patients treated at 2 g/m2 per day, a dose which was well tolerated for 5 days. We recommend this dose for phase II trials in combination with other antineoplastic agents.

Keratin Immunohistochemistry Detects Clinically Significant Metastases in Bone Marrow Biopsy Specimens in Women With Lobular Breast Carcinoma

Some patients with breast cancer currently undergo bone marrow biopsy to make clinical decisions regarding therapy; however, lobular carcinoma can be difficult to detect in routine histologic sections. The authors reviewed retrospectively all available bone marrow biopsies from patients with lobular carcinoma diagnosed between January, 1, 1989, and September, 25, 1997, at the City of Hope National Medical Center to identify useful morphologic features and to determine the utility of pan-keratin immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. A total of 65 biopsies from 54 patients were reviewed. Thirteen of the 65 biopsies were classified initially as containing metastatic tumor based on histologic features alone. With the addition of keratin IHC, seven additional cases of metastatic disease were detected. Forty of the 54 patients received stem cell replacement or autologous bone marrow transplantation. Disease-free survival after high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell replacement or autologous bone marrow transplantation was stratified into three groups based on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and IHC results. Two-year disease-free survival was 33% for the H&E−/IHC+ group versus 90% for the H&E−/IHC− group (p = 0.005) among patients clinically free of disease at the time of stem cell replacement or autologous bone marrow transplantation. Two-year disease-free survival was 0% in the H&E+/IHC+ group (p = 0.04, compared with the H&E−/IHC+ group). The authors conclude that routine morphologic examination without the aid of keratin IHC is unreliable in detecting clinically relevant metastatic lobular carcinoma in bone marrow biopsies. These findings suggest that pan-keratin immunostaining may be indicated on bone marrow biopsy specimens from lobular carcinoma patients if the biopsy appears histologically negative for metastatic tumor on H&E sections.