A randomised phase II multicentre trial of irinotecan (CPT-11) using four different schedules in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

The purpose of this phase II trial was to compare the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of four irinotecan schedules for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. In total, 174 5-fluorouracil pretreated patients were randomised to: arm A (n=41), 350 mg m(-2) irinotecan as a 90-min i.v. infusion q3 weeks; arm B (n=38), 125 mg m(-2) irinotecan as a 90-min i.v. infusion weekly x 4 weeks q6 weeks; arm C (n=46), 250 mg m(-2) irinotecan as a 90-min i.v. infusion q2 weeks; or arm D (n=49), 10 mg m(-2) day(-1) irinotecan as a 14-day continuous infusion q3 weeks. No significant differences in efficacy across the four arms were observed, although a shorter time to treatment failure was noted for arm D (1.7 months; P=0.02). Overall response rates were in the range 5-11%. Secondary end points included median survival (6.4-9.4 months), and time to progression (2.7-3.8 months) and treatment failure (1.7-3.2 months). Similarly, there were no significant differences in the incidence of grade 3-4 toxicities, although the toxicity profile between arms A, B, and C and D did differ. Generally, significantly less haematologic toxicity, alopecia and cholinergic syndrome were observed in arm D; however, there was a trend for increased gastrointestinal toxicity. Irinotecan is an effective and safe second-line treatment for colorectal cancer. The schedules examined yielded equivalent results, indicating that there is no advantage of the prolonged vs short infusion schedules.

Evaluation of abdominal fat distribution in noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: relationship to insulin resistance.

Accumulation of visceral adipose tissue is associated with metabolic complications such as noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of abdominal adipose tissue on insulin sensitivity in subjects with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Areas of abdominal fat were calculated from axial magnetic resonance images obtained at the level of the umbilicus in 21 men with NIDDM [age, 45.6 +/- 8.3 (+/-SD) yr; body mass index, 29.3 +/- 4.5 kg/m(-2); total body fat (skinfold thickness), 26.8 +/- 5.4%; waist to hip ratio, 0.97 +/- 0.07; duration of diabetes, 59 +/- 47 months; hemoglobin A1c, 8.1 +/- 1.5%]. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by an insulin tolerance test. The areas of deep abdominal fat and sc abdominal fat were, respectively, 135.3 +/- 55.1 and 211.8 +/- 99.1 cm2. The blood glucose disappearance rate was 2.11 +/- 0.87%/min and was negatively related to deep abdominal fat (r = 0.72; P = 0.0025). In contrast, areas of sc abdominal fat, total body fat, body mass index, and waist to hip ratio were not related to the blood glucose disappearance rate. Plasma triglyceride concentrations averaged 1.8 +/- 0.8 mmol/L and were positively related to deep abdominal fat (r = 0.69; P = 0.0018). We conclude that insulin sensitivity is strongly related to visceral adipose tissue accumulation in NIDDM.

Mobilization of visceral adipose tissue related to the improvement in insulin sensitivity in response to physical training in NIDDM. Effects of branched-chain amino acid supplements.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of an intense physical training program on abdominal fat distribution, glycemic control, and insulin sensitivity in patients with NIDDM and to determine whether branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplements influence these effects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Twenty-four patients (ages 45 +/- 2 [mean +/- SE] years, BMI 30.2 +/- 0.9 kg/m2, HbA1c 7.9 +/- 0.3%) were randomly assigned to four groups: training plus BCAA supplement (n = 6), training plus placebo (n = 6), sedentary plus BCAA supplement (n = 6), and sedentary plus placebo (n = 6). Physical training consisted of a supervised 45-min cycling exercise at 75% of their oxygen uptake peak (VO2 peak) two times per week and an intermittent exercise one time per week for 2 months. RESULTS: Patients who exercised increased their VO2 peak by 41% and their insulin sensitivity by 46%. Physical training significantly decreased abdominal fat evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (umbilicus), with a greater loss of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) (48%) in comparison with the loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue (18%), but did not significantly affect body weight. The change in visceral abdominal fat was associated with the improvement in insulin sensitivity (r = 0.84, P = 0.001). BCAA supplementation had no effect on abdominal fat and glucose metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Physical training resulted in an improvement in insulin sensitivity with concomitant loss of VAT and should be included in the treatment program for patients with NIDDM.

Combined effects of caloric restriction and branched-chain amino acid supplementation on body composition and exercise performance in elite wrestlers.

Twenty-five competitive wrestlers restricted their caloric intake (28 kcal.kg-1.day-1) for 19 days, using a hypocaloric control (hC, n = 6), hypocaloric high-protein (hHP, n = 7), hypocaloric high-branched-chain amino acid (hBCAA, n = 6), hypocaloric low-protein (hLP, n = 6) diet to determine the effects of caloric restriction on body composition and performances versus control diet (C, n = 6). Anthropometric parameters (weight, percent body fat) and adipose tissue (AT) distribution measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained before and after diet, were compared. A significant highest body weight loss (-4 kg, p < 0.05) and decrease in the percent of body fat (-17.3%, p < 0.05) were observed for subjects of the hBCAA group. Subjects of the hBCAA group exhibited a significant reduction (-34.4%, p < 0.05) in abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT). There was no change in aerobic (VO2max) (p > 0.75) and anaerobic capacities (Wingate test) (p > 0.81), and in muscular strength (p > 0.82). We conclude that under our experimental conditions, the combination of moderate energy restriction and BCAA supplementation induced significant and preferential losses of VAT, and allowed maintainance of a high level of performance.