Rapid progression of Barrett's esophagus to metastatic esophageal carcinoma in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Barrett's esophagus is a common premalignant condition that predisposes to the development of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus through a process of transformation from metaplasia to dysplasia and then carcinoma. Periodic endoscopic surveillance with multiple biopsies is adopted by most physicians to detect dysplasia or early carcinoma. We report a case of an 80-year-old white man with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who had periodic endoscopic surveillance without any evidence of dysplasia or cancer, and who died of metastatic carcinoma of the esophagus only 18 months after his last upper endoscopic examination. We suspect that the relative immunosuppressed state resulting from his CLL was the major contributor to the rapid progression of the Barrett's esophagus to cancer. Patients with CLL have higher risk of second cancers, and several cases of aggressive carcinomas have been reported in association with CLL. This is the first case report of metastatic esophageal cancer arising in Barrett's esophagus in a patient with CLL. This case suggests that we might need a more aggressive surveillance strategy for Barrett's esophagus in patients with CLL or other immunocompromised conditions.

Phase I clinical and pharmacokinetic study of hexamethylene bisacetamide (NSC 95580) administered as a five-day continuous infusion.

Hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), a potent differentiating agent, was tested in patients with refractory, solid tumors. Twenty patients received 25 evaluable courses. HMBA was given by continuous i.v. infusion for 5 consecutive days with courses repeated every 4 wk, provided there was acceptable, reversible toxicity. The starting dose was 4.8 g/m2/day for 5 days with escalations in subsequent cohorts of patients to 43.2 g/m2/day for 5 days. The patients included 12 females and eight males with median age of 56 yr (range 35 to 75 yr) and a median performance status of 80% (range, 60 to 100%). All except two patients had received prior chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both. Metabolic acidosis and neurotoxicity, consisting of agitation, hallucinations, confusion, and alteration of consciousness, were dose dependent and dose limiting. The one patient treated with 43.2 m/m2/day became acidotic, agitated, and disoriented but recovered to his previous mental and electrolyte status by 8 days after the end of the HMBA infusion. One patient treated with 33.6 g/m2/day became severely acidotic (pH 7.07) and obtunded and also developed myocardial and cerebral infarctions during the HMBA infusion. The other two patients treated with 33.6 g/m2/day became mildly agitated during drug infusion. Six patients were treated at 24 g/m2/day without neurotoxicity. Transient renal insufficiency was seen in the two patients with severe neurotoxicity and in three other patients. Dose-related, mild to moderate nausea and vomiting were observed in ten patients. Four patients developed cutaneous herpes infections during treatment. White blood cell depression was not dose related, and at 24 g/m2/day, the median white blood cell nadir was 4,500/microliter (range, 2,000 to 7,900/microliter). Thrombocytopenia was dose related. At 24 g/m2/day, the median platelet count nadir was 207,000/microliter (range, 66,000 to 542,000/microliter). No objective tumor regressions were noted. HMBA pharmacokinetics was studied at all dosages. Plasma and urine samples from 20 patients were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography for parent compound. HMBA plasma steady-state concentrations (Css) were achieved in all patients by 12 to 24 h into infusion. Once Css was achieved, daily variation was generally less than or equal to 10% from the mean Css. HMBA plasma Css increased linearly with dose, but there was variation in the Css achieved in individual patients at each dose. Doses of 24 to 33.6 g/m2/day consistently produced plasma HMBA Css of 1 to 2 mM matching concentrations required for differentiation in vitro.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Phase I trial of menogaril administered as an intermittent daily infusion for 5 days.

Menogaril, a semisynthetic derivative of nogalomycin, was brought to phase I clinical testing in patients with refractory solid tumors. Twenty-seven patients received 50 evaluable courses. Menogaril was given as a 1-2-hour iv infusion on 5 consecutive days, with courses repeated every 4 weeks, provided there was reversal of all drug-related toxic effects. The starting dose was 3.5 mg/m2/day X 5, with escalations in subsequent cohorts of patients to 56 mg/m2/day X 5. Neutropenia was dose dependent and dose limiting. At 56 mg/m2/day X 5, the median wbc count nadir was 1100/microliter, and two of four patients were hospitalized for fever and suspected bacteremia. At 50 mg/m2/day X 5, the wbc count nadir was 2300/microliter. Platelet toxicity was less severe. Nonhematologic toxicity consisted primarily of local urticaria and moderate to severe phlebitis at the infusion site, which were dose dependent and lasted up to 6 weeks. For phase II studies, the recommended dose of menogaril is 50 mg/m2/day for 5 consecutive days administered as a 2-hour intermittent infusion, repeated every 28 days.

Human pharmacokinetics, excretion, and metabolism of the anthracycline antibiotic menogaril (7-OMEN, NSC 269148) and their correlation with clinical toxicities.

In a Phase I study, menogaril (7-OMEN) was administered daily for 5 days/course, every 21-28 days. Dosages of 3.5, 7, 11.5, 17, and 31.5 mg/m2 were infused over 1 h, and dosages of 42, 50, and 56 mg/m2 were infused over 2 h. Pharmacokinetics was studied at all dosages. Plasma and urine samples were collected from 24 patients, and bile samples were also collected from 2 patients. 7-OMEN and metabolites were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. 7-OMEN was the major plasma fluorescent species at all times, with only trace amounts of N-demethyl menogaril observed. 7-OMEN disappeared from plasma biexponentially with t1/2 alpha 0.19 +/- 0.04 (mean +/- SE) h and t1/2 beta 13.22 +/- 1.54 h. Plasma pharmacokinetics of 7-OMEN was linear from 3.5-56 mg/m2; area under the curve increased proportionally with dosage. Total body clearance of 7-OMEN was 28.18 +/- 3.33 liter/m2/h, Vc was 224 +/- 30.8 liter/m2, and Vss was 370 +/- 25.7 liter/m2. Plasma pharmacokinetics of 7-OMEN studied on multiple days of a given course were similar. Urinary excretion of 7-OMEN and fluorescent metabolites accounted for 5.4 +/- 0.4% of the daily dose. Parent compound still represented greater than or equal to 80% of urinary drug fluorescence after 24 h. N-demethyl menogaril was the only other fluorescent drug species detected in urine. In two patients with biliary tract drains, biliary excretion of drug fluorescence accounted for 2.2-4.2% of the daily dose. Only 7-OMEN and N-demethyl menogaril were detected in bile by high performance liquid chromatography and thin layer chromatography. 7-OMEN was the major fluorescent biliary species, but, by 24 h, N-demethyl menogaril accounted for approximately 40% of biliary drug fluorescence. When considered in light of each patient's observed toxicities, excellent relationships were observed between the plasma area under the curve of 7-OMEN and the percentage of decreases in WBC and absolute neutrophil count. These latter findings should be useful in developing more precise and intelligent dosing schemes for 7-OMEN.

Phase I trial of 5-day continuous infusion aziridinylbenzoquinone (AZQ, diazaquone, NSC 182968).

AZQ was given to 14 patients with solid tumors in a phase I trial. Eight males and six females with a median Karnofsky performance status of 70% (range 40-90%) and a median age of 64 years (range 24-72) received 18 evaluable courses. All patients received prior chemotherapy and seven had prior irradiation. A continuous infusion for 5 consecutive days at doses of 4-8 mg/m2 per day was given every 3-4 weeks. Dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression, especially thrombocytopenia. No patient developed an infection while on this study. There was no evidence of cumulative toxicity in the three patients receiving two or more courses. Nonhematologic toxicity consisted only of mild nausea and vomiting in three patients and mild diarrhea in two patients. No patient experienced any mucosal, hepatic, renal, cardiac, or central nervous system toxicity. No objective antitumor responses were seen in the three patients with measurable disease who received two or more courses of AZQ. The recommended doses for phase II studies for continuous-infusion AZQ are 6 mg/m2/day X 5 repeated every 4 weeks.

Phase I trial of N-methylformamide (NMF, NSC 3051).

N-methylformamide (NMF) is a polar-planar solvent with both cytotoxic and differentiating activity in preclinical models; it also acts as a radiosensitizer. We treated 17 patients with 18 courses of NMF on a schedule of six weekly doses, administered on a rapid intravenous infusion, which were escalated from 875 to 2,000 mg/m2/wk. The predominant toxicity was a dose-related syndrome of fatigue, malaise, nausea, and anorexia, which was reflected by a decrease in performance status (Karnofsky) of greater than or equal to 20% in six of ten patients who received doses greater than or equal to 1,500 mg/m2/wk. Other gastrointestinal toxicities included moderate vomiting and mild diarrhea. Reversible increase of liver enzymes occurred in six of ten patients at doses greater than or equal to 1,500 mg/m2/wk. The maximum tolerated dose on this schedule is 1,500 mg/m2/wk; the dose recommended for phase II studies is 1,125 mg/m2/wk. Future studies of this regimen in a combined modality setting are planned.

Unilateral adrenal hypertrophy in ectopic ACTH syndrome.

Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome was the first ectopic hormone syndrome to be described. It has been shown that most lung tumors have elevated ACTH levels, and most patients with these tumors have high serum ACTH values. The few cases in which cushing's syndrome develops are presumed to have bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. We encountered a case of ectopic ACTH-caused Cushing's syndrome due to unilateral adrenal hypertrophy.