Dose-finding and pharmacokinetic study of an all-oral combination regimen of oral vinorelbine and capecitabine for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: A phase I study was performed to determine the maximal tolerated dose, recommended doses (RDs), safety and efficacy of oral vinorelbine when combined with capecitabine in an all-oral chemotherapy regimen in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), with pharmacokinetic blood sampling to investigate potential drug-drug interactions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients with MBC received as first- or second-line chemotherapy, oral vinorelbine at a dose of 60 or 80 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 (and 15) with escalating doses of capecitabine from 1650 to 2500 mg/m2/day days 1-14 every 3 or 4 weeks. Three schedules were tested: day 1, day 8 and weekly regimens of oral vinorelbine with a 14-day course of capecitabine every 3 weeks; and a days 1 and 8 regimen of oral vinorelbine with a 14-day course of capecitabine every 4 weeks. RESULTS: With oral vinorelbine at 60 mg/m2, the RDs were established as oral vinorelbine 60 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 plus capecitabine 2250 mg/m2/day days 1-14 and oral vinorelbine 60 mg/m2/week plus capecitabine 2000 mg/m2/day days 1-14. With oral vinorelbine at 80 mg/m2, the RD was oral vinorelbine 80 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 plus capecitabine 2000 mg/m2/day days 1-14. Neutropenia was the main dose-limiting toxicity of the combination; it was reported in 40 patients (90.9%), with grade 3 in 14 patients (31.8%) and 6.2% of cycles, and grade 4 in 12 patients (27.3%) and 4.3% of cycles. Complications were rare with only three patients experiencing febrile neutropenia (one episode each). The most frequent non-haematological toxicity was gastrointestinal; however, the incidence of grade 3 was low, with no episode of grade 4. Hand-foot syndrome was reported in 14 patients (31.8%) and 22.6% of cycles, with grade 2 in two patients (4.5%) and 1.2% of cycles (two episodes each). No episode of grade 3 was observed. Objective responses were reported in 18 patients (three complete responses and 15 partial responses), yielding a response rate of 40.9% in the intention-to-treat population according to the investigator assessment. Results from the pharmacokinetic study demonstrated the absence of mutual pharmacokinetic interactions when both drugs were co-administered. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of oral vinorelbine and capecitabine is safe and easy to administer in an outpatient setting. This all-oral combination chemotherapy may offer a good alternative to the intravenous route for patients with MBC. Based on these promising results, a phase II study has started using oral vinorelbine 60 mg/m2/week with capecitabine 2000 mg/m2/day days 1-14 every 3 weeks as first-line chemotherapy in patients with MBC.

Phase II study of oral vinorelbine in first-line advanced breast cancer chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: A phase II trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy, tolerance, and pharmacokinetic profiles of oral vinorelbine (Navelbine). Oral Navelbine (NVB; Pierre Fabre Médicament, Boulogne, France) was given as first-line chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic breast carcinoma (ABC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-four patients were entered to receive oral NVB on a weekly basis for a total of 8 weeks unless progression or toxicity occurred. Oral NVB was given at 60 mg/m(2) weekly for the first three administrations and was increased to 80 mg/m(2) for the subsequent administrations if there was no grade 4 neutropenia or no more than one episode of grade 3 neutropenia. Patients with objective response or stable disease continued treatment up to a total of 12 weeks or more. RESULTS: Fifty-eight evaluable patients were included in our study. Four patients (6.9%) had complete responses, and 14 (24.1%) had partial responses, for an overall response rate of 31% (95% CI, 19% to 43%). Median progression-free survival was 17.4 weeks. Median overall survival is not yet reached. There were no treatment-related deaths. The main toxicity was neutropenia: grade 4 in 17.2% of the patients, and 1.8% of administrations and associated clinical serious events in 4 patients (6.2%). Grade 3 and 4 nausea and/or vomiting were noted in 3.1% and 4.6% of the patients, respectively. Only one patient developed grade 3 neuroconstipation. An analysis of Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 forms revealed no significant alteration between baseline and weeks 8 and 16 in global quality of life. CONCLUSION: Oral NVB at this schedule is an effective and well-tolerated agent in the treatment of ABC and offers a promising alternative to the intravenous route. Combination studies are ongoing.

[Phase III trials in oncology]. / Les essais de phase III en oncologie.

The randomised trial is the best context for the assessment of any new molecule in oncology. The authors emphasize the methodological aspects of randomised trials and suggest strategies to be adopted in phase III trials, based on the newly orthodox concept of evidence-based medicine, while underscoring the need for context specific adaptations to increase relevance and specificity of sought endpoints, including other means of controlling adequately the clinical experiment without randomization (patient as his own control models). The authors also suggest certain strategic changes. For example, restrictive but relevant eligibility criteria may help decrease the number of patients needed without compromising statistical power as well as other strategies aimed at proving the efficacy of a new molecule without carrying out large trials, which are too long and costly.

Preclinical development of camptothecin derivatives and clinical trials in pediatric oncology.

Although the prognosis of childhood cancers has dramatically improved over the last three decades, new active drugs are needed. Camptothecins represent a very attractive new class of anticancer drugs to develop in paediatric oncology. The preclinical and clinical development of two of these DNA-topoisomerase I inhibitors, i.e. topotecan and irinotecan, is ongoing in paediatric malignancies. Here we review the currently available results of this evaluation. Topotecan proved to be active against several paediatric tumour xenografts. In paediatric phase I studies exploring several administration schedules, myelosuppression was dose-limiting. The preliminary results of topotecan evaluation in phase II study showed antitumour activity in neuroblastoma (response rate: 15% at relapse and 37% in newly diagnosed patients with disseminated disease) and in metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma (40% in untreated patients). Topotecan-containing drug combinations are currently investigated. Irinotecan displayed a broad spectrum of activity in paediatric solid tumour xenografts, including rhabdo-myosarcoma, neuroblastoma, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, malignant glioma and juvenile colon cancer. For several of these histology types, tumour-free survivors have been observed among animals bearing an advanced-stage tumour at time of treatment. The clinical evaluation of irinotecan in children is ongoing. Irinotecan undergoes a complex in vivo biotransformation involving several enzyme systems, such as carboxylesterase, UDPGT and cytochrome P450, in children as well as in adults. Preclinical studies of both drugs have shown that their activity was schedule-dependent. The optimal schedule of administration is an issue that needs to be addressed in children. In conclusion, the preliminary results of the paediatric evaluation of camptothecin derivatives show very encouraging results in childhood malignancies. The potential place of camptothecins in the treatment of paediatric malignant tumours is discussed.

[Testicular biopsy at the stopping of the treatment in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: value of the immunohistochemical detection of residual blasts]. / Biopsie testiculaire à l'arrêt du traitement des leucémies aiguës lymphoblastiques: intérêt de la détection immunohistochimique des blastes résiduels.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of clinical and histological detection of testicular leukemia after completion of therapy is still debated. Immunohistochemical study could improve the results of this detection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1982 and 1992, 70 consecutive boys with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and treated with the same therapeutic regimen were included in the study. Testicular biopsy (TB) was surgical and bilateral. One piece of tissue was fixed and analysed by conventional microscopy. An immunohistochemical study was performed on the other sample with a panel of anti-T and anti-B Mc Ab, including JCB 117 (anti-CD79a) which stains early pre B lymphoblasts. RESULTS: Twenty-five children relapsed while on treatment and did not undergo TB. Among the 45 boys who underwent routine TB, one had a diffuse infiltration seen in conventional histology. Thirty-nine had normal morphological and immunohistochemical study: among them, six relapsed subsequently in bone marrow; in this group, event free survival (EFS) was 85 +/- 10% with a median follow-up of 80 months after the biopsy. In the five remaining boys, anti-CD79a was found positive on blasts in four cases and anti-CD3 in one case; four of those relapsed, including two in the testes during the year following the biopsy; EFS was 20 +/- 36% (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: New Mc Ab such as JCB 117 (anti-CD79a) might detect a minimal residual disease in the testes of children treated for ALL, particularly on routine histological material. These results, if confirmed in larger series, might influence further therapeutic strategy.