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Radiation Therapy, Pemetrexed Disodium, and Carboplatin in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer That Can Be Removed By Surgery

A Phase II Trial of Preoperative Radiation and Chemotherapy (Pemetrexed and Carboplatin) for Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer

Status
Terminated
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00268437
Enrollment
27
Registered
2005-12-22
Start date
2006-04-30
Completion date
2015-03-31
Last updated
2016-07-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Esophageal Cancer

Keywords

adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, stage III esophageal cancer, stage II esophageal cancer

Brief summary

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as pemetrexed disodium and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Pemetrexed disodium may also stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving radiation therapy together with pemetrexed disodium and carboplatin before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving radiation therapy together with pemetrexed disodium and carboplatin works in treating patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer that can be removed by surgery.

Detailed description

OBJECTIVES: Primary \* Determine the pathologic complete response rate of radiotherapy, pemetrexed disodium, and carboplatin when administered prior to esophagectomy in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer. Secondary * Determine the activity, in terms of clinical response rate and adverse event profile of radiotherapy, pemetrexed disodium, and carboplatin when administered prior to esophagectomy. * Determine the overall survival, time-to-progression, and time-to-treatment failure for patients receiving the above combined modality treatment. * Determine the surgical outcome for all patients who undergo esophagectomy. * Determine the time-to-disease recurrence and disease-free survival for patients who have a curative resection. * Determine quality of life of patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients undergo radiotherapy once daily, 5 days a week, for 5 ½ weeks and concurrently receive pemetrexed disodium IV over 10 minutes and carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 22. Treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients who are eligible will undergo esophagectomy between 4-12 weeks after completion of radiotherapy. Quality of life is assessed at baseline, immediately prior to day 22 of chemotherapy, and within 2 weeks prior to surgery. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for approximately 4 years. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 50 patients will be accrued for this study.

Interventions

DRUGcarboplatin

carboplatin is to be given on days 1 and 22 of the 5 ½ weeks of radiation treatment.

DRUGPemetrexed

Pemetrexed is to be given on days 1 and 22 of the 5 ½ weeks of radiation treatment.

PROCEDUREconventional surgery
PROCEDUREneoadjuvant therapy
RADIATIONradiation therapy

Radiation therapy begins day 1 and continues for 5 ½ weeks (45 Gy in 22-25 fractions of 1.8 Gy to extended field; 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions within boost field).

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically or cytologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of the esophagus or gastroesophageal (GE) junction * No T1-2, N0, M0 disease * No palpable or biopsy-proven involvement of supraclavicular nodes or radiographically involved supraclavicular nodes (\> 1.5 cm in greatest dimension) for lesions in mid-thoracic, distal thoracic, or GE junction \+ Supraclavicular node involvement allowed provided there are upper thoracic esophagus primary lesions * Patients with involvement of celiac nodes (stations 15-20) are eligible if the primary lesion is mid-thoracic, distal esophagus, or GE junction * No evidence of distant metastases * Tumor must be considered surgically resectable \- Patients with T4, N0 tumors that are potentially resectable are eligible * No clinically relevant pleural or peritoneal effusion that is not amenable to drainage PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 * Life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks * Absolute neutrophil count ≥1,500/mm\^3 * Platelet count ≥100,000/mm\^3 * Hemoglobin ≥10 g/dL * Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * AST ≤ 3 times ULN * Creatinine clearance ≥ 45 mL/min * No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure * Pregnant or nursing women are ineligible * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No uncontrolled infection * No other severe underlying disease that would preclude study entry * No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ * No prior sensitivity or allergic reaction to pemetrexed disodium or carboplatin * Able to swallow pills PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * No prior chemotherapy for esophageal cancer * No prior radiotherapy field that overlapped the anticipated fields of study radiotherapy * No prior radiotherapy to \> 30% of the marrow cavity * Patients taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) must be able to discontinue use 2 days prior, during, and 2 days after pemetrexed disodium administration (5 days prior for long-life NSAIDs) * Patients must not have been receiving cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors at study entry and while receiving protocol therapy

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pathologic Complete Response RateBaseline to time of surgery (around 10 - 18 weeks post-baseline)The proportion of pathologic complete responses will be estimated by the number of pathologic complete responses divided by the total number of evaluable patients. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals for the true pathologic complete response rate will be calculated. Per Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST v1.0) for Measurable disease is defined as at least one lesion whose longest diameter can be accurately measured as ≥2.0 cm with conventional techniques or as ≥1.0 cm with spiral CT. Lesions on chest x-ray are acceptable as measurable lesions when they are clearly defined and surrounded by aerated lung. However, CT is preferable.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall SurvivalFrom baseline to 4 yearsTime from registration to death due to any cause.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Recruitment details

This trial closed early because, during an interim analysis, the primary endpoint fell short. However, 26 eligible patients were accrued. Due to early closure not all the endpoints were analyzed.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Pemetrexed/Carboplatin
Pemetrexed+Carboplatin+Radiation\> \> carboplatin: carboplatin is to be given on days 1 and 22 of the 5 ½ weeks of radiation treatment.\> \> Pemetrexed: Pemetrexed is to be given on days 1 and 22 of the 5 ½ weeks of radiation treatment.\> \> conventional surgery\> \> neoadjuvant therapy\> \> radiation therapy: Radiation therapy begins day 1 and continues for 5 ½ weeks (45 Gy in 22-25 fractions of 1.8 Gy to extended field; 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions within boost field).
27
Total27

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000
Overall StudyIneligible1

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPemetrexed/Carboplatin
Age, Continuous66 years
Region of Enrollment
United States
27 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
7 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
20 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
27 / 27
serious
Total, serious adverse events
6 / 27

Outcome results

Primary

Pathologic Complete Response Rate

The proportion of pathologic complete responses will be estimated by the number of pathologic complete responses divided by the total number of evaluable patients. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals for the true pathologic complete response rate will be calculated. Per Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST v1.0) for Measurable disease is defined as at least one lesion whose longest diameter can be accurately measured as ≥2.0 cm with conventional techniques or as ≥1.0 cm with spiral CT. Lesions on chest x-ray are acceptable as measurable lesions when they are clearly defined and surrounded by aerated lung. However, CT is preferable.

Time frame: Baseline to time of surgery (around 10 - 18 weeks post-baseline)

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Pemetrexed/CarboplatinPathologic Complete Response Rate23 percentage of participants
Secondary

Overall Survival

Time from registration to death due to any cause.

Time frame: From baseline to 4 years

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Pemetrexed/CarboplatinOverall Survival17.8 months

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026