Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
Antineoplastic agent
Brief summary
The primary objective of the study is to assess whether human subjects can be made tolerant to intravenously administered Crotoxin and achieve higher and more therapeutically effective doses levels without the previously reported adverse effects associated with bolus i.m. administration.
Detailed description
Crotoxin has been shown to induce neurotoxic tolerance in animals allowing them to receive high doses associated with effective anti-tumor activity in the absence of adverse side effects. The study plans to demonstrate this effect in human subjects using two dose escalation protocols; slow and fast. It is believed that this approach will prevent toxic side effects to subjects. The route of administration has not been employed clinically and is designed to avoid the myonecrotic effects of intramuscular injections. The target maximum dose is almost five times that of the previously reported MTD. The revised protocol incorporates continuous infusion with a mobile pump and includes active suppression of the allergic reaction by pre-treatment administration of antihistamines.
Interventions
DRUGCrotoxin
Intra patient dose escalation
Sponsors
Celtic Biotech Ltd
Institut de Cancérologie de l'Ouest
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Phase Ic, continuation to assess accelerated dose escalation and determine MTD
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Subjects will: 1. Be adult patients with histologically confirmed advanced solid tumors (excluding basal cell, colon, pancreatic and stomach cancers) who have progressed despite standard therapy, or for whom no standard therapy exists. 2. Have an ambulatory PS (ECOG 0-1). 3. Have tumor evaluation made within 28 days before study drug administration 4. Have completed radiotherapy or chemotherapy or any other anticancer therapy (including experimental therapy) more than 4 weeks prior to enrolment into the trial and must have recovered from all acute side effects of these treatments 5. Have a life expectancy greater than 3 months 6. Have an age ≥ 18 years 7. Have normal marrow function with the following haematological parameters normal; Hb ≥10g/dl, WBC ≥4.0 x10E9/L, neutrophil count ≥ 2.0 x 10E9/L and platelets ≥100 x10E9 /L 8. Have no medically significant impairment of cardiac or respiratory functions\< 9. Have adequate hepatic function with Total bilirubin 1.5 x N and Transaminases \< 2.5 x N (\< 5 x N in case of liver metastasis). 10. Have no history of prior severe allergic reactions to venoms 11. Have Creatinine clearance \> 50 mL/min. 12. Be on stable doses of any drugs which may affect hepatic drug metabolism or renal drug excretion (e.g.--non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, barbiturates, narcotic analgesics, probenecid). Such drugs should not be initiated while the patient is participating in this study. 13. Not be pregnant or planning to become pregnant 14. Not known to have brain metastases or leptomeningeal involvement. CT-scan or MRI is not required to rule this out unless there is clinical suspicion of central nervous system involvement 15. Not have pleural effusion/ ascites, cystic lesions or bone metastases, as the only assessable lesions 16. Not have a history of other malignancies, except for patients with a cancer free interval of \> 5 years after treatment completion, patients with prior history of adequately treated basal cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix 17. Not have had recent major surgery (within 21 days). 18. Not have a recent history of weight loss \> 10% of current body weight. 19. Not have serious intermittent medical illnesses which would interfere with the ability of the patient to carry out the treatment program. 20. Not be on chronic steroid medication (\> 20mg/day) 21. Not have primary or paraneoplastic myasthenia gravis 22. Be free of any psychological, familial, sociological or geographical condition potentially hampering compliance with the study protocol and follow-up schedule; 23. Will agree to participate in the study prior to starting with any specific study procedure, after having signed written informed consent. 24. Be patients of childbearing age willing to use contraceptive for the duration of the study 25. Not live alone and live no further than approximately 30 km away from the hospital, and for the study duration have continuous access to the use of mobile telephone in case of medical emergency
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tolerability of intra-patient dose escalation | 28 days | Assess the safety and tolerability of Crotoxin administered intravenously to Stage IV cancer patients using intra-patient dose escalation procedure. |
| Confirmation of the induction of drug tolerance | 28 days | Confirm in a controlled phase I trial that human subjects can be made tolerant to intravenously administered Crotoxin thereby reducing the potential for adverse drug effects |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment of drug efficacy | 112 days | Document any objective anti-tumour responses that occur in patients treated on this protocol. |
Countries
France
Contacts
CONTACTDorothy Bray, Ph.D.
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMario Campone, MD, Ph.D
INSTITUT DE CANCEROLOGIE DE L'QUEST, Saint Herblain, France
Outcome results
None listed