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Dactinomycin or Methotrexate in Treating Patients With Low-Risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia

A Phase III Randomized Trial of Pulse Actinomycin-D Versus Multi-day Methotrexate for the Treatment of Low-Risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01535053
Enrollment
57
Registered
2012-02-17
Start date
2012-06-18
Completion date
2020-07-17
Last updated
2022-08-12

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

Conditions

Choriocarcinoma, FIGO Stage I Gestational Trophoblastic Tumor, FIGO Stage II Gestational Trophoblastic Tumor, FIGO Stage III Gestational Trophoblastic Tumor, Hydatidiform Mole

Brief summary

This randomized phase III trial studies how well methotrexate works compared to dactinomycin in treating patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as methotrexate and dactinomycin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether methotrexate is more effective than dactinomycin in treating gestational trophoblastic disease.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To test the hypothesis that treatment with multi-day methotrexate is inferior to treatment with pulse actinomycin-D (dactinomycin) in patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic disease with respect to complete response. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To describe the frequency of post protocol surgical treatment for each arm. II. To describe the frequency of post protocol multi-agent chemotherapy treatment for each arm. III. To compare multi-day methotrexate to actinomycin-D with respect to frequency and severity of adverse events in patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. IV. To investigate the impact of treatment on overall quality-of-life (QOL) and explore the influence of treatment on issues such as body image, sexual functioning, and patient-reported side effects and disruption. V. To assess whether uterine artery pulsatility index (UAPI) can provide independent prognostic information predictive of single-drug resistance. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. ARM I: Patients receive dactinomycin intravenously (IV) over 15 minutes on day 1. ARM II: Patients receive methotrexate intramuscularly (IM) on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 and leucovorin calcium orally (PO) on days 2, 4, 6, and 8 OR single agent methotrexate IV on days 1-5. In both arms, treatment repeats every 14 days for up to 20 courses\* in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up monthly for 1 year and then every 3 months for 1 year. NOTE: \* Patients will be treated for three courses after human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) \< 5 mIU/mL or until evidence of treatment failure (biologic progression), disease progression, or unacceptable toxicity despite dose modifications. Upon normalization of hCG (\< 5 mIU/mL), patients will be treated with three additional courses.

Interventions

BIOLOGICALDactinomycin

Given IV

DRUGLeucovorin Calcium

Given PO

DRUGMethotrexate

Given IV and IM

OTHERQuality-of-Life Assessment

Ancillary studies

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
GOG Foundation
Lead SponsorNETWORK

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Patients who meet International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I, II, or III criteria for low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN): post molar GTN or choriocarcinoma (as defined below); patients may have had a second curettage but must still meet GTN criteria below: * Post molar GTN * For the purposes of this study, patients must have undergone evacuation of a complete or partial hydatidiform mole and then meet the criteria for GTN defined as: * A \< 10% decrease in the hCG level using as a reference the first value in the series of 4 values taken over a period of 3 weeks (\> 50 mIU/ml minimum) OR * A \> 20% sustained rise in the hCG taking as a reference the first value in the series of 3 values taken over a period of 2 weeks (\> 50 mIU/ml minimum) OR * A persistently elevated hCG level a period of 6 months or more following the initial curettage (\> 50 mIU/ml minimum) * Choriocarcinoma * Histologically proven non-metastatic choriocarcinoma OR * Histologically proven metastatic choriocarcinoma if the metastatic site(s) is restricted to one (or more) of the following: vagina, parametrium, or lung * World Health Organization (WHO) risk score 0-6 * Patients must be willing to practice effective contraception for the duration of the study * White blood cell count (WBC) \>= 3,000 cells/mcL * Granulocytes \>= 1,500/mcL * Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL * Creatinine =\< 2.0 mg/dcL * Bilirubin =\< 1.5 x institutional normal * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) =\< 3 x institutional normal * Alkaline phosphatase =\< 3 x institutional normal * Patients who have met the pre-entry requirements * Before enrolling a patient, the institution must verify the availability of an adequate supply of methotrexate for a full course of therapy * Patients must have signed an approved informed consent and authorization permitting release of personal health information

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who do not have GTN * Patients with non-gestational choriocarcinoma * Patients who have previously been treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy; however, patients who received prior low-dose methotrexate for treatment of an ectopic pregnancy will be eligible for this study * Patients who have received prior pelvic radiation * Patients with placental-site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) or epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) * Patients with Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) performance status of 3 or 4 * Patients with a history of other invasive malignancies, with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer, are excluded if there is any evidence of other malignancy being present within the last five years; patients are also excluded if their previous cancer treatment contraindicates this protocol therapy * Patients whose circumstances at the time of study entry do not permit completion of the study or required follow-up * Patients who wish to breast-feed during treatment

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Percentage of Participants With Complete ResponsehCG testing is performed prior to each cycle to treatment until treatment is completed, up to 10 months. For patients who have responded to treatment hCG must be obtained every 4 weeks for 1 year after completing treatment.Complete Response is defined as 3 consecutive bi-weekly values of hCG\<5 over a minimum of 4 weeks of normal hCG values with no values greater than 5 mIU/ml

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmAssessed throughout the treatment period and within 2-4 weeks after discontinuation of treatmentMaximum grade of physician assessed adverse events reported during treatment
The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Surgical Treatment for Each Arm.Anytime during post treatment follow-up for up to 2 years from study entry.
The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Multi-agent Chemotherapy Treatment for Each Arm.Anytime during post treatment follow-up for up to 2 years from study entry.
Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) at BaselinePrior to cycle 1Patient reported quality of life was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Generic (FACT-G). The FACT-G is a scale for assessing general QOL of cancer patients. It consists of four subscales: Physical Well Being, Functional Well Being, Social/Family Well-Being, and Emotional Well-Being. Each item in the FACT-G was scored using a 5-point scale (0=not at all; 1=a little bit; 2=somewhat; 3=quite a bit; 4=very much). For the negative statements, reversal was performed prior to score calculation. According to the FACIT measurement system, a subscale score was the summation of the individual item scores if more than 50% of subscale items were answered. When unanswered items existed, a subscale score was prorated by multiplying the mean of the answered item scores by the number of items in the subscale. The FACT-G score is calculated as the sum of the subscale scores. The FACT-G score ranges 0-108. A larger score suggests better QOL.
Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.Prior to cycle 3 (4 weeks after cycle 1 if off study treatment prior to cycle 3). Prior to cycle 5, Prior to cycle 7, 26 weeks after starting study treatment.Patient reported quality of life was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Generic (FACT-G). The FACT-G is a scale for assessing general QOL of cancer patients. It consists of four subscales: Physical Well Being, Functional Well Being, Social/Family Well-Being, and Emotional Well-Being. Each item in the FACT-G was scored using a 5-point scale (0=not at all; 1=a little bit; 2=somewhat; 3=quite a bit; 4=very much). For the negative statements, reversal was performed prior to score calculation. According to the FACIT measurement system, a subscale score was the summation of the individual item scores if more than 50% of subscale items were answered. When unanswered items existed, a subscale score was prorated by multiplying the mean of the answered item scores by the number of items in the subscale. The FACT-G score is calculated as the sum of the subscale scores. The FACT-G score ranges 0-108. A larger score suggests better QOL.

Countries

Canada, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States

Participant flow

Recruitment details

The study was activated on 6/18/2012and closed to accrual prematurely on 9/20/2016 by the sponsor due to slow accrual.

Pre-assignment details

Sites declared in advance which of 2 methotrexate regimens they would follow for patients who received a random treatment allocation to the methotrexate arm. Randomization is stratified by country (US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, United Kingdom, etc.) and Multi-day methotrexate regimen (8- or 5-day) used by the participating site.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)
IV pulse actinomycin-D (1.25mg/m2 ) every 14 days. (2mg max dose)
28
Regimen II (Methotrexate)
institutional preference of either: * IV methotrexate (0.4 mg/kg) daily for 5 days every 14 days. (25mg max daily dose) OR * IM methotrexate (50mg) on Days 1, 3, 5, 7 (4 doses per cycle) with Leucovorin (15mg) on Days 2, 4, 6, 8. Repeat every 14 days.
26
Total54

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001
Overall StudyIneligible12

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicRegimen I (Dactinomycin)Regimen II (Methotrexate)Total
Age, Customized
10-19 years
1 Participants1 Participants2 Participants
Age, Customized
20-29 years
14 Participants11 Participants25 Participants
Age, Customized
30-39 years
11 Participants11 Participants22 Participants
Age, Customized
40-49 years
2 Participants3 Participants5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
26 Participants24 Participants50 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
2 Participants2 Participants4 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
6 Participants6 Participants12 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
6 Participants1 Participants7 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
16 Participants19 Participants35 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
28 Participants26 Participants54 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 290 / 28
other
Total, other adverse events
27 / 2824 / 26
serious
Total, serious adverse events
1 / 281 / 26

Outcome results

Primary

Percentage of Participants With Complete Response

Complete Response is defined as 3 consecutive bi-weekly values of hCG\<5 over a minimum of 4 weeks of normal hCG values with no values greater than 5 mIU/ml

Time frame: hCG testing is performed prior to each cycle to treatment until treatment is completed, up to 10 months. For patients who have responded to treatment hCG must be obtained every 4 weeks for 1 year after completing treatment.

Population: Eligible patients

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Percentage of Participants With Complete Response78.6 percentage of participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Percentage of Participants With Complete Response88.5 percentage of participants
Secondary

Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by Arm

Maximum grade of physician assessed adverse events reported during treatment

Time frame: Assessed throughout the treatment period and within 2-4 weeks after discontinuation of treatment

Population: Eligible and treated patients

ArmMeasureGroupValue (NUMBER)
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 36 participants
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 214 participants
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 40 participants
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 50 participants
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 17 participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 50 participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 14 participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 210 participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 310 participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Number of Participants With CTCAE v4 Graded Adverse Events With Low-risk Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia by ArmGrade 40 participants
Secondary

Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.

Patient reported quality of life was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Generic (FACT-G). The FACT-G is a scale for assessing general QOL of cancer patients. It consists of four subscales: Physical Well Being, Functional Well Being, Social/Family Well-Being, and Emotional Well-Being. Each item in the FACT-G was scored using a 5-point scale (0=not at all; 1=a little bit; 2=somewhat; 3=quite a bit; 4=very much). For the negative statements, reversal was performed prior to score calculation. According to the FACIT measurement system, a subscale score was the summation of the individual item scores if more than 50% of subscale items were answered. When unanswered items existed, a subscale score was prorated by multiplying the mean of the answered item scores by the number of items in the subscale. The FACT-G score is calculated as the sum of the subscale scores. The FACT-G score ranges 0-108. A larger score suggests better QOL.

Time frame: Prior to cycle 3 (4 weeks after cycle 1 if off study treatment prior to cycle 3). Prior to cycle 5, Prior to cycle 7, 26 weeks after starting study treatment.

Population: Provided baseline and ≥1 follow-up assessments

ArmMeasureGroupValue (LEAST_SQUARES_MEAN)Dispersion
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.Pre-cycle 378.3 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.3
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.Pre-cycle 575.5 units on a scaleStandard Error 3.3
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.Pre-cycle 785.0 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.7
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.26 weeks91.2 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.9
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.26 weeks90.9 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.9
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.Pre-cycle 381.6 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.7
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.Pre-cycle 784.5 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.2
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) After Baseline Visit.Pre-cycle 578.9 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.8
Secondary

Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) at Baseline

Patient reported quality of life was measured with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Generic (FACT-G). The FACT-G is a scale for assessing general QOL of cancer patients. It consists of four subscales: Physical Well Being, Functional Well Being, Social/Family Well-Being, and Emotional Well-Being. Each item in the FACT-G was scored using a 5-point scale (0=not at all; 1=a little bit; 2=somewhat; 3=quite a bit; 4=very much). For the negative statements, reversal was performed prior to score calculation. According to the FACIT measurement system, a subscale score was the summation of the individual item scores if more than 50% of subscale items were answered. When unanswered items existed, a subscale score was prorated by multiplying the mean of the answered item scores by the number of items in the subscale. The FACT-G score is calculated as the sum of the subscale scores. The FACT-G score ranges 0-108. A larger score suggests better QOL.

Time frame: Prior to cycle 1

Population: Provided baseline QOL questionnaire

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) at Baseline82.3 units on a scaleStandard Error 2.7
Regimen II (Methotrexate)Patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) at Baseline81.9 units on a scaleStandard Error 3.3
Secondary

The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Multi-agent Chemotherapy Treatment for Each Arm.

Time frame: Anytime during post treatment follow-up for up to 2 years from study entry.

Population: Non-responding eligible patients in follow-up

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Multi-agent Chemotherapy Treatment for Each Arm.0 participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Multi-agent Chemotherapy Treatment for Each Arm.0 participants
Secondary

The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Surgical Treatment for Each Arm.

Time frame: Anytime during post treatment follow-up for up to 2 years from study entry.

Population: Non-responding eligible patients in follow-up

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Regimen I (Dactinomycin)The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Surgical Treatment for Each Arm.0 participants
Regimen II (Methotrexate)The Number of Participants With Post Protocol Surgical Treatment for Each Arm.0 participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 27, 2026