Skip to content

Chemotherapy Before Surgery in Treating Patients With High Grade Upper Urinary Tract Cancer

A Prospective Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Systemic Chemotherapy Followed by Extirpative Surgery for Patients With High Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02412670
Enrollment
36
Registered
2015-04-09
Start date
2015-08-27
Completion date
2022-05-10
Last updated
2023-07-10

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

Conditions

High Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

Keywords

carcinoma, drug therapy, nephroureterectomy, urinary tract, urothelium

Brief summary

This phase II trial studies how well giving chemotherapy before surgery works in treating patients with aggressive upper urinary tract cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin hydrochloride, cisplatin, gemcitabine hydrochloride, and carboplatin, 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. Removing the affected upper urinary tract by surgery is the recommended treatment for upper urinary tract cancer, but can cause loss of kidney function and prevent patients from being able to receive chemotherapy after surgery. Giving chemotherapy before surgery, when the kidneys are working at their maximum, may allow less tissue to be removed during surgery and may be more effective in treating patients with high grade upper urinary tract cancer.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the rate of complete pathologic response (pCR = pT0pN0) as assessed by standard pathologic review attained by neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy and nephroureterectomy. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the safety of neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma preceding nephroureterectomy. II. To evaluate distant recurrence-free survival of patients treated with neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy preceding nephroureterectomy. III. To evaluate event-free survival of patients treated with neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy preceding nephroureterectomy. IV. To evaluate bladder cancer-free survival of patients treated with neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy preceding nephroureterectomy. V. To evaluate cancer specific survival of patients treated with neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy preceding nephroureterectomy. VI. To evaluate renal functional outcomes of patients treated with neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy preceding nephroureterectomy. TERTIARY OBJECTIVES: I. To collect pre-treatment and post-treatment tumor tissue, peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC), peripheral blood plasma, and urine specimens for potential evaluations of markers of chemotherapy response/resistance. OUTLINE: Patients are assigned to 1 of 2 treatment arms based on baseline renal function. ARM A (CREATININE CLEARANCE \[CRCL\] \> 50): Patients receive methotrexate intravenously (IV) over 2-3 minutes, vinblastine IV, doxorubicin hydrochloride IV, and cisplatin IV over 4 hours on day 1. Treatment repeats every 14 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients without metastatic disease undergo nephroureterectomy and lymph node dissection 21-60 days after completion of chemotherapy. ARM B (30 =\< CRCL \<= 50): Patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride IV over 30-60 minutes on days 1 and 8 and carboplatin IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients without metastatic disease undergo nephroureterectomy and lymph node dissection 21-60 days after completion of chemotherapy. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 2 years and then every 6 months for 3 years.

Interventions

DRUGMethotrexate

Given IV

DRUGVinblastine

Given IV

DRUGDoxorubicin

Given IV

DRUGCisplatin

Given IV

DRUGGemcitabine

Given IV

DRUGCarboplatin

Given IV

DRUGPegfilgrastim

Administered subcutaneously

Undergo nephroureterectomy and lymph node dissection

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group
Lead SponsorNETWORK

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Patients must have high grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma proven by one of the following: * Biopsy; * Urinary cytology with a 3-dimensional upper urinary tract mass on cross-sectional imaging; or * Urinary cytology and a mass visualized during upper urinary tract endoscopy * Patients must have a creatinine clearance \>= 30 ml/min as determined by Cockcroft-Gault calculation or 24-hour urine creatinine clearance measurement within 28 days of registration to be eligible for the study * Patients must have Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1 * Patients must have a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \>= 50% by (either multigated acquisition \[MUGA\] or 2-dimensional \[2-D\] echocardiogram) within 28 days of registration * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1500/mm\^3 * Platelets \>= 100,000/mm\^3 * Hemoglobin (HgB) \>= 9 * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) \< 2 X institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) * Bilirubin within institutional normal limits (or \< 2.5 X the ULN for patients with Gilbert's disease) * Patients with concomitant primaries of the bladder/urethra are allowed, as long as these sites are surgically resected and non-invasive cancers (\< cT1N0) * Patients may have a history of resectable urothelial cancer (including neoadjuvant chemotherapy) as long as patients meet one of the following: * pT0, Tis, or T1N0 and have no evidence of disease (NED) for more than 2 years from surgery or chemotherapy; * pT2-3aN0 and NED for more than 3 years from surgery or chemotherapy; or * \> pT3b, or N+ and NED for more than 5 years from surgery or chemotherapy * Women of childbearing potential and sexually active males must use an accepted and effective method of contraception or to abstain from sexual intercourse for the duration of their participation in the study

Exclusion criteria

* Evidence of metastatic disease or clinically enlarged lymph nodes on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen and pelvis and CT chest obtained within 28 days of registration (a negative biopsy is required for lymph nodes \> 1 cm in size to confirm lack of involvement); patients with lymph nodes \> 1 cm in whom a biopsy is deemed not feasible are not eligible; patients with elevated alkaline phosphatase or suspicious bone pain should also undergo baseline bone scans to evaluate for bone metastasis * Any component of small cell carcinoma; other variant histologies are permitted provided the predominant (\>= 50%) subtype is urothelial carcinoma * Peripheral neuropathy \> grade 2 * History of allergy or hypersensitivity to methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin (doxorubicin hydrochloride), cisplatin, gemcitabine (gemcitabine hydrochloride), carboplatin or filgrastim or pegfilgrastim * Another active second malignancy other than non-melanoma skin cancers and biochemical relapsed prostate cancer; patients that have completed all necessary therapy and are considered to be at less than 30% risk of relapse are not considered to have an active second malignancy and are eligible for enrollment * Prior systemic doxorubicin for patients who have creatinine clearance that meets \>= 50 ml/min * Uncontrolled illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction in last 3 months, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements * Known to have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or are on combination antiretroviral therapy * Prior radiation therapy to \>= 25% of the bone marrow for other diseases or prior systemic anthracycline therapy; prior intravesical anthracycline therapy for non-muscle invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder is permitted * Pregnant or breast-feeding; all females of childbearing potential must have a blood test or urine study within 2 weeks prior to registration to rule out pregnancy; a female of childbearing potential is any woman, regardless of sexual orientation or whether they have undergone tubal ligation, who meets the following criteria: 1) has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy; or 2) has not been naturally postmenopausal for at least 24 consecutive months (i.e., has had menses at any time in the preceding 24 consecutive months)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Complete Pathologic Response RateAssessed at nephroureterectomy or regional lymph node dissection (21-60 days from completion of chemotherapy; chemotherapy was administered for a total of 4 cycles; cycle length is 14 days and 21 days for arms A and B, respectively)Complete pathologic response is defined as pT0pN0 (no evidence of disease) as assessed by pathologic evaluation of nephrectomy/ureterectomy and any identifiable regional lymph nodes.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Event-free SurvivalAssessed every 3 months for 2 years, and every 6 months for 3-5 yearsEvent-free survival is defined as the time from registration to the earliest occurrence of recurrence of any type, disease progression, new invasive primary cancer, or death from any cause. Disease progression will be assessed using RECIST 1.1. Disease progression is defined as appearance of one or more new lesions, unequivocal progression of existing non-target lesions, or at least a 20% increase in the sum of the diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the smallest sum on study. In addition to the relative increase of 20%, the sum must also demonstrate an absolute increase of at least 5 mm.
Bladder Cancer-free SurvivalAssessed every 3 months for 2 years, and every 6 months for 3-5 yearsBladder cancer-free survival was defined as the time from the date of surgery to the earlier of a return of bladder cancer or death from any cause. Patients alive without documented bladder cancer were censored at the date of last disease assessment.
Recurrence-free SurvivalAssessed every 3 months for 2 years; and every 6 months for 3-5 yearsRecurrence-free survival is defined as the time from the date of surgery to disease recurrence or death from any cause. Patients alive without documented recurrence will be censored at the date of last disease assessment.
Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of ChemotherapyAssessed at completion of chemotherapy; at 8 weeks for Arm A and 12 weeks for Arm BRenal insufficiency is defined as CrCl \< 60 ml/min.
Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of SurgeryAssessed at completion of surgery (21-60 days from completion of chemotherapy; chemotherapy was administered for a total of 4 cycles; cycle length is 14 days and 21 days for arms A and B, respectively)Renal insufficiency is defined as CrCl \< 60 ml/min.
Cumulative Incidence of Cancer-specific Death at 24 MonthsAssessed every 3 months for 2 yearsCancer-specific survival was defined as the time from registration to death due to cancer; deaths due to other causes are counted as competing events. Cancer-specific survival was analyzed using Gray's method and cumulative incidence of cancer-specific death at 24 months is reported.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Recruitment details

The study was activated on April 1, 2015 and accrued its first patient on August 27, 2015. Arm A reached its accrual and was closed on May 31, 2017. Arm B was closed due to slow accrual on January 5, 2018.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)
Patients receive methotrexate IV over 2-3 minutes, vinblastine IV, doxorubicin hydrochloride IV, and cisplatin IV over 4 hours on day 1. Pegfilgrastim at 6 mg is given once 24-48 hours after completion of chemotherapy. Treatment repeats every 14 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients without metastatic disease undergo nephroureterectomy and lymph node dissection 21-60 days after completion of chemotherapy.
29
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)
Patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride IV over 30-60 minutes on days 1 and 8 and carboplatin IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients without metastatic disease undergo nephroureterectomy and lymph node dissection 21-60 days after completion of chemotherapy.
6
Total35

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001
Overall StudyAdverse Event41
Overall StudyIneligible10
Overall StudyPhysician Decision10
Overall StudyWithdrawal by Subject10

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicArm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)TotalArm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)
Age, Continuous75 years66 years65 years
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
2 Participants2 Participants0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
4 Participants31 Participants27 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants2 Participants2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
0 Participants1 Participants1 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
2 Participants3 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
4 Participants30 Participants26 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
2 Participants8 Participants6 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
4 Participants27 Participants23 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
2 / 301 / 6
other
Total, other adverse events
30 / 306 / 6
serious
Total, serious adverse events
7 / 303 / 6

Outcome results

Primary

Complete Pathologic Response Rate

Complete pathologic response is defined as pT0pN0 (no evidence of disease) as assessed by pathologic evaluation of nephrectomy/ureterectomy and any identifiable regional lymph nodes.

Time frame: Assessed at nephroureterectomy or regional lymph node dissection (21-60 days from completion of chemotherapy; chemotherapy was administered for a total of 4 cycles; cycle length is 14 days and 21 days for arms A and B, respectively)

Population: Eligible and treated patients

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)Complete Pathologic Response Rate0.103 proportion of participants
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)Complete Pathologic Response Rate0.167 proportion of participants
Secondary

Bladder Cancer-free Survival

Bladder cancer-free survival was defined as the time from the date of surgery to the earlier of a return of bladder cancer or death from any cause. Patients alive without documented bladder cancer were censored at the date of last disease assessment.

Time frame: Assessed every 3 months for 2 years, and every 6 months for 3-5 years

Population: Eligible and treated patients who underwent radical nephro-ureterectomy and were rendered disease-free

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)Bladder Cancer-free SurvivalNA months
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)Bladder Cancer-free SurvivalNA months
Secondary

Cumulative Incidence of Cancer-specific Death at 24 Months

Cancer-specific survival was defined as the time from registration to death due to cancer; deaths due to other causes are counted as competing events. Cancer-specific survival was analyzed using Gray's method and cumulative incidence of cancer-specific death at 24 months is reported.

Time frame: Assessed every 3 months for 2 years

Population: Eligible and treated patients

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)Cumulative Incidence of Cancer-specific Death at 24 Months0.09 proportion of patients died of cancer
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)Cumulative Incidence of Cancer-specific Death at 24 Months0.20 proportion of patients died of cancer
Secondary

Event-free Survival

Event-free survival is defined as the time from registration to the earliest occurrence of recurrence of any type, disease progression, new invasive primary cancer, or death from any cause. Disease progression will be assessed using RECIST 1.1. Disease progression is defined as appearance of one or more new lesions, unequivocal progression of existing non-target lesions, or at least a 20% increase in the sum of the diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the smallest sum on study. In addition to the relative increase of 20%, the sum must also demonstrate an absolute increase of at least 5 mm.

Time frame: Assessed every 3 months for 2 years, and every 6 months for 3-5 years

Population: Eligible and treated patients

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)Event-free SurvivalNA months
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)Event-free Survival10.2 months
Secondary

Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of Chemotherapy

Renal insufficiency is defined as CrCl \< 60 ml/min.

Time frame: Assessed at completion of chemotherapy; at 8 weeks for Arm A and 12 weeks for Arm B

Population: All patients with chemotherapy

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of Chemotherapy0.2 proportion of participants
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of Chemotherapy0.833 proportion of participants
Secondary

Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of Surgery

Renal insufficiency is defined as CrCl \< 60 ml/min.

Time frame: Assessed at completion of surgery (21-60 days from completion of chemotherapy; chemotherapy was administered for a total of 4 cycles; cycle length is 14 days and 21 days for arms A and B, respectively)

Population: All patients who underwent radical nephro-ureterectomy

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of Surgery0.69 proportion of participants
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)Proportion of Patients With Renal Insufficiency at Completion of Surgery0.833 proportion of participants
Secondary

Recurrence-free Survival

Recurrence-free survival is defined as the time from the date of surgery to disease recurrence or death from any cause. Patients alive without documented recurrence will be censored at the date of last disease assessment.

Time frame: Assessed every 3 months for 2 years; and every 6 months for 3-5 years

Population: Eligible and treated patients who underwent radical nephro-ureterectomy and were rendered disease-free

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Arm A (Methotrexate, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin, Cisplatin)Recurrence-free SurvivalNA months
Arm B (Gemcitabine, Carboplatin)Recurrence-free Survival8.5 months

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 1, 2026