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Duloxetine to Prevent Oxaliplatin-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Patients With Stage II-III Colorectal Cancer

Duloxetine to Prevent Oxaliplatin-Induced Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase II to Phase III Study

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04137107
Enrollment
220
Registered
2019-10-23
Start date
2020-06-17
Completion date
2026-12-31
Last updated
2026-01-26

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

Conditions

Stage II Colorectal Cancer AJCC v8, Stage III Colorectal Cancer AJCC v8

Brief summary

This phase II/III trial studies the best dose of duloxetine and how well it works in preventing pain, tingling, and numbness (peripheral neuropathy) caused by treatment with oxaliplatin in patients with stage II-III colorectal cancer. Duloxetine increases the amount of certain chemicals in the brain that help relieve depression and pain. Giving duloxetine in patients undergoing treatment with oxaliplatin for colorectal cancer may help prevent peripheral neuropathy.

Detailed description

The primary and secondary objectives of the study: PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the dosage of duloxetine hydrochloride (duloxetine) (30 mg or 60 mg daily) that appears most promising in preventing oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN). (Phase II) II. To demonstrate that the most promising dosage of duloxetine identified in the Phase II component is more effective than placebo at preventing OIPN sensory symptoms. (Phase III) III. To demonstrate that the most promising dosage of duloxetine identified in the Phase II component is more effective than placebo at preventing oxaliplatin-induced chronic neuropathic pain. (Phase III) SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To characterize toxicity in each arm, including duloxetine side effects of nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, somnolence, fatigue, and insomnia using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version (v) 5.0. (Phase II) II. To compare the serially measured OIPN total sensory neuropathy scores calculated from the six individual Quality of Life Questionnaire - Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (QLQ-CIPN20) questions that quantify numbness, tingling, and pain in the fingers (or hands) and toes (or feet), measured on day 1 of each cycle of oxaliplatin treatment and at 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment between the most promising dosage of duloxetine identified in the Phase II component and placebo. (Phase III) III. To compare the serially measured Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF) patient-reported on the average pain scores, measured on day 1 of each cycle of oxaliplatin treatment and at 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment between the most promising dosage of duloxetine identified in the Phase II component and placebo. IV. To characterize toxicity in each arm, including duloxetine side effects of nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, somnolence, fatigue, and insomnia using the CTCAE v 5.0. (Phase III) OUTLINE: PHASE II: Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 arms. ARM I: Patients in Phase II receive duloxetine hydrochloride 30 mg (1 duloxetine capsule) orally (PO) once daily (QD) during week 1, duloxetine hydrochloride 30 mg (1 duloxetine capsule) PO QD and placebo (1 placebo capsule) PO QD during weeks 2-16, followed by duloxetine hydrochloride 30 mg (1 duloxetine capsule) PO QD during week 17 in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. ARM II: Patients in Phase II receive duloxetine hydrochloride 30 mg (1 duloxetine capsule) orally (PO) once daily (QD) during week 1, duloxetine hydrochloride 60 mg (2 duloxetine capsules) PO QD during weeks 2-16, followed by duloxetine hydrochloride 30 mg (1 duloxetine capsule) PO QD during week 17 in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. ARM III: Patients in Phase II receive placebo (1 placebo capsule) orally (PO) once daily (QD) during week 1, placebo (2 placebo capsules) PO QD weeks 2-16, followed by placebo (1 placebo capsule) PO QD during week 17 in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. PHASE III: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM I: Patients in Phase III receive most promising dose of duloxetine hydrochloride from Phase II PO QD in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. ARM II: Patients in Phase III receive placebo PO QD in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. NOTE: Patients in all arms receive standard of care oxaliplatin during weeks 1-12. After completion of study, patients are followed up at 30 days and at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after last oxaliplatin treatment.

Interventions

DRUGOxaliplatin

Given standard of care oxaliplatin

DRUGDuloxetine Hydrochloride

Given PO

DRUGDuloxetine

Given PO

OTHERQuality-of-Life Assessment

Ancillary studies

OTHERQuestionnaire Administration

Ancillary studies

OTHERPlacebo

Given PO

Sponsors

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

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Stage II-III colorectal cancer patients scheduled to receive oxaliplatin 510 mg/m\^2 (cumulative dose) over 12 weeks as a component of adjuvant leucovorin calcium (calcium folinate), 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) treatment, in which patients are scheduled to receive oxaliplatin 85 mg/m\^2 every 2 weeks for 12 weeks (i.e., 6 cycles), or adjuvant capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) treatment, in which patients are scheduled to receive oxaliplatin 135 mg/m\^2 every 3 weeks for 12 weeks (i.e., 4 cycles) * No prior neurotoxic chemotherapy * No pre-existing clinical or pre-clinical peripheral neuropathy from any cause. * No history of seizure disorder, * No history of narrow-angle glaucoma. * No symptoms of or history of schizophrenia, bipolar disease, suicidal thoughts and/or a major depression. * No serious eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia. * No known diagnosis of ethanol (ETOH) addiction/dependence within the past 10 years. * Concomitant medications: * No concomitant use of other adjuvant pharmacologic interventions (e.g., gabapentin, pregabalin, venlafaxine) with known or hypothesized efficacy for peripheral neuropathy. Must be discontinued at least 7 days prior to start of protocol treatment * No anticipated or concurrent use of any antidepressant or serotonin-altering agent known to interact with duloxetine, due to concern regarding cumulative toxicity and potential drug interactions. * Use of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or other antidepressants must be discontinued at least 14 days prior to start of protocol treatment. * No concomitant treatment with strong CYP1A2 and CYP2D6 inhibitors. * Chronic concomitant treatment with drugs that are extensively metabolized by CYP2D6 and that have a narrow therapeutic index, including certain antidepressants, phenothiazines, and Type 1C antiarrhythmics should be approached with caution. Concomitant administration of duloxetine and thioridazine should be avoided. * No use of warfarin or heparin products. * Not pregnant and not nursing, because this study involves an investigational agent whose genotoxic, mutagenic and teratogenic effects on the developing fetus and newborn are unknown. Therefore, for women of childbearing potential, a negative pregnancy test done =\< 7 days prior to registration is required * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 * In order to complete the mandatory patient-completed measure, patients must be able to speak and read English * Calculated creatinine clearance \> 30 mL/min * Aspartate aminotransferases (AST)/serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) =\< 3 x upper limit of normal (ULN)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Prevention of sensory oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN) response (Phase II)Up to 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatmentWill be measured using 6 individual Quality of Life Questionnaire - Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (QLQ-CIPN20) questions that quantify numbness, tingling, and pain in the fingers (or hands) and toes (or feet). For each of the 6 individual questions, patients are asked to select 1 of 4 choices regarding how each of the sensory symptoms had affected them during the preceding week: 1 = Not at all, 2 = A little, 3 = Quite a bit, and 4 = Very much. Response will be defined as a patient reporting a highest score of ≤ 2 at any time during oxaliplatin exposure, including 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment without discontinuing the study due to sensory oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. The proportion of responders within each arm will be estimated by the number of responders divided by the total number of evaluable patients. Two-sided 90% exact confidence intervals for the true response proportion will be calculated according to the approach of Clopper and Pearson.
Prevention of sensory oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OIPN) response (Phase III)Up to 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatmentWill be measured using 6 individual Quality of Life Questionnaire - Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (QLQ-CIPN20) questions that quantify numbness, tingling, and pain in the distal extremities. For each of the 6 questions, patients are asked to select 1 of 4 choices regarding how each of the sensory symptoms had affected them during the preceding week: 1=Not at all, 2=A little, 3=Quite a bit, and 4=Very much. Response will be defined as a patient reporting a highest score of ≤ 2 at any time during oxaliplatin exposure, including 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment without discontinuing the study due to sensory OIPN. The analysis population is defined as all randomized patients who received at least 1 dose of oxaliplatin and have completed the 6 QLQCIPN20 sensory symptom items on at least 1 occasion during oxaliplatin treatment, including 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment. The Fisher exact test will be used for a between-arm comparison of the proportion of responders.
Chronic neuropathic pain response (Phase III)Up to 1 month after oxaliplatin treatmentResponse will be defined as a 7-day average of chronic neuropathic pain (on the average) ≤ 3 on a 0 (no pain) to 10 (pain as bad as you can imagine) scale 1 month after oxaliplatin treatment, which is obtained from the 7-day chronic neuropathy pain diary. The analysis population is defined as all randomized patients who received at least 1 dose of oxaliplatin and have completed the 7-day chronic neuropathy pain diary on at least 3 of the 7 days 1 month after the last oxaliplatin dose. The Fisher exact test will be used for a between-arm comparison of the proportion of responders.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Incidence of adverse events, including duloxetine side effects of nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, somnolence, fatigue, and insomnia (Phase II)Up to 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatmentThe constellation of adverse events as scored using National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v 5.0 will be summarized within arms by reporting the number and percentages of patients. The proportion of each of nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, somnolence, fatigue, and insomnia using NCI CTCAE v 5.0 will be estimated within arms with the exact 90% confidence interval.
Serially measured total sensory neuropathy scores (Phase III)Up to 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatmentThe sequence of the total sensory neuropathy scores for each patient will be measured from the Quality of Life Questionnaire - Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (QLQ-CIPN20) questionnaire, measured on day 1 of each cycle of oxaliplatin treatment and at 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment. The corresponding area under the curve will be computed for each arm based on estimated parameters from a repeated-measures (means) mixed model and compared. The analysis population is defined as all randomized patients who received at least 1 dose of oxaliplatin and have a total sensory neuropathy score on at least 1 occasion during oxaliplatin treatment, including 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment.
Serially measured patient reported on the average pain scores (Phase III)Up to 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatmentFor each patient, the total sensory neuropathy score is calculated by summing the 6 individual Quality of Life Questionnaire - Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (QLQ-CIPN20) questions that quantify numbness, tingling, and pain in the fingers (or hands) and toes (or feet) and ranges from 1 to 24, where higher numbers indicate more severe symptoms. The sequence of the total sensory neuropathy scores for each patient will be measured on day 1 of each cycle of oxaliplatin treatment and at 1 month post-oxalipatin treatment. The corresponding area under the curve will be computed for each arm based on estimated parameters from a repeated-measures (means) mixed model and compared. The analysis population is defined as all randomized patients who received at least 1 dose of oxaliplatin and have a total sensory neuropathy score on at least 1 occasion during oxaliplatin treatment, including 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatment.
Incidence of adverse events, including duloxetine side effects of nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, somnolence, fatigue, and insomnia (Phase III)Up to 1 month post-oxaliplatin treatmentThe constellation of adverse events as scored using National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v 5.0 will be summarized within arms by reporting the number and percentages of patients. The proportion of each of nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, somnolence, fatigue, and insomnia using NCI CTCAE v5.0 will be estimated within arms with the exact 95% confidence interval.

Countries

Guam, United States

Contacts

STUDY_CHAIREllen M. Lavoie Smith, PhD

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing

Outcome results

None listed

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