Title

Liposomal Lurtotecan in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Locally Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer
Phase II Study Of NX 211 (Liposomal Lurtotecan) Given As An IV Bolus Injection On Days 1 and 8 Every 3 Weeks In Patients With Metastatic Or Loco-Regional Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma Of The Head and Neck With Target Lesions Within Previously Irradiated Fields Or Outside Previously Irradiated Fields
  • Phase

    Phase 2
  • Study Type

    Interventional
  • Status

    Completed No Results Posted
  • Intervention/Treatment

    lurtotecan ...
  • Study Participants

    50
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of liposomal lurtotecan in treating patients who have metastatic or locally recurrent head and neck cancer.
OBJECTIVES:

Determine the therapeutic activity of lurtotecan liposome in patients with metastatic or loco-regionally recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Determine the objective response, duration of response, and time to progression in patients treated with this drug.
Determine the toxicity profile of this drug in these patients.
Determine the possible pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship of this drug in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to presence of a target lesion in a previously irradiated field (within vs outside).

Patients receive lurtotecan liposome IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8. Treatment repeats every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed every 6 weeks.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 38-72 patients (19-36 per stratum) will be accrued for this study.
Study Started
May 31
2001
Primary Completion
Aug 31
2002
Last Update
Jul 24
2012
Estimate

Drug liposomal lurtotecan

Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Metastatic or loco-regionally recurrent disease
No undifferentiated or non-keratinizing carcinomas including lymphoepitheliomas
No tumors of the nasal or paranasal cavities or of the nasopharynx
Measurable disease
No clinical symptomatic evidence of brain or leptomeningeal metastases
Ineligible for loco-regional treatment after chemotherapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

18 and over

Performance status:

ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

Not specified

Hematopoietic:

Neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm^3
Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

Bilirubin less than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
Transaminases no greater than 2.5 times ULN (5 times ULN if liver metastases present)

Renal:

Creatinine no greater than 1.5 times ULN
No uncontrolled hypercalcemia

Other:

Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 30 days after study
No known hypersensitivity to systemic liposomal formulations or compounds chemically related to study drug
No uncontrolled systemic disease or infection
No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical condition that would preclude study
No other prior or concurrent malignancy except adequately treated cone-biopsied carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

No concurrent anticancer biological therapy or immune response modifiers
No concurrent prophylactic hematopoietic growth factors

Chemotherapy:

See Disease Characteristics
No prior chemotherapy for recurrent disease
No prior therapy with camptothecin analogues
At least 8 weeks since prior neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy
No other concurrent anticancer cytotoxic therapy

Endocrine therapy:

Not specified

Radiotherapy:

At least 8 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered

Surgery:

Not specified

Other:

At least 30 days since prior experimental drug
No Results Posted