RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy with suramin plus doxorubicin in treating patients with advanced solid tumors.
OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of suramin followed by doxorubicin in patients with advanced solid tumors. II. Describe the toxic effects of suramin with sequential doses of doxorubicin in these patients. III. Assess the development of peripheral neuropathy in patients with this treatment. IV. Assess the preliminary evidence of the antitumor effect of this regimen in these patients. VI. Explore the relationships between the pharmacokinetic parameters and potential neurotoxicity of suramin in these patients. OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of doxorubicin. Patients receive suramin IV daily over 1-2 hours on days 1-4 followed by doxorubicin IV over 10-15 minutes on day 5. Treatment repeats every 4 weeks for up to 3 courses in the absence of unacceptable toxicity, disease progression, or clinical deterioration. Starting from course 4, patients receive alternating courses of doxorubicin IV on day 1 every 4 weeks (courses 4, 6, 8, etc.) and suramin with doxorubicin (courses 5, 7, 9 etc.) as described above. Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of doxorubicin until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 or more of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. Stable patients who achieve disease response and are able to receive a target cumulative dose of doxorubicin may discontinue doxorubicin and receive suramin alone every 8 weeks. Patients are followed at 3 months. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A maximum of 20 patients will be accrued for this study within 1 year.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Purpose
TREATMENT
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
Rochester, Minnesota, United States
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