The purpose of this study is to test the safety and effectiveness of combining a drug known as Lovastatin to the chemotherapy drug cytarabine. Lovastatin is currently used to lower blood cholesterol levels and lab data suggests that it increases the anti-leukemia activity of cytarabine. This research is being done because high doses of cytarabine induce remissions in only about 25% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
The rationale for combining lovastatin with cytosine arabinoside (HiDAC) in this trial is based on a study in press in Leukemia Research. This study demonstrated that there are synergistic interactions between cytosine arabinoside and lovastatin against human leukemia cell lines. In particular, this synergistic activity was observed in MTT assay. Given that there is such synergistic interaction in vitro it is reasonable to determine whether such interaction occurs in vivo. The proposed trial thus uses standard doses of HiDAC with incrementally increasing dose of lovastatin. This particular trial will follow an accelerated titration for lovastatin. The first dose level will be lovastatin at 0.5 mg/kg/day, divided into two daily PO doses given Q 12 hours on Days 1 -7 for a total of 14 doses. Doses should be rounded to the nearest 20 mg. After each subject reaches day 14, subsequent subjects will be treated at incrementally increasing doses that are 1 mg/kg/day, 2 mg/kg/day, 4 mg/kg/day, 8 mg/kg/day, 12 mg/kg/day, 18 mg/kg/day, and 24 mg/kg/day, with all doses divided into two daily PO doses given Q 12 hours on Days 1 - 7 for a total of 14. If MTD is not reached at the 24 mg/kg/day dose level, further dose escalations will occur with a 33% increase in dose at each level, rounded to the nearest 20 mg/kg/day.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
23
Cytarabine dosage: 3.0 g/m2 IV over 3 hours every 12 hours on days 3-7.
Lovastatin dosage: The first dose level will be lovastatin at 0.5 mg/kg/day. After each patient reaches day 14 subsequent patients will be treated at incrementally increasing doses that are 1 mg/kg/day, 2 mg/kg/day, 4 mg/kg/day, 8 mg/kg/day, 12 mg/kg/day, 18 mg/kg/day, and 24 mg/kg/day. If MTD is not reached at this dose of 24 mg/kg/day further dose escalations will occur with a 33% increase in dose at each level rounded to the nearest mg/kg/day.
Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
Iowa City, Iowa, United States
Complete Remission Rate
The primary study end point will be complete remission rate. Complete Remission (CR): Complete remission is defined as the presence of all of the following: Peripheral Blood Counts (sustained \> 30 days) * Absolute neutrophil count ³1500/ml. * Platelet count ³100,000/ml. * No leukemic blasts in the peripheral blood. * Transfusion independent for red cells and platelets. Bone Marrow * Cellularity \>20% with maturation of all cell lines. * No Auer rods. * \<5% blast cells. No extramedullary leukemia (such as CNS or soft tissue involvement). OR Complete Response with Incomplete Platelet Recovery (CRp): CRp satisfies all CR criteria except platelets \< 100,000/µL. Partial Remission (PR): Must meet all criteria of a CR except that the bone marrow may contain 5-24% blasts. Treatment Failure: Failure to achieve a CR.
Time frame: 5 weeks
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