Bendamustine and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Brain Metastases Caused by Solid Tumors

Overview

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as bendamustine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Stereotactic radiation therapy may be able to send x-rays directly to the tumor and cause less damage to normal tissue. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of bendamustine when given together with radiation therapy in treating patients with brain metastases caused by solid tumors.

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the recommended phase II dose of bendamustine hydrochloride when administered in combination with stereotactic radiotherapy for the treatment of patients with 1-4 brain metastases from solid malignancies. Secondary * Determine bendamustine hydrochloride pharmacokinetics and correlate this to bendamustine hydrochloride levels in brain metastases, brain margin, arachnoid, cerebral spinal fluid, and plasma acquired at the time of surgery. * Assessment of local control of brain metastases. OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of bendamustine hydrochloride. Patients with no potentially resectable lesion(s) receive bendamustine hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes and stereotactic radiotherapy once daily for 5 days. Patients with potentially resectable lesion(s) receive bendamustine hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes on days 1-3 and undergo surgery on day 3. At least 4 weeks after surgery, these patients receive adjuvant bendamustine hydrochloride and stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy as above (in patients with no potentially resectable lesion\[s\]) Blood samples are collected periodically for pharmacokinetic studies. Cerebrospinal fluid, arachnoid, tumor margin, and tumor samples are also collected during surgery for correlative studies. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 3 months for 21 months.