A research study of the drug amrubicin in patients with cancer of the thymus (thymoma or thymic carcinoma). We hope to learn whether this drug is an effective and safe treatment for thymic cancers.
Amrubicin, a synthetic 9-aminoanthracycline, is structurally similar to doxorubicin, but has a different primary mode of action. It acts primarily as an inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase II, exerting its cytotoxic effects by stabilizing a topoisomerase II mediated cleavable complex. This inhibition is significantly more than that seen in doxorubicin, which, in contrast, tends to demonstrate more DNA intercalation than amrubicin. It has not yet been evaluated for use in thymic malignancies, but given its efficacy in NSCLC and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), as well as the known efficacy of other anthracyclines and topoisomerase II inhibitors in first-line thymoma treatment, it warrants study for use in the second line and beyond in refractory or relapsed patients. Unlike doxorubicin, amrubicin has had minimal cardiotoxicity even with ongoing use, which also makes it a promising agent for use in the second line even for patients who have previously been exposed to, and potentially helped by, doxorubicin.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
33
35 mg/m2; IV on days 1-3 each 3 week cycle
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford, California, United States
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Overall Response Rate (ORR)
Participants received amrubicin 35 mg/m2 IV days 1 to 3, every 3 weeks, until progression or toxicity. Tumor response rate was assessed radiographically by the Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST), and the overall response rate (ORR) was expressed as the sum of the Complete Response (CR) rate and the Partial Response (PR) rate. RECIST criteria define when cancer patients improve ("respond"); stay the same ("stable"); or worsen ("progression") during treatments. The criteria presume that linear measures are an adequate substitute for 2-dimensional (2D) methods and includes 4 response categories: * CR = Disappearance of all target lesions * PR = 30% decrease in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions * Progressive disease (PD) = 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions * Stable disease (SD) = Small changes that do not meet above criteria
Time frame: 2 years
Median Progression-free Survival (PFS)
Median Progression-free survival in patients with thymic malignancies treated with amrubicin
Time frame: 2 years
Disease Control Rate (DCR)
Disease control rate (DCR) is the sum of Complete Response (CR) rate + Partial Response (PR) rate + Stable Disease (SD) rate , and is expressed here as the sum of the Overall Response Rate (ORR = CR + PR) plus the Stable Disease (SD) rate, ORR + SD. Response was assessed by the RECIST criteria, elaborated above.
Time frame: 2 years
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