Classic and endemic Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) are lymph angio proliferations associated with human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) which treatment is poorly codified. Chemotherapies give at best 30-60% of transient responses. While interferon responses are frequent, this drug is often poorly tolerated in elderly patients. Therefore new therapies are needed. Classic KS represents an ideal model for evaluating new drugs since patients do not receive concomitant immunosuppressive regimens nor antiviral therapies. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1(HIF-1 alpha) is a major regulator of solid tumor growth and therefore a suitable target currently explored in many cancers. Moreover HIF-1 alpha enhances HHV-8 gene expression in KS and induces lytic replication cycle. Digoxin has anti cancer effect in vivo through HIF-alpha down regulation in several preclinical tumor models including KS. The identification of HIF-1 alpha as a key factor in HHV8 replication prompt us to explore inhibition of HIF-1 alpha by digoxin as a potential therapeutic approach for KS treatment it has and consequently may down regulate HHV-8 replication in KS. This latter approach is heightened by recent data suggesting that Digoxin has some efficacy in vitro against others human herpes virus i.e. Herpes simplex and Cytomegalovirus (8) (9) In this study the investigators shall evaluate the benefit and safety profile of digoxin in classic and endemic KS (serum drug concentration of 0.6 to 1.2 ng/ml for patients \<75 years and between 0.5-0.8 ng/ml in patients older than 75 years The participants will take study drug digoxin, for a total of 6 cycles (4 weeks/cycle).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
17
All patients will receive Digoxin without interruption. Doses can be modified individually to reach a serum drug concentration of 0.6 to 1.2 ng/ml for patients \<75 years and between 0.5-0.8 ng/ml in patients older than 75 years
Saint-Louis Hospital
Paris, France
RECRUITINGtumor response
The primary endpoint will be tumor response, at 3 months. Assessed by AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) criteria ;Complete response (CR) will be defined as the absence of detectable residual disease lasting for at least 4 weeks; patients whose only remaining manifestation of KS are pigmented macules could be classified as having had a complete response if malignant cells are absent on biopsy of at least one lesion. Patients with visceral disease on entry who have complete resolution of cutaneous lesions as described above could be considered to have a CR only if no residual disease was detected on endoscopic or radiographic restaging.
Time frame: at 3 months
Best overall response during the trial
Best overall response during the trial, defined by the best response recorded from the start of treatment until disease progression/recurrence or treatment interruption for any reason
Time frame: at 6 months
Response rate at 6 months
Time frame: at 6 months
number of lesions
number of lesions
Time frame: at 3 months
size of target lesions
Time frame: at 3 months
tumor infiltration of target lesions
Time frame: at 3 months
lymphedema
lymphedema (scale of 0 (absence)-3 (painful or oozing), circumference)
Time frame: at 3 months
Time to response
Time frame: at 3 months
Time to progression
Time frame: at 3 months
toxicity
Safety and tolerance aspects, they will be assessed in terms of drug toxicity evaluated by clinic and on laboratory parameters and scored according Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.0 (CTCAE)
Time frame: at 6 months
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.