This randomized phase II trial studies the effects of acetylcysteine and topotecan hydrochloride on the tumor microenvironment, or cells that make up a tumor, compared to topotecan hydrochloride alone in patients with ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer that has not responded to treatment (persistent) or has returned after a period of improvement (recurrent) and is high grade (likely to grow and spread quickly). Research has shown that cancer cells may be able to convert nearby normal cells into cancer cells. Acetylcysteine may stop this from happening. Topotecan hydrochloride is a chemotherapy drug used to treat ovarian cancer, and may help acetylcysteine work better. This trial studies the effect of acetylcysteine and topotecan hydrochloride on the tumor microenvironment to see if they can help make it more difficult for tumor cells to grow.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To estimate the proportion of subjects with persistent or recurrent high grade endometrioid or serous ovarian carcinoma who demonstrate a downregulation of monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4) in the ovarian stroma in response to exposure to topotecan (topotecan hydrochloride) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) (acetylcysteine) as compared to topotecan alone. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the expression levels of caveolin 1 (Cav-1), solute carrier family 16 (monocarboxylate transporter), member 1 (MCT1), translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20 homolog (yeast) (TOMM20), fatty acid binding protein 4, adipocyte (FABP4), hypoxia inducible factor 1, alpha subunit (HIF-1 alpha) and NF kappaB activating protein (NFκB) in pathological samples of tumors after therapy with NAC relative to samples taken at time of initial diagnosis. II. To assess the potential impact of NAC on progression free survival, overall survival, objective tumor response- complete or partial, and duration of response. III. To estimate the proportion of subjects who survive progression free for at least 6 months and the proportion of patients who have objective tumor response, complete or partial in response to therapy IV. To assess safety and tolerability of NAC plus topotecan treatment in subjects with endometrioid or serous ovarian carcinoma by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version (v)4.0 criteria. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM I: Patients receive topotecan hydrochloride intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15 (+/- 1 day window for each treatment day). Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. ARM II: Patients receive topotecan hydrochloride as in Arm I. Patients also receive acetylcysteine IV over 60 minutes on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 (+/- 1 day window for each treatment day) and acetylcysteine orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 2-7, 9-14, 16-21, and 23-28, unless administration window was utilized. Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 24 months.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
1
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Proportion of Patients Who Demonstrate a Downregulation of MCT4
The two-sided Fisher's exact test with alpha 0.05 will be used to compare the proportions of subjects who demonstrate a downregulation of MCT4 between subjects treated with topotecan hydrochloride and NAC and topotecan hydrochloride alone.
Time frame: Baseline to up to day 20 after first course of topotecan hydrochloride
Change in Expression Levels of Cav-1 in Tissue Samples
Evaluated in a generalized linear mixed effects model adjusting for the random subject effects. The expression levels will be log or otherwise transformed, if necessary, to satisfy the normal distribution assumption of the model. The fitted model will be used to evaluate the post-treatment change in the expression levels.
Time frame: Baseline to up to day 20 after first course of topotecan hydrochloride
Change in Expression Levels of MCT1 in Tissue Samples
Evaluated in a generalized linear mixed effects model adjusting for the random subject effects. The expression levels will be log or otherwise transformed, if necessary, to satisfy the normal distribution assumption of the model. The fitted model will be used to evaluate the post-treatment change in the expression levels.
Time frame: Baseline to up to day 20 after first course of topotecan hydrochloride
Change in Expression Levels of TOMM20 in Tissue Samples
Evaluated in a generalized linear mixed effects model adjusting for the random subject effects. The expression levels will be log or otherwise transformed, if necessary, to satisfy the normal distribution assumption of the model. The fitted model will be used to evaluate the post-treatment change in the expression levels.
Time frame: Baseline to up to day 20 after first course of topotecan hydrochloride
Change in Expression Levels of FABP4 in Tissue Samples
Evaluated in a generalized linear mixed effects model adjusting for the random subject effects. The expression levels will be log or otherwise transformed, if necessary, to satisfy the normal distribution assumption of the model. The fitted model will be used to evaluate the post-treatment change in the expression levels.
Time frame: Baseline to up to day 20 after first course of topotecan hydrochloride
Change in Expression Levels of HIF-1 Alpha in Tissue Samples
Evaluated in a generalized linear mixed effects model adjusting for the random subject effects. The expression levels will be log or otherwise transformed, if necessary, to satisfy the normal distribution assumption of the model. The fitted model will be used to evaluate the post-treatment change in the expression levels.
Time frame: Baseline to up to day 20 after first course of topotecan hydrochloride
Change in Expression Levels of NFκB in Tissue Samples
Evaluated in a generalized linear mixed effects model adjusting for the random subject effects. The expression levels will be log or otherwise transformed, if necessary, to satisfy the normal distribution assumption of the model. The fitted model will be used to evaluate the post-treatment change in the expression levels.
Time frame: Baseline to up to day 20 after first course of topotecan hydrochloride
Change in Number of Circulating Tumor Cells
Compared pre-therapy and post- 1 cycle of therapy with a Fisher's exact test.
Time frame: Baseline to day 29
Progression-free Survival
Compared between the two arms using the log-rank test.
Time frame: Up to 24 months
Overall Survival
Compared between the two arms using the log-rank test.
Time frame: Up to 24 months
Objective Tumor Response Rates
Evaluated using the exact binomial confidence intervals and compared between the two arms using the Fisher's exact test.
Time frame: Up to 24 months
Duration of Response
Compared between the two arms using the two-sample Wilcoxon test.
Time frame: Up to 24 months
Proportion of Patients Experiencing Adverse Events, Evaluated Using the National Cancer Institute CTCAE Version 4.0
Tabulated and reported with the corresponding exact binomial confidence intervals.
Time frame: Up to 24 months
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