Nab-paclitaxel Based TPX Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for NPC Patients: a Dose-escalation Study

Sun Yat-sen University36 enrolled

Overview

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) has been recommended in the treatment of locoregionally-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), with docetaxel, cisplatin (DDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) shown to be an effective regimen. Capecitabine is the precursor drug of 5-fluorouracil, and has been used in replace of 5-fluorouracil in NPC patients. Nab-paclitaxel (Nab-PTX) is a novel albumin-bound paclitaxel with a superior therapeutic index to docetaxel. It was developed to reduce toxicities associated with paclitaxel whilst maintaining or improving its chemotherapeutic effect. In vivo preclinical experiments have shown greater volume of distribution of nab-paclitaxel than paclitaxel, with similar half-life and clearance. The efficacy and optimal dose of Nab-PTX combined with DDP as doublet has been explored in metastatic NPC patients and locoregionally advanced patients, and it showed encouraging anti-tumor effects and manageable toxicities. However, what is the optimal dose of Nab-PTX and the efficacy of it in three-drug triplet (Nab-PTX, DDP and capecitabine) needs to be discovered. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Nab-PTX plus cisplatin and capecitabine neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, to provide new evidence for the use of Nab-PTX in NPC.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 70 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with newly histologically confirmed non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma, including WHO II or III. 2. Original clinical staged as III-IVa （according to the 8th AJCC edition). 3. No evidence of distant metastasis (M0). 4. Male and no pregnant female. 5. Satisfactory performance status: ECOG (Eastern Cooperative OncologyGroup) scale 0-1. 6. WBC ≥ 4×109 /L and PLT ≥100×109 /L and HGB ≥90 g/L. 7. With normal liver function test (ALT/AST ≤ 2.5×ULN, TBIL≤ 2.0×ULN). 8. With normal renal function test (Creatinine Clearance ≥ 60 ml/min ). Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients have evidence of relapse or distant metastasis. 2. Histologically confirmed keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma (WHO I). 3. Receiving radiotherapy or chemotherapy previously. 4. The presence of uncontrolled life-threatening illness. 5. Women of child-bearing potential who are pregnant or breastfeeding because of the potentially dangerous effects of the preparative chemotherapy on the fetus or infant. 6. Receiving other ways of anti-cancer therapy. 7. Suffered from other malignant tumors (except the cure of basal cell carcinoma or uterine cervical carcinoma in situ) previously.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Maximum tolerated dose

If more than one-third of patients in a given cohort experienced a dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), enrollment will be stopped and the dose used in the previous cohort will be designated as the maximum tolerated dose

Time frame: At the end of each cycle (each cycle is 21 days)

Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability]

Incidence rate of adverse events (AEs), evaluated on basis of Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) 5.0 criteria.

Time frame: At the end of each cycle (each cycle is 21 days)

Secondary Outcomes

Objective response rate

The proportion of patients whose tumors shrink to a certain size and maintain such size for a certain period of time, including patients with complete response (CR) and partial response (PR).

Time frame: 3 months

Disease control rate

The proportion of patients with response and stable disease (SD) after treatment, including patients with CR, PR and SD.

Time frame: 3 months

Overall survival

Overall survival is calculated from the date of enrollment to the date of the death from any cause or censored at the date of the last follow-up.

Time frame: 2-year

Progression-free survival

Progress-free survival is calculated from the date of enrollment to the date of the first progression at any site or death from any cause or censored at the date of the last follow-up.