Study of Taxoprexin Injection vs. Dacarbazine in Patients With Metastatic Malignant Melanoma

July 21, 2025 updated by: American Regent, Inc.

Phase III Study of Taxoprexin Injection vs. Dacarbazine in Patients With Metastatic Malignant Melanoma

The primary objective of this trial is to compare the survival of patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with Taxoprexin Injection to those treated with Dacarbazine. In addition, the response rate to each drug, response duration, time to progression and time to treatment failure will be measured. Toxicity will be evaluated and compared between the two groups.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This was a randomized, multi-center, open-label Phase III study in patients with histologically confirmed metastatic malignant melanoma. Patients received either Taxoprexin® at a starting dose of 900 mg/m2 intravenously by 2-hour infusion on Day 1 every 3 weeks or dacarbazine at a starting dose of 1000 mg/m2 intravenously over at least 30 minutes once every 3 weeks. Treatment continued until progression of disease, intolerable toxicity, refusal of continued treatment by the patient, or, in the investigator's opinion, treatment discontinued. Disease status was assessed every 6 to 8 weeks using standard imaging techniques. All images were forwarded to the sponsor and archived. Following the end of protocol treatment, further treatment was at the investigator's discretion but no cross-over was planned. All patients were followed until death

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
393

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States, 19403
        • Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients must have malignant melanoma, and documented metastatic disease.
  • Patients must have at least one unidimensionally measurable lesion.
  • Patients must not have received prior systemic chemotherapy for metastatic disease. Prior treatment with immunotherapy or vaccine therapy is allowed provided there is documentation of disease progression.
  • At least 6 weeks (42 days) since any prior immunotherapy, cytokine, biologic, vaccine or other therapy unless patients have progressed during immunotherapy.
  • At least 4 weeks (28 days) since any prior radiotherapy.
  • Lesions being used to assess disease status may not have been radiated.
  • Patients must have Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 - 2.
  • Patients must be >= 18 years of age.
  • Patients must have adequate renal and liver function
  • Patients must have adequate bone marrow function.
  • Life expectancy of at least 3 months.
  • Patients must sign an informed consent form indicating that they are aware of the investigational nature of this study and in keeping with the policies of the institution.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have received prior therapy with any taxane or dacarbazine.
  • Patients whose primary site is the eye.
  • Patients who have a past or current history of neoplasm other than the entry diagnosis, except for curatively treated non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix or other cancers cured by surgery alone with a disease-free survival longer than 5 years.
  • Patients with uncontrolled brain metastasis.
  • Patients who are pregnant or nursing and patients who are not practicing an acceptable method of birth control. Patients may not breastfeed while on this study.
  • Patients with current active infections requiring anti-infectious treatment (e.g., antibiotics, antivirals, or antifungals).
  • Patients with current peripheral neuropathy of any etiology that is greater than grade 1.
  • Patients with unstable or serious concurrent medical conditions are excluded.
  • Patients with a known hypersensitivity to Cremophor.
  • Patients must not have had recent major surgery within the past 14 days or large field radiation therapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy in the last 28 days, or biologic therapy in the last 42 days.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Taxoprexin
Taxoprexin® 900 mg/m² intravenously every 3 weeks
Drug: Taxoprexin
Administered by intravenous infusion over 2 hour infusion on Day 1 followed by a 20-day observation period for a total of 21 days (three weeks) per course
Other Names:
  • Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-paclitaxel
Active Comparator: Dacarbazine
Dacarbazine 1000 mg/m² intravenously every 3 weeks.
Drug: Dacarbazine
Administered by intravenous infusion over 30 minutes on Day 1 followed by a 20-day observation period for a total of 21 days (three weeks) per course
Other Names:
  • Imidazole carboxamide

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall Participant Survival
Time Frame: Up to 36 months
Overall survival was defined as the time from the day of randomization to participant death or the termination of the study, whichever occurs first. Participants were contacted monthly for survival information.
Up to 36 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percentage of Participants Who Achieved an Objective Complete Response or Partial Response
Time Frame: Assessed every 6 weeks, up to 38 months
Antitumor response was defined as the percentage of participants who achieved an objective response (Confirmed Response [CR] or Partial Response [PR]), confirmed by repeat assessments performed no less than 4 weeks after the criteria for response were first met. Response was based on the blinded radiological review using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) response guidelines, Version 1.0. A complete response was defined as a disappearance of all target lesions determined by 2 consecutive observations not less than 4 weeks apart. Partial response was defined as a 30% decrease in the sum of the longest diameters (LD) of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum of LD determined by 2 consecutive observations not less than 4 weeks apart.
Assessed every 6 weeks, up to 38 months
Duration of Response
Time Frame: Assessed every 6 weeks, up to 36 months
Duration of overall response was a measurement from the time measure criteria was met for confirmed complete response or partial response (whichever was first recorded) until the first date that recurrent of progressive disease was objectively documented (taking as reference for progressive disease the smallest measurement recorded since treatment started).
Assessed every 6 weeks, up to 36 months
Time to Progression (TPP)
Time Frame: Assessed every 6 weeks until progression or death, up to 36 months
Progression free survival time was defined as the time from the day of randomization to the start of documented progression, based on the blinded radiological review response assessment. Progressive disease was defined as a ≥ 20% increase in the sum of longest diameter (SLD) of target lesions, taking as reference the smallest SLD recorded since the treatment started or the appearance of one or more new lesions
Assessed every 6 weeks until progression or death, up to 36 months
Time to Failure (TTF)
Time Frame: Baseline to stopping treatment, up to 36 months
Time to Failure (TTF) was defined as the time from the day of randomization to the discontinuation of protocol treatment for any reason.
Baseline to stopping treatment, up to 36 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
American Regent, Inc.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 6, 2002

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 27, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 27, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 13, 2004

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 15, 2004

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 16, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 23, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 21, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • P01-02-17

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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