Valproic Acid and Bevacizumab in Patients With Advanced Cancer

January 7, 2015 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Phase I Study of Valproic Acid Given in Combination With Bevacizumab in Patients With Advanced Cancer to Determine Safety and Tolerability

The goal of this clinical research study is to find the highest tolerable dose of bevacizumab in combination with valproic acid that can be given to patients with advanced cancer that has not responded to standard treatment or where there is no standard treatment for the disease. The safety of this drug combination will also be studied.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Bevacizumab is designed to prevent or slow down the growth of cancer cells by blocking the growth of blood vessels. Valproic acid works the same was way as bevacizumab and is also used in the treatment of seizures, migraine headaches, and mood disturbances in bipolar disorders.

If you are found to be eligible to take part in this study, you will receive the study drugs as an outpatient. You will receive bevacizumab by vein over 90 minutes (for the first infusion) once every 2 weeks. Once the study doctor determines that you are able to tolerate the drug, it will be given over 60 minutes for the second infusion and then over 30 minutes for further infusions. Valproic acid will be given by mouth (capsule(s)) each day for 28 days. You will take valproic acid once or twice a day depending on your dose. Every 28 days is considered 1 cycle.

You will have blood drawn (about 2 teaspoons) and urine collected for routine tests every cycle, about every 1-2 weeks, so that researchers can monitor the safety of the study drugs. Once every 8 weeks you will have tumor markers tested as part of the routine blood draw. You will have a physical exam once a cycle.

You will have either a CT or MRI scan of the tumor about every 8 weeks to check the status (whether it is growing or shrinking) of the cancer. If your doctor thinks other tests are necessary he/she will discuss those with you.

You will continue to receive bevacizumab and valproic acid as long as the disease is considered stable. You will receive up to 12 cycles of the study drug. If the disease gets worse or you experience any intolerable side effects, you will be taken off this study.

You will have an end-of-study visit 28 days after your last dose of bevacizumab. At this visit, you will have a complete physical exam, including measurement of your vital signs and blood pressure. You will have a neurological exam, and blood (about 2 teaspoons) will be drawn for routine and tumor marker tests. You will be asked about any medications you may be taking and whether you have had any side effects. You will also be asked how well you are able to perform daily activities.

This is an investigational study. Bevacizumab and valproic acid are both FDA approved and commercially available. Their use together in this study is investigational and authorized for use in research only. Up to 80 patients will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at MD Anderson.

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.
71

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 1

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
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with pathologically confirmed malignancy that is metastatic or unresectable and refractory to standard therapy or for whom there is no standard therapy that induces complete remission (CR) of at least 10% or an increased survival of at least 3 months.
  2. There is no maximum allowable number of prior chemotherapy regimens, provided all other eligibility criteria are met.
  3. ECOG performance status less than 2.
  4. Patients must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below: - absolute neutrophil count greater than or equal to 1,000/mcL - platelets greater than 50,000/mcL - total bilirubin less than 2 mg/dl - creatinine less than 2 mg/dl
  5. The effects of bevacizumab on the developing human fetus are unknown. For this reason and because valproic acid is known to be teratogenic, women of child-bearing potential and men who may impregnate a woman must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately.
  6. Ability to understand and the willingness to sign an MD Anderson IRB approved written informed consent document.
  7. Both men and women of all races and ethnic groups are eligible for this trial.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks prior to receiving first dose of study drug or those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier.Patients may have received palliative radiation immediately before (or during) treatment provided radiation is not to the only target lesion available.
  2. Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents for 28 days prior to first dose of drug on this study, and while pt is receiving this study drug.
  3. Patients whose brain mets or primary brain tumor includes symptoms that in the opinion of the principle investigator would either put the patients at unacceptable risk greater than the risk of the underlying cancer or if the treatment would unacceptably confound the analysis of the toxicity assessment.
  4. History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to bevacizumab or valproic acid .
  5. Major surgery within the previous four weeks.
  6. Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, HTN (with 2 or more antihypertensives), unstable angina pectoris or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements.
  7. Pregnant women are excluded from this study because valproic acid is an agent with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with valproic acid and bevacizumab, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with these agents.
  8. Patient who are already on antiepileptic agents, for example; phenytoin, valproic acid, and neurontin will be excluded.

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Valproic Acid + Bevacizumab

Valproic acid administered at a dose of 5.3 mg/Kg/day on days 1 - 28. Depending on the calculated dose, patients will take capsules once or twice a day per mouth.

Bevacizumab administered at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg by vein every 2 weeks.
Drug: Valproic Acid
5.3 mg/kg by mouth daily x 28 days
Other Names:
  • Depakene
Drug: Bevacizumab
2.5 mg/kg by vein over 90 minutes every 2 weeks
Other Names:
  • Avastin
  • Anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody
  • rhuMAb-VEGF

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
Time Frame
Highest tolerable dose of bevacizumab in combination with valproic acid
Time Frame: 28 day cycle
28 day cycle

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.
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jennifer Wheler, MD, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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

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.
June 1, 2007

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.
November 1, 2013

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.
November 1, 2013

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).
September 14, 2007

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.
September 14, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

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.
September 18, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

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.
January 8, 2015

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.
January 7, 2015

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.
November 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • 2005-0676

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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