Penicillamine, Low Copper Diet, and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Glioblastoma

Phase II Study of Penicillamine and Reduction of Copper for Angiosuppressive Therapy of Adults With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma

RATIONALE: Penicillamine may stop the growth of glioblastomas by stopping blood flow to the tumor. A diet low in copper may interfere with the growth of brain tumor cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining these therapies may be effective in treating glioblastoma.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of penicillamine, a low copper diet, and radiation therapy in treating patients who have newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the effect of penicillamine and copper reduction on survival and time to progression in adults with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. II. Determine the effect of penicillamine on the reduction of serum copper in these patients. III. Determine whether penicillamine reduces the tumor volume, vascularity, invasion, and edema in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients receive oral penicillamine on the following schedule: Week 1: once daily Week 2: two times daily Week 3: three times daily Week 4: four times daily Week 5 to end of study: increased dose four times daily. Patients also receive oral pyridoxine daily and maintain a low copper diet (no greater than 0.5 mg/day). This regimen is continued for up to 2 years in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Radiotherapy is administered over 6 weeks, beginning on day 1 of penicillamine therapy. Patients are followed every month (with MRI every 2 months) until death.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 40 patients will be accrued for this study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

40

Phase

  • Phase 2

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

    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35294
        • University of Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Florida
      • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612
        • H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322
        • Emory University School of Medicine
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287
        • Johns Hopkins Oncology Center
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
    • Michigan
      • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48202
        • Henry Ford Hospital
    • North Carolina
      • Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27157-1082
        • Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center
    • Texas
      • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78284
        • University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically proven supratentorial grade IV astrocytoma (glioblastoma multiforme)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: Karnofsky 60-100% Life expectancy: At least 2 months Hematopoietic: WBC at least 3000/mm3 Absolute neutrophil count at least 1500/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hemoglobin at least 10.0 g/dL No serious blood dyscrasias Hepatic: Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL AST and ALT no greater than 4 times upper limit of normal (ULN) Albumin at least 3.0 g/dL PT and PTT no greater than 1.5 times ULN No liver failure Renal: Creatinine no greater than 1.7 mg/dL OR BUN no greater than 40 mg/dL No renal failure Other: Not pregnant or nursing Fertile patients must use effective contraception No serious infection No concurrent serious medical illness No allergy to penicillin or history of serious reaction to penicillamine No prior malignancy within the past 5 years except curatively treated carcinoma in situ or basal cell skin cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: No prior immunotherapy for brain tumor No prior biologic therapy for brain tumor, including: Immunotoxins Immunoconjugates Antisense Peptide receptor antagonists Interferons Interleukins Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes Lymphokine activated killer cells Gene therapy No concurrent growth factors (e.g., filgrastim or epoetin alfa) Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy for brain tumor Endocrine therapy: Must be on stable corticosteroid regimen for at least 1 week (at least 5 days) No other prior hormonal therapy for brain tumor Radiotherapy: No prior radiotherapy for brain tumor Surgery: Recovered from prior surgery Other: No concurrent investigational agents No concurrent gold compounds (auronofin, gold sodium thiomalate) No concurrent herbal dietary supplements

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

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Steven Brem, MD, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

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.

General Publications

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

March 1, 1999

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2004

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 1, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 17, 2004

First Posted (Estimate)

August 18, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 3, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 1, 2012

Last Verified

May 1, 2012

More Information

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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