Chemotherapy Plus Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Previously Untreated Thyroid Cancer

July 9, 2013 updated by: National Cancer Institute (NCI)

A Multicenter Phase II Study of Intensified Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy for Patients With Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus radiation therapy in treating patients who have previously untreated anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES: I. Evaluate the activity of chemotherapy with hyperfractionated radiotherapy in terms of complete and overall response rate, time to progression, pattern of failure, incidence of second primary tumors, and overall survival in patients with previously untreated anaplastic thyroid cancer.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive oral hydroxyurea every 12 hours on days 0-5, fluorouracil IV and paclitaxel IV continuously over days 1-5, and hyperfractionated radiotherapy twice daily on days 1-5. Patients receive filgrastim (G-CSF) subcutaneously daily on days 6-12. Treatment repeats every 2 weeks for 5 courses. Following completion of concurrent chemoradiotherapy, patients with no prior initial modified neck dissection who have residual macroscopic nodal disease or initially staged nodal disease with no evidence of residual disease undergo neck dissection. Patients with macroscopic residual disease at the primary site undergo complete excision of disease. Patients with any progressive disease or recurrence of disease undergo conventional surgical management. Patients are followed at 4-6 weeks, every 3 months for 1 year, and then annually thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Approximately 16-46 patients will be accrued for this study.

Study Type

Interventional

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

    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
        • University of Illinois at Chicago
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
        • University of Chicago Cancer Research Center
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University

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

15 years to 80 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically or cytologically confirmed anaplastic thyroid cancer Metastatic disease allowed

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 15 to 80 Performance status: Karnofsky 60-100% Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hepatic: Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 2 times normal Transaminases no greater than 2 times normal Renal: Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Prior simple excision (e.g., transoral laser excision) of the primary lesion allowed if organ function preserved Prior modified neck dissection allowed

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.

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

August 1, 1999

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2002

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 10, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 13, 2004

First Posted (Estimate)

September 14, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 10, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 9, 2013

Last Verified

January 1, 2011

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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