Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Stage IIB, Stage III, or Stage IV Cancer of the Nasopharynx

February 6, 2009 updated by: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

A Phase II Trial of Docetaxel, Cisplatin, 5-FU, and Leucovorin for Carcinoma of the Nasopharnyx

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have stage IIB, stage III, or stage IV cancer of the nasopharynx.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the complete and overall response rate to docetaxel, cisplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin calcium in patients with potentially curable nasopharyngeal cancer. II. Assess the tolerability of this regimen in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients receive docetaxel IV over 1 hour followed 1 hour later by cisplatin IV over 4 hours and fluorouracil IV and leucovorin calcium IV over 96 hours. Filgrastim (G-CSF) is administered subcutaneously beginning on day 5 and continuing until blood counts recover or day 10. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for up to 3 courses. Within 2 weeks after the completion of chemotherapy, patients undergo definitive radiotherapy for about 7 weeks. After radiotherapy, patients who did not achieve complete remission after chemotherapy may undergo surgery. Patients are followed monthly for 1 year, then every 3 months thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 45 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

    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts General Hospital 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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically proven, previously untreated stage IIB, III, or IV carcinoma of the nasopharynx Metastatic disease must be limited to site amenable to curative irradiation or surgical resection Locally recurrent disease after surgery allowed Evaluable disease No prior head and neck cancer, unless treated solely by surgery

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: Any age Performance status: ECOG 0-2 Life expectancy: Greater than 3 months Hematopoietic: WBC at least 3000/mm3 OR Absolute neutrophil count at least 1000/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hemoglobin at least 10 g/dL (transfusion allowed) Hepatic: Bilirubin no greater than upper limit of normal (ULN) SGOT/SGPT no greater than 1.5 times ULN (no greater than 2.5 times ULN if alkaline phosphatase no greater than ULN) Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 2.5 times ULN (no greater than 4 times ULN if SGOT/SGPT no greater than ULN) Alkaline phosphatase has no ULN if known bony invasion present and all other hepatic enzymes normal Renal: Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL OR Creatinine clearance greater than 50 mL/min Cardiovascular: No significant cardiovascular disease Pulmonary: No significant pulmonary disease Other: No other concurrent or prior malignancy within the past 3 years except limited basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix No grade 2 or worse peripheral neuropathy No other serious illness or medical condition Adequate and nutritionally balanced enteral intake No requirement for intravenous alimentation as primary source of calories Able to tolerate 3-4 liters of IV saline per day Not pregnant or nursing Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: No prior radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer Surgery: See Disease Characteristics Recovered from prior surgery Other: Recovered from prior diagnostic or therapeutic procedures

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: A. Dimitrios Colevas, MD, NCI - Investigational Drug Branch

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

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 10, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 16, 2004

First Posted (Estimate)

July 19, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 9, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2009

Last Verified

September 1, 2000

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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