Calcium Gluconate and Magnesium Sulfate in Preventing Neurotoxicity Caused By Oxaliplatin in Patients Receiving Combination Chemotherapy for Stage II, Stage III, or Stage IV Colorectal Cancer That Has Been Completely Removed By Surgery

A Phase III Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Study of Intravenous Calcium/Magnesium to Prevent Oxaliplatin-Induced Sensory Neurotoxicity

RATIONALE: Calcium gluconate and magnesium sulfate may prevent or lessen neurotoxicity caused by oxaliplatin. It is not yet known whether calcium gluconate and magnesium sulfate are more effective than a placebo in preventing neurotoxicity caused by oxaliplatin in patients receiving combination chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying calcium gluconate and magnesium sulfate to see how well they work compared to a placebo in preventing neurotoxicity caused by oxaliplatin in patients receiving combination chemotherapy for stage II, stage III, or stage IV colorectal cancer that has been completely removed by surgery.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Colorectal Cancer; Neurotoxicity
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: calcium gluconate; Drug: magnesium sulfate; Other: placebo

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine whether calcium gluconate and magnesium sulfate (CaMg) infusions can prevent or ameliorate chronic, cumulative oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity in patients receiving FOLFOX combination chemotherapy for stage II, III or IV colorectal cancer.
• Determine whether CaMg infusions can increase the cumulative oxaliplatin doses that can be delivered without chronic neurotoxicity.
• Determine whether CaMg infusions can ameliorate the acute neuropathy associated with oxaliplatin.
• Determine whether CaMg infusions cause any adverse events.
• Investigate whether CaMg infusions influence quality of life, fatigue, and activities of daily living of these patients.
• Determine if polymorphisms in the GSTP1 gene predict early onset of oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to age (< 65 vs > 65), gender, and chemotherapy regimen (FOLFOX4 vs modified FOLFOX6). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

• Arm I: Patients receive calcium gluconate and magnesium sulfate IV over 30 minutes immediately before and after each oxaliplatin administration (once every 2 weeks) of their assigned chemotherapy regimen.
• Arm II: Patients receive a placebo IV over 30 minutes immediately before and after each oxaliplatin administration (once every 2 weeks) of their assigned chemotherapy regimen.

In both arms, treatment continues until chemotherapy is discontinued (approximately 6 months).

Patients complete quality of life questionnaires on day 1, a symptom experience diary on days 2-5 of their chemotherapy regimen, and questionnaires at 1 and 3 months after completion of study treatment.

Blood samples are collected at baseline and tested for the GSTP1 gene.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed for at least 3 months.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 300 patients will be accrued for this study.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 104
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Georgia
    • Augusta, Georgia, United States, 30912
      • MBCCOP - Medical College of Georgia Cancer Center
  • Iowa
    • Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50309
      • CCOP - Iowa Oncology Research Association
    • Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50309
      • John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center
    • Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50309
      • Medical Oncology and Hematology Associates at John Stoddard Cancer Center
    • Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50314
      • Medical Oncology and Hematology Associates at Mercy Cancer Center
    • Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50314
      • Mercy Cancer Center at Mercy Medical Center - Des Moines
    • Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50316
      • John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Lutheran Hospital
    • Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 50307
      • Mercy Capitol Hospital
  • North Dakota
    • Bismarck, North Dakota, United States, 58501
      • Bismarck Cancer Center
    • Bismarck, North Dakota, United States, 58501
      • Medcenter One Hospital Cancer Care Center
    • Bismarck, North Dakota, United States, 58501
      • Mid Dakota Clinic, PC
  • South Dakota
    • Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, 57105
      • Avera Cancer Institute
    • Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, 57105
      • Medical X-Ray Center, PC
    • Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States, 57117-5039
      • Sanford Cancer Center at Sanford USD Medical Center

Participation Criteria

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 confirmed adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum

  • Stage II disease
  • Stage III disease
  • Stage IV disease (completely resected with no evidence of residual tumor)
• Must have undergone curative resection for stage II or III disease

• Scheduled to receive 6 months of adjuvant treatment with either of the following FOLFOX chemotherapy regimens:

  • FOLFOX4, comprising leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (2-week course)
  • Modified FOLFOX6, comprising high-dose leucovorin calcium, high-dose fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (2-week course)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL
• WBC ≥ 3,000/mm^3
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Calcium normal
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No pre-existing peripheral neuropathy of any grade
• No hypercalcemia
• No concurrent heart block or a history of heart block
• No other medical condition that, in the opinion of the treating physician, would make this protocol unreasonably hazardous for the patient
• No family history of a genetic/familial neuropathy

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior treatment with neurotoxic chemotherapy such as oxaliplatin, cisplatin, taxanes, or vinca alkaloids
• Concurrent use of bevacizumab or cetuximab in combination with FOLFOX as part of a clinical trial or clinical practice are allowed
• No concurrent digitalis medication
• No concurrent digoxin
• No concurrent treatment with anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine, phenytoin, or valproic acid
• No other concurrent neurotropic agents such as gabapentin

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Ca/Mg; Patients receive calcium gluconate (Ca) and magnesium sulfate (Mg) IV over 30 minutes immediately before and after each oxaliplatin administration (once every 2 weeks) of their assigned chemotherapy regimen.	Drug: calcium gluconate; Given IV; Drug: magnesium sulfate; Given IV
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Patients receive a placebo IV over 30 minutes immediately before and after each oxaliplatin administration (once every 2 weeks) of their assigned chemotherapy regimen.	Other: placebo; Given IV

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Patients With Oxaliplatin-induced Grade 2+ Chronic Neuropathic Adverse Event	Neuropathic adverse events were assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v3.0. Neurotoxicity evaluation grade: loss of deep tendon reflexes or paresthesia, including tingling, but not interfering with function (Grade 1); objective sensory alteration or paresthesia, including tingling, interfering with function, but not with activities of daily living (Grade 2); sensory alteration or paresthesia interfering with activities of daily living (Grade 3); permanent sensory losses that are disabling (Grade 4)	127 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to Onset of Grade 2+ Chronic Neurotoxicity	Neurotoxicity were assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v3.0.	127 days
Time to Onset of Grade 3+ Chronic Neurotoxicity	Neurotoxicity was assessed by CTCAE v3.0.	127 days
Average Duration of Chronic Neuropathic Toxicity	Neuropathic adverse events were assessed by CTCAE v3.0.	127 days
Percentage of Patients Discontinuing Therapy for Chronic Neurotoxicity	Neurotoxicity were assessed by CTCAE v3.0.	127 days
Average Cumulative Oxaliplatin Dose		127 days
Average Duration of Oxaliplatin-containing Treatment		127 days
Percentage of Patients With Acute Neuropathic Adverse Event	Acute neuropathic toxicities were measured using the Symptom Experience Diary and supplemental quality of life questions in the scale of 0 (no symptom) to 10 (worst symptom). The item score was reversed and transformed into 0 (low QOL) to 100 (best QOL) scale for analysis. Any score greater than 0 was considered having acute neuropathy.	127 days
Incidence of Calcium Magnesium (CaMg)-Induced Adverse Event	Adverse Events were measured using CTCAE V3.0.	127 days
Percentage of Patients Experiencing Impact on Activities of Daily Living (ADL)	Activities of daily living were measured using the Symptom Experience Diary and supplemental quality of life questions. The questionnaires' items were in the scale of 0 (no symptom) to 10 (worst symptom).	127 days
Change From Baseline in Fatigue Score at One Month	Fatigue was measured by Brief Fatigue Inventory in the scale of 0 (no fatigue) to 10 (fatigue as bad as you can imagine). The item score was reversed and transformed into 0 (low quality of life (QOL)) to 100 (best QOL) scale for analysis. Change: score at one month minus score at baseline.	Baseline and One month
Change From Baseline in Quality of Life (QOL) at One Month	Quality of Life (QOL) were measured using the Symptom Experience Diary and supplemental quality of life questions. Item score range: 0 (no symptom) to 10 (worst symptom). The score was reversed and transformed into 0 (low QOL) to 100 (best QOL) scale for analysis. Change: score at one month minus score at baseline.	Baseline and One month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI); North Central Cancer Treatment Group

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Grothey A, Nikcevich DA, Sloan JA, Kugler JW, Silberstein PT, Dentchev T, Wender DB, Novotny PJ, Chitaley U, Alberts SR, Loprinzi CL. Intravenous calcium and magnesium for oxaliplatin-induced sensory neurotoxicity in adjuvant colon cancer: NCCTG N04C7. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Feb 1;29(4):421-7. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2010.31.5911. Epub 2010 Dec 28.
• Nikcevich DA, Grothey A, Sloan JA, et al.: Effect of intravenous calcium and magnesium (IV CaMg) on oxaliplatin-induced sensory neurotoxicity (sNT) in adjuvant colon cancer: results of the phase III placebo-controlled, double-blind NCCTG trial N04C7. [Abstract] J Clin Oncol 26 (Suppl 15): A-4009, 2008.
• Pachman DR, Qin R, Seisler DK, Smith EM, Beutler AS, Ta LE, Lafky JM, Wagner-Johnston ND, Ruddy KJ, Dakhil S, Staff NP, Grothey A, Loprinzi CL. Clinical Course of Oxaliplatin-Induced Neuropathy: Results From the Randomized Phase III Trial N08CB (Alliance). J Clin Oncol. 2015 Oct 20;33(30):3416-22. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.58.8533. Epub 2015 Aug 17.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2006
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 19, 2006
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 19, 2006
• First Posted (Estimate): April 21, 2006

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): August 11, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 11, 2016
• Last Verified: July 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: adenocarcinoma of the rectum; stage IV rectal cancer; stage IV colon cancer; adenocarcinoma of the colon; stage III colon cancer; neurotoxicity; stage II rectal cancer; stage III rectal cancer; stage II colon cancer
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Chemically-Induced Disorders; Digestive System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Rectal Diseases; Poisoning; Colorectal Neoplasms; Neurotoxicity Syndromes; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Central Nervous System Depressants; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Analgesics; Sensory System Agents; Anesthetics; Membrane Transport Modulators; Anticonvulsants; Calcium-Regulating Hormones and Agents; Reproductive Control Agents; Calcium Channel Blockers; Tocolytic Agents; Calcium; Magnesium Sulfate
• Other Study ID Numbers: NCCTG-N04C7; CDR0000471238 (Registry Identifier: NCI Physician Data Query)