The Effect of Monoclonal Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Antibody (Bevacizumab) on Pituitary Function

February 6, 2012 updated by: William Gellepis, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

The purpose of this research is to determine whether the drug, Bevacizumab (a monoclonal anti VEGF-A antibody), which is approved to treat patients with metastatic colon cancer induces hyperprolactinemia (increased prolactin secretion) in humans with intact pituitary function. Past studies have shown Bevacizumab to shrink tumor size and also increase prolactin levels. The mechanism of the hyperprolactinemia might be inhibition of pituitary portal vein transport, suggesting that Bevacizumab induces prolactin secretion from normal lactotrophs in the pituitary gland.

Patients who have been treated with Bevacizumab for at least one month will be recruited to participate.

The subjects who are being treated with Bevacizumab by Dr. Stephen Wolin (a sub-investigator) will be screened by him for study eligibility. Dr. Wolin will approach eligible patients with all the information and background of the study and see if they have an interest in being consented.

If consented, there will be 2 blood draws for the research that is not part of their standard care in which 10 ml of blood is collected and prolactin, growth hormone, IGF-I, TSH, thyroxine, ACTH, and cortisol will be measured. One 5ml blood draw will occur before the administration of Bevacizumab and the second 5 ml blood draw will occur after the administration of the Bevacizumab. The investigators will then review the laboratory results. The blood tests are of the hormones of the pituitary gland to test pituitary function and see if there are any abnormalities with the secretions of the gland. Pituitary function abnormalities and hyperprolactinemia are diagnosed by looking at hormone levels in the blood and comparing them to the normal reference ranges.

This study will only involve 10 subjects and will be conducted entirely at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

6

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
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90048
        • Cedars-Sinai Medical 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

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients who have cancer and have been treated with the drug Bevacizumab for at least one month.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and glioblastoma patients that have been treated with Bevacizumab for at least 1 month
  • Adults (18 years of age or older)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are taking medications known to affect serum prolactin levels
  • Patients who are pregnant
  • Patients who have pituitary disease
  • Minors (Under the age of 18)

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Taking Bevacizumab
Patients who are currently being treated for cancer by the drug Bevacizumab.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
To determine whether the drug, Bevacizumab (a monoclonal anti VEGF-A antibody), which is approved to treat patients with metastatic colon cancer induces hyperprolactinemia (increased prolactin secretion) in humans with intact pituitary function.
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Patients will have their blood drawn before their first Bevacizumab infusion and then again 6 weeks later.
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Shlomo Melmed, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical 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.

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

September 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 8, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 8, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

September 9, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 7, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2012

Last Verified

February 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Pro00019830

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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