Metformin in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Prospective Study of Metformin in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Metformin is a medication that is prescribed for people with diabetes to help the body respond better to its own insulin and decrease sugar production by the liver. This helps control the body's blood sugar level and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of diabetes. Participant's in this research study will already be receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer. ADT is considered standard of care for prostate cancer. Changes in the participant's metabolism, including changes in insulin and blood sugar levels, are often seen as a result of this type of hormone therapy. Some studies have shown a relationship between insulin and prostate cancer. These studies have suggested that insulin may signal tumor cells to grow. Other studies suggest that people receiving metformin treatment for diabetes may enjoy better outcomes from their prostate cancer then other similar patients who are not treated with metformin.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Prostate Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Metformin

Detailed Description

• Each treatment cycle lasts 4 weeks (28 days). Participants will take metformin twice a day for all 28 days (except for the first 7 days of the first cycle when they will take it just once daily.)
• The following procedures will be done on Day 1 of treatment cycles 1, 2, 4, 7 and 10: medical history review, performance status, physical exam, blood tests.
• If the participant's first computed tomography (CT) or bone scan at the time of screening showed evidence of cancer, CT and bone scans will be repeated on Day 1 of treatment cycles 4, 7 and 10.
• Participants will be in this research study for about 12 months.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 21
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
      • Massachusetts General Hospital
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate
• History of bilateral orchiectomies or ongoing treatment with a GnRH agonist for GnRH antagonist
• Disease progression according to PSA Working Group 2
• Minimum starting PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level of 2.0 ng/mL
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status 0 or 1

Exclusion Criteria:

• Symptomatic metastases
• Receiving any other agents for the treatment of prostate cancer except gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist or antagonist within the last 30 days
• Received any investigational cancer treatment agents within the last 30 days
• Prior treatment with docetaxel
• History of diabetes requiring drug therapy
• Current treatment with metformin or metformin treatment within the last year
• History of allergic reaction to metformin
• Have uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
• Serum creatinine 1.5mg/dL or greater
• Hepatic impairment
• Need for ongoing treatment with cimetidine
• History of a different malignancy except for the following circumstances: Individuals with a history of other malignancies are eligible of they have been disease-free for at least 5 years and are deemed by the investigator to be at low risk for recurrence of that malignancy. Individuals with the following cancers are eligible if diagnosed and treated within the past 5 years: basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Metformin; This is the only arm of this phase 2 open label study	Drug: Metformin; Taken orally twice daily each 28-day cycle, for 12 cycles

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) Response	Percent change in PSA from baseline to 12 weeks.	Approximately 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With PSA Response	PSA response is defined as a 50% decline from baseline confirmed by a second PSA value 4 weeks later.	12 weeks
Relationship Between Baseline Metabolomic Profile and PSA Response	To determine the plasma metabolomic profiles associated with response to metformin using the Metabolon platform. The Metabolon platform is a proprietary technique of metabolic profiling using mass spectrometry coupled with liquid and/or gas chromatography and robust bioinformatics. The aim is to test the hypothesis that insulin level is a biomarker that predicts activity of metformin therapy for the treatment of castrate-resistant prostate cancer.	2 years
Percent Maintaining Glycemic Control	To describe glycemic control as assessed by hemoglobin A1C. Glycemic control was defined as maintaining fasting plasma glucose levels less than or equal to 130 mg/dL. Plasma glucose levels were measured at baseline (prior to metformin dosing), pre-month 2, pre-month 4, pre-month 7, pre-month 10 and pre-month 13, and/or at off-study visit.	2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Matthew R. Smith, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 4, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 4, 2010
• First Posted (Estimate): October 5, 2010

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 15, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 3, 2017
• Last Verified: April 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: metformin; castration-resistant prostate cancer; insulin levels
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Urogenital Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Genital Neoplasms, Male; Prostatic Diseases; Prostatic Neoplasms; Hypoglycemic Agents; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Metformin
• Other Study ID Numbers: 10-244

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO