Bevacizumab With Pelvic Radiotherapy And Primary Chemotherapy in Patients With Poor-Risk Rectal Cancer (BRANCH)

Bevacizumab With Pelvic Radiotherapy And Primary Chemotherapy in Patients With Poor-Risk Rectal Cancer: the BRANCH Trial

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and bevacizumab before surgery in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Rectal Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Radiation: Radiation therapy; Drug: Oxaliplatin; Drug: Raltitrexed; Drug: levofolinic acid; Drug: 5-fluorouracil; Drug: Bevacizumab

Detailed Description

To determine the pathological complete response (pCR-TRG1) rate in patients treated with 2 different schedule of bevacizumab plus primary chemotherapy and radiotherapy of the pelvic region when optimal surgery is applied.

Bevacizumab will be given by intravenous infusion at the dose of 5 mg/kg concurrent with chemotherapy and radiotherapy every 2 weeks for 4 cycles from -14 days to start chemo-radiotherapy (classical schedule) or 4 days before the concurrent administration of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for 2 cycles if the number of TRG1 was not reached in the first stage with the classical schedule Simon's methods will be used to calculate sample size.Setting a and b errors as 0.05 and 0.20, respectively, and defining as minimum activity of interest (p0) a TRG1 rate=30%. In order to demonstrate a TRG1 rate ≥50% (p1), at least 6 TRG1 on the first 15 patients, and at least 19 TRG1 on a total of 46 patients should be reported in the first and second stage, respectively.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 62
• Phase: Phase 2

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

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) at high risk of recurrence (T4, N+, T3N0 with tumor located in the lower third of the rectum and/or circumferential resection margin (CRM) £5 mm), or LARC with resectable organ metastasis (M1).
• Age 18 years or older
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status 0-2
• Life expectancy of at least 12 weeks
• Measurable and/or evaluable (resectable organ metastasis)lesions according to RECIST criteria
• Neutrophils > 1500 and Platelets > 100,000 /L
• Total bilirubin < or = 1.5 time the upper-normal limits (UNL) of the Institutional normal values and ASAT (SGOT) and/or ALAT (SGPT) < or = 2.5 x UNL, or < or = 5 x UNL in case of liver metastases, alkaline phosphatase < or = 2.5 x UNL, or < or = 5 x UNL in case of liver metastases.
• Creatinine clearance > 50 mL/min or serum creatinine < or = 1.5 x UNL
• Urine dipstick of proteinuria < 2+. Patients discovered to have > or = 2+ proteinuria on dipstick urinalysis at baseline, should undergo a 24-hour urine collection and must demonstrate < or = 1 g of protein/24 hr.
• Written informed consent.
• Patients must be accessible for treatment and follow up. Patients registered on this trial must be treated and followed at the participating Center

Exclusion Criteria:

• Prior radiotherapy or chemotherapy for rectal cancer.
• Untreated brain metastases or spinal cord compression or primary brain tumours
• History or evidence upon physical examination of CNS disease unless adequately treated (e.g., seizure not controlled with standard medical therapy or history of stroke).
• History of inflammatory bowel disease and/or acute/subacute bowel occlusion
• Serious, non-healing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture
• Evidence of bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy.
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Clinically significant (i.e. active) cardiovascular disease, for example cerebrovascular accidents (≤ 6 months), myocardial infarction (≤ 6 months), unstable angina, New York Heart Association (NYHA) grade II or greater congestive heart failure, serious cardiac arrhythmia requiring medication
• Current or recent (within 10 days prior to study treatment start) ongoing treatment with anticoagulants for therapeutic purposes.
• Chronic, daily treatment with high-dose aspirin (>325 mg/day) or other medications known to predispose to gastrointestinal ulceration.
• Treatment with any investigational drug within 30 days prior to enrolment.
• Patients with known allergy to Chinese hamster ovary cell proteins, or any of the components of the study medications
• Other co-existing malignancies or malignancies diagnosed within the last 5 years with the exception of basal and squamous cell carcinoma or cervical cancer in situ
• Major surgical procedure, open biopsy, or significant traumatic injury within 28 days prior to study treatment start, or anticipation of the need for major surgical procedure during the course of the study.
• Pregnant or lactating women. Women of childbearing potential with either a positive or no pregnancy test at baseline. Postmenopausal women must have been amenorrheic for at least 12 months to be considered of non-childbearing potential. Sexually active males and females (of childbearing potential) unwilling to practice contraception during the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: NA
• Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL: preoperative chemoradiotherapy; Preoperative radiation therapy and combination chemotherapy plus bevacizumab

Radiation: Radiation therapy; Radiation therapy will be administered at the total dose of 45 Gy, given with five weekly fractions over a period of 5 weeks. The daily fraction dose will be 1.8 Gy; Drug: Oxaliplatin; 100 mg/m2 on day 1 every 2 weeks for 3 cycles (for patients with resectable organ metastases (M1), an additional 2 cycles of chemotherapy will be given after radiation therapy); Drug: Raltitrexed; 2.5 mg/m2 on day 1 every 2 weeks for 3 cycles (for patients with resectable organ metastases (M1) , an additional 2 cycles of chemotherapy will be given after radiation therapy); Drug: levofolinic acid; 250 mg/m2 on day 2 every 2 weeks for 3 cycles (for patients with resectable organ metastases (M1), an additional 2 cycles of chemotherapy will be given after radiation therapy); Drug: 5-fluorouracil; 800 mg/m2 on day 2 every 2 weeks for 3 cycles (for patients with resectable organ metastases (M1), an additional 2 cycles of chemotherapy will be given after radiation therapy); Drug: Bevacizumab; will be given by intravenous infusion at the dose of 5 mg/kg concurrent with chemotherapy and radiotherapy every 2 weeks for 4 cycles from -14 days to start chemo-radiotherapy (classical schedule) or 4 days before the concurrent administration of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for 2 cycles if the number of TRG1 was not reached in the first stage (statistical design) with the classical schedule (for patients with resectable organ metastases (M1), one additional administration of bevacizumab will be given after radiation therapy)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Patients With Complete Tumor Regression Rate (TRG1)	Complete tumor regression rate (TRG1) was the ratio of patients with TRG1, graded at surgical resection, and total patients included in the study, expressed in percentage. Tumor regression grade (TRG) was misured according to the Mandard Scale. Briefly,TRG1 was a complete tumor regression (regardless of the presence of acellular mucine lakes), and TRG2 was a nearly complete tumor regression with extensive fibrosis; TRG3 presented with clear evidence of residual cancer cells but with predominant fibrosis;TRG4 was a residual of cancer cells outgrowing fibrosis; TRG5 was the absence of regressive changes.	In 8 weeks after completion of chemoradiotherapy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With Adverse Events	Number of Participants with Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety and Tolerability	Up to 8 weeks after surgery
Number of Patients With Sphincter Preservation	Sphincter preservation in patients with tumor < 5 cm from anal verge in 8 weeks after chemoradiation therapy	In 8 weeks after chemoradiation therapy
Progression Free Survival (PFS)	PFS was calculated from the date of the initial treatment until tumor progression or relapse, death for any cause or last follow up. Progression was defined using Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST v1.0), as a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions, or a measurable increase in a non-target lesion, or the appearance of new lesions.	10 years
Overall Survival (OS)	OS was calculated from the date of initial treatment to the date of death for any cause or last follow up.	10 years
Clinical Response Rate	Clinical response was assessed before surgery with the same imaging modalities that were used for the inclusion in the study. Clinical response rate was the ratio between complete and partial response, evaluated by RECIST CRITERIA, and total of patients evaluated, expressed in percentage of patients. Per Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST v1.0) for target lesions and assessed by MRI: Complete Response (CR), Disappearance of all target lesions; Partial Response (PR), >=30% decrease in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions; Overall Response (OR) = CR + PR.	7 weeks after chemoradiation therapy up to 11 weeks
Patients With Metastatic Lymphnodes at Pathology Exam After Surgery	Number of patients with metastatic lymphnodes at pathology exam after surgery.	In 8 weeks after chemoradiation therapy completion

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Cancer Institute, Naples

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): December 1, 2006
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): July 1, 2011
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 11, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 25, 2011
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): November 29, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): February 3, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 13, 2021
• Last Verified: September 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: high risk; locally advanced; preoperative therapy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Rectal Diseases; Colorectal Neoplasms; Rectal Neoplasms; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Enzyme Inhibitors; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Antimetabolites; Antineoplastic Agents; Immunosuppressive Agents; Immunologic Factors; Protective Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Angiogenesis Modulating Agents; Growth Substances; Growth Inhibitors; Micronutrients; Vitamins; Antidotes; Vitamin B Complex; Folic Acid Antagonists; Fluorouracil; Oxaliplatin; Bevacizumab; Leucovorin; Levoleucovorin; Raltitrexed
• Other Study ID Numbers: BRANCH; 2008-003989-26 (EUDRACT_NUMBER)