Evaluating the Effect of Itraconazole on Pathologic Complete Response Rates in Esophageal Cancer

November 2, 2021 updated by: David Wang, Dallas VA Medical Center

A Phase II Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of Itraconazole in Improving Pathologic Complete Response Rates in Patients With Esophageal Cancer Through Inhibition of the Hedgehog and AKT Signaling Pathways

Esophageal cancer, which has a low 5-year overall survival rate for all stages (<20%) , is increasing in incidence. Previous studies have shown that the Hedgehog (Hh) and AKT signaling pathways are activated in a significant proportion of esophageal cancers. Itraconazole, a widely used anti-fungal medication, has been shown to inhibit various pathways involved in esophageal cancer tumorigenesis including Hh and AKT. In this phase II clinical trial, the investigators aim to evaluate the effect of itraconazole as a neoadjuvant therapy following standard of care chemoradiation in the treatment of locoregional esophageal and gastroesophageal junction carcinomas.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Esophageal cancer has a high incidence rate in the United States, and novel approaches to its treatment are being studied. Itraconazole, an antifungal agent, has been shown to inhibit the Hedgehog (Hh) and AKT signaling pathways, which are upregulated in esophageal cancer and promote tumor cell growth. This study will evaluate whether the use of itraconazole leads to increased rates of pathological complete response (pathCR) by at least 15% from the historical pathCR rate of 25% in patients with esophageal cancer or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. The investigators will enroll approximately 78 patients with esophageal cancer or GEJ adenocarcinoma who will then undergo standard of care staging work-up with a PET/CT and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). In a subset of patients, biopsies will be obtained to assess the status of the Hh and AKT signaling pathways by PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry in the primary tumor before treatment. If no distant metastases are found, all patients will undergo 5-6 weeks of standard of care neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Following this, all patients will be given itraconazole 300 mg twice daily for 6-8 weeks. Adverse effects to itraconazole will be monitored in oncology clinic. If standard restaging PET/CT following neoadjuvant chemoradiation does not reveal new metastases, the patient will undergo an esophagectomy. Samples from normal esophageal tissue will be analyzed for presence of itraconazole and its metabolites to determine if the patients were taking the study drug. Tumor tissue will be evaluated for status of Hh pathway activation, AKT and VEGFR2 phosphorylation, Ki67 immunostaining, and other molecular pathways with comparisons made to pre-treatment biopsies if available. The final pathology report will indicate whether the patient has achieved pathCR. Because the Hh signaling pathway is a resistance pathway that can be upregulated in response to chemoradiation, the investigators believe that administering itraconazole following neoadjuvant chemoradiation will lead to a higher pathCR rate. This in turn should be able to improve treatment outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer and GEJ adenocarcinoma.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

78

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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75216
        • Recruiting
        • Dallas VA Medical Center
        • Contact:
          • Jessica Vallejo, BSA
        • Contact:

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients diagnosed with localized (locoregional) esophageal cancer
  • Patients diagnosed with localized (locoregional) gastroesophageal junction cancer

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients unwilling or unable to provide informed consent
  • Patients with QTc>450ms
  • Patients with a history of symptomatic congestive heart failure
  • Patients with LFT's>3xULN
  • Patients who are pregnant
  • Patients with a known allergy to itraconazole

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Itraconazole
Itraconazole capsule 300mg twice daily for 6-8 weeks following chemoradation.
Drug: Itraconazole
Oral administration of itraconazole twice daily from completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiation until esophagectomy.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percentage of pathological complete response with itraconazole
Time Frame: 3-4 months
Generally for esophageal cancer the pathological complete response rate at time of esophagectomy is 25%, and we have designed our study with the projected number of patients assuming we observe an improvement of 15% or more in this rate following treatment with itraconazole. This is the study's primary endpoint. By inhibiting the Hh signaling pathway with the use of itraconazole, we anticipate improved pathological complete response rates.
3-4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Comparison of hedgehog biomarkers before and after intervention
Time Frame: 3-4 months
As part of clinical staging, patients will undergo endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) following a PET/CT that does not show metastases. During EUS, some patients will undergo eight research biopsies obtained with large forceps for research purposes at the level of the visualized esophageal mass or abnormality (3 for RNA isolation, 3 for protein isolation, and 2 for formalin fixation). Three research biopsies for RNA isolation will also be obtained from normal appearing esophagus, at least 5 cm away from any mass lesions. The research biopsies will be submitted to qPCR analysis for mRNA expression levels of SHH, IHH, PTCH, GLI1, GLI2, and GLI3 (Hedgehog pathway components). Comparisons will be made between mass biopsies and normal esophageal tissues. Following esophagectomy, tissues will be analyzed for the aforementioned hedgehog pathway markers to determine response to therapy.
3-4 months
Comparison of phosphorylated VEGFR2 and AKT before and after intervention
Time Frame: 3-4 months
Tissue obtained prior to initiation of chemoradiation will be analyzed with Western blot to quantify presence of VEGFR2 and AKT. These markers will again be analyzed following esophagectomy to determine response to therapy.
3-4 months
Levels of itraconazole and metabolites in esophageal tissue
Time Frame: 1 month.
The concentration of itraconazole and hydroxy-itraconazole in normal esophageal tissue will be measured following esophagectomy to ensure that the drug has been taken consistently.
1 month.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Dallas VA Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: David Wang, MD, PhD, North Texas Veterans Healthcare System

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 (Actual)

June 24, 2019

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

June 24, 2026

Study Completion (Anticipated)

September 29, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 10, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 10, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

July 15, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 4, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2021

Last Verified

November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 19-017

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

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.

Clinical Trials on Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma

Clinical Trials on Itraconazole

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Venezuela

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe