Clinical Trials

Pemetrexed Disodium or Observation in Treating Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Without Progressive Disease After First-Line Chemotherapy

Location:

Scottsdale and Phoenix,  AZ,  Rochester,  MN

Trial status:

Open for Enrollment

Why is this study being done?

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

- To determine if maintenance therapy with pemetrexed disodium versus observation improves progression-free survival of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who have at least stable disease after completion of first-line therapy comprising pemetrexed disodium with cisplatin or carboplatin.

Secondary

- To determine the overall survival of patients treated with this regimen versus observation.

- To evaluate the frequency of responses in patients treated with this regimen.

- To assess the toxicity of this regimen in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to first-line chemotherapy regimen (cisplatin/pemetrexed disodium vs carboplatin/pemetrexed disodium), histologic subtype (epithelioid vs other) and number of courses received (< 6 vs 6).

- Arm I: Patients receive pemetrexed disodium IV over 10 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

- Arm II: Patients undergo observation until disease progression. After completion of study therapy, patients are followed up every 6 months for 3 years.

Who is eligible to participate?

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed malignant pleural mesothelioma meeting 1 of the following cell types:

- Epithelial

- Sarcomatoid

- Mixed type

- Disease not amenable to surgery

- Must be enrolled on imaging protocol CALGB-580903

- Complete response, partial response, or stable disease after completion of 4 courses of first-line chemotherapy comprising pemetrexed disodium AND cisplatin or carboplatin

- Study therapy will begin within 9 weeks following day 1 of cycle 4 of first-line treatment

- No clinically significant pleural or peritoneal effusions that cannot be adequately managed by drainage before or during pemetrexed disodium

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status of 0-1

- Life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks

- Granulocytes ≥ 1,500/μL

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/μL

- Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- AST ≤ 2 times ULN

- Creatinine clearance ≥ 45 mL/min

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

- No psychiatric illness that would prevent the patient from giving informed consent

- No second malignancy except non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix unless curatively treated with no evidence of active disease for ≥ 5 years

- No medical conditions that, in the opinion of the treating physician, would make study treatment unreasonably hazardous for the patient including, but not limited to, the following:

- Ongoing or active infection such as HIV positivity

- Inability to take oral medications

- Psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- Prior intracavitary cytotoxic or sclerosing therapy (including bleomycin) allowed

- Prior intrapleural cytotoxic chemotherapy not considered systemic chemotherapy

- Prior surgery allowed

- Prior radiotherapy allowed

- No concurrent palliative radiotherapy

- No concurrent hormones or other chemotherapeutic agents except for the following:

- Steroids for adrenal failure

- Hormones for nondisease-related conditions (e.g., insulin for diabetes)

- Intermittent use of dexamethasone as an antiemetic or premedication for pemetrexed disodium

Last updated: 02/08/2013

NCT ID:

NCT01085630