Phase II study of irofulven in recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer: A Cancer Therapeutic Research Group (CTRG) study

Abstract

14105 Background: Cytotoxic chemotherapy has been widely used in patients (pts) with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, but the reported high response rates in phase II settings have not been confirmed by randomized trials. Moreover, the therapeutic impact on survival has been modest. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Irofulven, a DNA interacting acylfulvene analog, as first line therapy for pts with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer. Methods: The main eligibility criteria were: Histologically or cytologically confirmed disease; age > 18 yrs; ECOG ≤ 2; measurable disease; no prior chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic disease; life expectancy > 3 months. Irofulven was given at 0.45 mg/kg i.v. over 30-min infusion (max. 50 mg), on Day 1 and 8, every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was treatment response and toxicity; the secondary end-point was survival. A 2-stage phase II design was used. In the first stage, the target enrollment was 20, if ≤ 2 responses were observed, the study would be stopped and the treatment concluded to be ineffective; if ≥ 6 responses were observed, the study drug would be concluded to be active. Otherwise, another 15 pts would be entered into the second stage. Survival was constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method. All patients entering the trial were included in the survival analysis. Results: 23 pts were entered into the first stage. The median no. of cycles per pt was 2 (range: 1–6). 2 pts (9%) had ≥ 1 week delay in administration of subsequent cycle of chemotherapy. For the day 8 chemotherapy, 7 pts (30%) required dose reductions; 5 (22%) had dose omitted. 22% and 17% pts developed grade 3/4 anemia and neutropenia respectively. There was no grade 4 thrombocytopenia or neutropenic fever. Of the 20 evaluable pts, no responses was observed, 3 pts had stable disease after 2 cycles of treatment which was not confirmed by a further assessment. Median overall survival was 6.05 months (95% CI 4.55–9.39). Conclusions: Irofulven was tolerated at the described dose but showed no evidence of antitumor activity in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Acknowledgement: The study was sponsored by the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, U.S.A, and its collaborator MGI Pharma, Inc. No significant financial relationships to disclose.