An exploratory randomised double-blind and placebo-controlled phase 2 study of a combination of baclofen, naltrexone and sorbitol (PXT3003) in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A.

BACKGROUND: Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A disease (CMT1A) is a rare orphan inherited neuropathy caused by an autosomal dominant duplication of a gene encoding for the structural myelin protein PMP22, which induces abnormal Schwann cell differentiation and dysmyelination, eventually leading to axonal suffering then loss and muscle wasting. We favour the idea that diseases can be more efficiently treated when targeting multiple disease-relevant pathways. In CMT1A patients, we therefore tested the potential of PXT3003, a low-dose combination of three already approved compounds (baclofen, naltrexone and sorbitol). Our study conceptually builds on preclinical experiments highlighting a pleiotropic mechanism of action that includes downregulation of PMP22. The primary objective was to assess safety and tolerability of PXT3003. The secondary objective aimed at an exploratory analysis of efficacy of PXT3003 in CMT1A, to be used for designing next clinical development stages (Phase 2b/3). METHODS: 80 adult patients with mild-to-moderate CMT1A received in double-blind for 1 year Placebo or one of the three increasing doses of PXT3003 tested, in four equal groups. Safety and tolerability were assessed with the incidence of related adverse events. Efficacy was assessed using the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy Score (CMTNS) and the Overall Neuropathy Limitations Scale (ONLS) as main endpoints, as well as various clinical and electrophysiological outcomes. RESULTS: This trial confirmed the safety and tolerability of PXT3003. The highest dose (HD) showed consistent evidence of improvement beyond stabilization. CMTNS and ONLS, with a significant improvement of respectively of 8% (0.4% - 16.2%) and 12.1% (2% - 23.2%) in the HD group versus the pool of all other groups, appear to be the most sensitive clinical endpoints to treatment despite their quasi-stability over one year under Placebo. Patients who did not deteriorate over one year were significantly more frequent in the HD group. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that PXT3003 deserves further investigation in adults and could greatly benefit CMT1A-diagnosed children, usually less affected than adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT Number: 2010-023097-40. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01401257. The Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products issued in February 2014 a positive opinion on the application for orphan designation for PXT3003 (EMA/OD/193/13).

[Adjuvant treatment of colon cancer MOSAIC study's main results]. / Traitement adjuvant du cancer du côlon: principaux résultats de l'étude MOSAIC.

Oxaliplatin in combination with 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (LV5FU) improves the response rate and survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The objective of the Mosaic study was to evaluate the efficacy of this association in the adjuvant treatment of stage II and III colon cancer. This international study, including 2,246 patients, compared the efficacy of standard treatment with LV5FU2 alone to that of oxaliplatin-LV5FU (Folfox4 regimen) following R0 resection of the primary tumour. Both treatments were administered every two weeks for six months. At 3-year follow-up, the risk of relapse was decreased by 23% in the Folfox4 group (p = 0.002). The protocol was well tolerated, with an identical overall mortality during treatment (0.5%) in both groups. The main specific complication, peripheral sensory neuropathy was reversible in the great majority of cases. A new analysis at 4-year follow-up (median 48.6 months) confirmed the superior efficacy of the Folfox4 regimen compared to the standard treatment, the reduction in relapse risk being 24% (p = 0.0008). On the strength of these results, oxaliplatin was granted a marketing authorization for the indication adjuvant treatment of stage III colon cancer. Based on the data currently available, physicians should consider adjuvant treatment for stage II patients, making each individual decision for treatment on a case-by-case basis.

Oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin as adjuvant treatment for colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: The standard adjuvant treatment of colon cancer is fluorouracil plus leucovorin (FL). Oxaliplatin improves the efficacy of this combination in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. We evaluated the efficacy of treatment with FL plus oxaliplatin in the postoperative adjuvant setting. METHODS: We randomly assigned 2246 patients who had undergone curative resection for stage II or III colon cancer to receive FL alone or with oxaliplatin for six months. The primary end point was disease-free survival. RESULTS: A total of 1123 patients were randomly assigned to each group. After a median follow-up of 37.9 months, 237 patients in the group given FL plus oxaliplatin had had a cancer-related event, as compared with 293 patients in the FL group (21.1 percent vs. 26.1 percent; hazard ratio for recurrence, 0.77; P=0.002). The rate of disease-free survival at three years was 78.2 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 75.6 to 80.7) in the group given FL plus oxaliplatin and 72.9 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 70.2 to 75.7) in the FL group (P=0.002 by the stratified log-rank test). In the group given FL plus oxaliplatin, the incidence of febrile neutropenia was 1.8 percent, the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse effects was low, and the incidence of grade 3 sensory neuropathy was 12.4 percent during treatment, decreasing to 1.1 percent at one year of follow-up. Six patients in each group died during treatment (death rate, 0.5 percent). CONCLUSIONS: Adding oxaliplatin to a regimen of fluorouracil and leucovorin improves the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer.