Phase II study of vinorelbine in patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of vinorelbine in a phase II study in patients with progressive metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-seven men with progressive metastatic prostate cancer refractory to first-line or second-line hormonal therapy were treated with vinorelbine, a semisynthetic vinca-alkaloid. Vinorelbine was given, on an outpatient schedule, at 25 mg/m2 weekly for at least eight weeks or until progression or excessive toxicity. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients were included in the study, 33 being evaluable for tumour response, 36 for response to PSA, 21 for clinical benefit and 45 for toxicity. Median actual weekly dose was 19 mg/m2 (range 12.0-26.2 mg/m2). Six of thirty-six patients (17%) demonstrated a biologic response with a 50% or more decline in serum PSA on two consecutive measurements taken at least two weeks apart. The median duration of biologic response was 2.7 months. Two of three patients with measurable disease obtained an objective response but remained unconfirmed. No change disease was reported in 23 patients (49%). On entry into the study, 30 patients had symptomatic bone pain and required narcotic or non-narcotic analgesics. Clinical benefit from vinorelbine was achieved in 15 patients out of 21 (32% of the intent to treat analysis population and 71% of the assessable patients). Due to the low number of questionnaires (QLQ-C30) filled in, it was insufficient to allow any statistical analysis. The median survival was 10.2 months. Toxicity was mainly haematologic with 51% of patients experiencing grade 3 or 4 granulocytopenia. Three patients developed deep vein thrombosis. Non-haematologic toxicity, mainly nausea and neurotoxicity, was mild. CONCLUSION: The administration of weekly vinorelbine appears to be a safe treatment for those patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer and poor prognosis features who require chemotherapy. These results provide data for future investigation of vinorelbine in combination regimens.

High dose-intensity of irinotecan administered every 3 weeks in advanced cancer patients: a feasibility study.

PURPOSE: To assess, on a multicenter basis, the feasibility of treating advanced cancer patients with high-dose irinotecan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients who met the usual phase I criteria (26 men and nine women) were included. Primary tumor sites were colon, head and neck, unknown primary, kidney, liver, and others. All had been previously treated. Irinotecan was given at the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) (600 mg/m2) or the level below (500 mg/m2) as a 30-minute infusion once every 3 weeks. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were entered in the four participating centers at the MTD of 600 mg/m2. This dose level was clearly shown not to be feasible: 14 patients (78%) had grade 3 to 4 neutropenia, with febrile episodes in 11 patients; grade 3 to 4 diarrhea was observed in nine patients; and one toxic death occurred. Subsequently, 17 not heavily pretreated patients were included at 500 mg/m2 and carefully monitored. The safety of this dose level was considered acceptable: 41% of patients had grade 3 to 4 neutropenia, 24% experienced grade 3 to 4 diarrhea, and no febrile granulocytopenia or toxic death occurred. Six partial responses were documented in metastatic colorectal cancer, all in patients who had previously received conventional chemotherapy, four in patients who had exhibited progressive disease under fluorouracil (5FU)-based chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: We plan to study the higher dose-intensity 500-mg/m2 level on good-risk and carefully monitored patients. This could enlarge the spectrum of tumors sensitive to irinotecan and improve the already good results observed in colorectal cancers.

Phase II study of irinotecan in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer in chemotherapy-naive patients and patients pretreated with fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of irinotecan (CPT-11) in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer in both chemotherapy-naive and pretreated patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred thirteen patients (aged 18 to 75 years) with metastatic colorectal cancer, World Health Organization (WHO) performance status < or = 2, and life expectancy > or = 3 months were treated with CPT-11 350 mg/m2 every 3 weeks. All 178 patients eligible for efficacy analysis had not received more than one prior fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy regimen (adjuvant or palliative) and had adequate hematologic, renal, and hepatic function. RESULTS: Primary tumor sites were the colon (71%) and rectum (28%). Sixty-six percent of the patients had > or = two metastatic sites. Ninety-eight percent of the patients had undergone previous surgery, and 77.5% had received prior chemotherapy. Thirty-two of 178 eligible patients achieved on objective response (four complete responses [CRs] and 28 partial responses [PRs]; response rate, 18%; 95% confidence interval, 12.6% to 24.4%), 65 were stable, and 59 progressed. The response rate was 17.7% in the pretreated group and 18.8% in the chemotherapy-naive group. Within the former subgroup, response rates of 16.1% were reported in patients who were progressive on prior 5-FU chemotherapy and 19.1% in patients who were progressive off such treatment. The median duration of objective response (9.1 months) and median time to achievement of a response (9.3 weeks) did not differ between chemotherapy-naive and pretreated patients. The most frequent adverse events were neutropenia, which developed in 80% of the patients, delayed diarrhea (87%), alopecia (88%), fatigue (81%), and nausea/vomiting (77%). All these adverse events were manageable. Severe (WHO grade 3 or 4) neutropenia was only observed in 18% of the cycles, leukopenia in 11%, delayed diarrhea in 11%, and nausea and vomiting in 3%. Development of simultaneous grade 3 or 4 neutropenia and delayed diarrhea during 4% of the cycles was the safety issue of greatest concern. CONCLUSION: CPT-11 has definite activity in the treatment of advanced metastatic colorectal cancer both in chemotherapy-naive and in pretreated patients who experienced disease progression on 5-FU, which suggests a lack of cross-resistance between CPT-11 and 5-FU. Diarrhea and neutropenia, the major toxicities of CPT-11, contribute to the risk to develop febrile neutropenic sepsis.

Effectiveness and pharmacokinetics of low-dose all-trans retinoic acid (25 mg/m2) in acute promyelocytic leukemia.

It has been shown that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) at doses of 45 to 100 mg/m2/d induces complete remission (CR) of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) by a differentiation process. To date, ATRA dose-ranging studies have not yet been evaluated. Thus, we initiated in May 1990 a multicenter study with ATRA at a lower dose of 25 mg/m2/d until CR. Thirty patients with APL were treated with ATRA, of whom 12 were previously untreated, 14 were in first relapse, and 4 had failed after conventional first induction chemotherapy. Twenty-four of 30 achieved CR, 3 failed, and 3 died before day 30. Median time to CR was 45 days. Hyperleucocytosis (14 to 43 x 10(9) white blood cells per liter) was observed in 9 patients between days 10 and 23. Clinical complications that may have been related to the retinoic acid syndrome were observed in 8 patients, of whom 3 died. Pharmacokinetics studies were performed in 5 patients. Peak plasma concentrations and mean area under the concentration-time curve were not lower than previous levels obtained under the 45 mg/m2 dose. Overall, our study shows that there is no difference in terms of therapeutic efficacy, triggering of hyperleukocytosis, or retinoic acid syndrome and pharmacokinetic results with ATRA at 25 or 45 mg/m2/d.

[Multiple localization and lymphatic involvement of papillary micro-carcinoma of the thyroid. Results of total thyroidectomy with bilateral lymph node excision. Apropos of 38 patients]. / Multifocalité et lymphophilie des micro-carcinomes papillaires thyroidiens. Résultats de la thyroïdectomie totale avec évidement bilatéral, à propos de 38 patients.

This study involved 38 patients with occult papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland treated by total thyroidectomy and bilateral prophylactic neck dissection. The histological results show the glandular multicentricity on either side, both in single nodule (65%) and in multinodular goiter (73.3%). High risk of cervical spreading clearly appears in papillary carcinoma (18.4% of the patients) even in these small foci (lower than 10 mm). Topography of involvement brings into prominence two main territories: paratracheal, mid and lower jugularly nodes (involved in 92.8% of the positive dissections).

Brain tumours under the age of three. The price of survival. A retrospective study of 20 long-term survivors.

Between 1975 and 1989, 98 children with brain tumours under the age of three at time of diagnosis were entered into a retrospective study. Twenty of them are alive and free of tumour more than five years after treatment and were evaluated in this study. Thirteen tumour localizations were infratentorial and 7 were supratentorial. A histological examination was performed in 15 patients: 5 ependymomas, 6 medulloblastomas and 4 astrocytomas were identified. Fifteen patients underwent surgical removal of tumour, all but one received radiotherapy and 8 were given chemotherapy. Only two children have not late effects. Analysis of long-term sequelae in survivors showed central endocrinopathies in 14 (70%), a neurological handicap in 13 (65%) and impaired cognitive functions in 17 (85%). Irradiation was clearly responsible for mental sequelae in 7 patients and endocrinopathies in 6 patients. The other possible causes are tumour injury, hydrocephalus or surgery. The risks incurred with radiotherapy and advances in infant brain tumour therapy are discussed.

Stage IE nonHodgkin's lymphoma of the testis: a need for a brief aggressive chemotherapy.

Primary nonHodgkin's lymphoma of the testis is a localized disease in 50 per cent of the cases. Clinical records and pathological material from 9 stage IE cancer patients treated at our institutions were reviewed. All but 1 patient had B cell type lymphomas of intermediate (6) or high (3) grade according to the Working Formulation. Mean survival was 49 months and actuarial survival was 74 per cent at 5 years. Chemotherapy differed with time and frequently was associated with subdiaphragmatic involved field and prophylactic contralateral testis radiotherapy. In view of the good prognosis of patients receiving doxorubicin-based chemotherapy and recent reports on low stage nonHodgkin's lymphoma we recommend an aggressive brief therapy for stage IE lymphoma of the testis after orchiectomy.

Immunohistochemical detection of post-therapy residual testicular lymphoblasts in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) in detecting residual blast cells in testicular biopsies from children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In a prospective study of 26 patients, testicular biopsies were performed after completion of therapy, and the average follow-up after biopsies was 29 months. After immunostaining, seven patients with negative biopsies on routine histology showed scattered, strongly calla-positive cells as well as cells reacting with anti-B (CD22) MoAb. Among these seven patients with residual blast cells, four had relapsed either in testes (n = 1), bone marrow and testes (n = 1), or in the bone marrow (n = 2). In contrast, among the 15 patients without residual blast cells, all but 1 remained in complete remission. In four other cases no definite conclusion was possible after immunohistochemical study. Four testicular biopsies from patients with occult infiltration were used as positive controls. Negative controls consisted of testicular biopsies from children with testicular ectopia and postmortem testicular tissue specimens. Results suggest that the risk of relapse is significantly higher in patients with positive immunohistochemical findings indicating persistent residual blast cells. However, the predictive value of these findings requires confirmation on a larger number of cases to have therapeutic implications.

Curability of third ventricular region tumours. A multidisciplinary approach to evaluate the places of operative, radiation and chemotherapy.

Between 1976 and 1988, 17 patients suffering from tumours located in the third ventricular region were entered into a retrospective study. There were 11 males and 6 females aged from 2 to 30. These tumours were located in the pineal area (n = 12), in the floor of the third ventricle (n = 3), in the roof of the third ventricle (n = 1) and multiple midline tumours (n = 1). A ventriculoperitoneal shunt was performed in 13 patients. In 8 patients the tumour was operated upon directly. 2 patients did not undergo surgery. A histological examination was performed in 13 cases with identification of 9 germinomas, 2 pinealoblastomas and one astrocytoma. In one case the plasma and cerebro-spinal-fluid level of tumour markers (human béta chorionic gonadotrophin & alpha feto protein) were elevated. All patients received 45 to 60 grays by cobalt megavoltage irradiation on the tumoural volume, 8 of them receiving additional whole brain and spinal irradiation ranging from 30 to 36 grays. One patient had chemotherapy in addition to radiotherapy. The 5 years survival rate was 74% and the mean follow-up period was 5 years. Five deaths occurred: 1 during irradiation, 3 following a relapse and 1 unexplained death later on. There were no neurological sequelae related to irradiation but 7 patients (37%) had pituitary insufficiency. The irradiation dose level required to obtain local control, the methods of spinal prophylactic treatment and the role of chemotherapy are discussed.