Study of Pralatrexate With Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Supplementation for Previously Treated Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC)

The purpose of this study is to find out if the experimental drug pralatrexate with the vitamins folic acid and vitamin B12 might be an effective treatment for head and neck cancer. The reason we are doing this study is because another drug called methotrexate has been used for a long time to treat head and neck cancer patients. Pralatrexate was designed by scientists to be a new drug that works better than methotrexate. Laboratory studies have shown that pralatrexate works better than methotrexate at killing cancer cells.

Pralatrexate has already been studied in patients with other types of cancers, such as lymphoma and lung cancer. The results from those studies were promising. Pralatrexate was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a new treatment for a cancer called peripheral T cell lymphoma.

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Key information

Conditions

Head and Neck Cancer Head and Neck Neoplasms Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2

Primary location

Memoral Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Patients must have histopathologically confirmed recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, including unknown primary squamous cell carcinomas of the neck. Confirmation of biopsy/diagnosis will be performed at MSKCC or at participating sites (NYU Cancer Institute/NYU Medical Center/ Bellevue Hospital Center).
Patients must be at least 18 years of age.
ECOG performance status must be ≥ 0 or 1.
Disease must be measurable by RECIST version 1.1 criteria.
Patients must have been previously treated with systemic chemotherapy (i.e., chemotherapy and/or targeted therapies such as cetuximab for recurrent/metastatic HNSCC,.
At least four weeks must have elapsed from previous radiation therapy. Patients must have recovered from the acute toxic effects of treatment prior to study enrollment.
Patients must have adequate organ function, as follows:

Adequate bone marrow reserve: absolute neutrophil count (ANC) > 1,000 cells/mm3, platelets > 100,000 cells/mm3, and hemoglobin > 9 g/dL Hepatic: AST and ALT ≤ 3 X upper limit of normal (ULN); AST and ALT ≤ 5 X ULN if liver metastasis present; Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN unless Gilbert's disease is present Renal: Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL or creatinine clearance (by either 24 hour urine collection or Cockcroft-Gault equation) > or = to 55 ml/min

Both women and men and members of all races and ethnic groups are eligible for this trial.
Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test within 14 days of treatment. Both men and women must agree to use a reliable method of birth control until 30 days following the last dose of study drug.

Exclusion criteria

History of any brain metastases unless resected with no evidence for > 12 weeks and not on steroids
Women who are lactating
Other active malignancy, other than indolent malignancies which the investigator determines are unlikely to interfere with treatment and safety analysis
Patients who have undergone an allogeneic stem cell transplant

Treatment and study plan

Pralatrexate With Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid

Drug

Patients will be treated with 30 mg/m2 of pralatrexate intravenously once weekly for 3 weeks in a 4 week cycle with vitamin supplementation. Patients will take 1.0-1.25 mg oral folic acid on a daily basis. Folic acid should be initiated during the 10-day period preceding the first dose of pralatrexate and dosing will be continued during the full course of therapy and for 30 days after the last dose of pralatrexate. Patients will also receive a vitamin B12 (1 mg) intramuscular injection no more than 10 weeks prior to the first dose of pralatrexate and every 8-10 weeks thereafter. Subsequent vitamin B12 injections may be given the same day as treatment with pralatrexate.

Other names: Radiologic assessment of disease will be conducted every 1.5 to 2 cycles (approximately, every 6 to 8 weeks); after 6 months, radiologic studies will be performed every 2.5 to 3, cycles (approximately every 10 to 12 weeks) of therapy.

Primary outcomes

To Determine the Overall Response Rate (CR+PR)

Time frame: 2 years

by RECIST version 1.1 criteria

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Other

Collaborators

NYU Langone Health
National Comprehensive Cancer Network
New York University Cancer Institute

Registry information

Official study title

A Multi-Institution Phase II Study of Pralatrexate With Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Supplementation for Previously Treated Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC)

Important dates

Study start: 2010
Primary completion: 2014
Study completion: 2014
First posted: Aug 17, 2010
Registry last updated: Nov 20, 2015

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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