Researchers from Wake Forest University have completed a Phase I study that may help improve the survival rate for patients with appendix cancer or colorectal cancer that’s spread to their abdomen.

Wake Forest’s study identified the maximum amount of a chemotherapy drug peritoneal cancer patients can successfully tolerate during Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (IPHC) treatments following cancer surgery.

Wake Forest’s study included 15 colorectal and appendiceal cancer patients who underwent surgery to remove as much of their cancer as possible, but whose disease had spread to lining of the abdominal cavity.

Wake Forest’s investigation indicated that doses containing 200 mg/m2 of the drug oxaliplatin (US brand name Eloxatin) were well tolerated by the study population when administered during two-hour IHPC sessions. IHPC is a chemoperfusion process where the body cavity is heated before chemotherapy drugs are circulated throughout the abdomen. It is done following cytoreductive surgery to kill cancer cells that are left behind.

Doses of 250mg/m2 were also attempted, but resulted in high toxicity levels.

Oxaliplatin is already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and has been proven to be an effective treatment for many colorectal cancers. Previous studies have indicated that heating before oxaliplatin is administered increases its cancer-killing capabilities, but an effective dose had to be determined before studies could progress. As one Wake Forest researcher said,

“Based on the data from this phase I study, we propose to conduct a larger trial with oxaliplatin dose to study its efficacy in improving outcomes in patients with peritoneal carcinoma.”

John H. Stewart IV, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery,
Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Findings from the Wake Forest study were presented at the 61st Annual Symposium of the Society of Surgical Oncology, held March 13-16, 2008, in Chicago.

If you’d like to learn more about other peritoneal cancer studies being conducted, you can visit the ClinicalTrials.gov web site.

Source: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

Related Links: Resurrection Health Care; NCI; CDER; Appendix Cancer Surivor’s Blog; Greenebaum Cancer Center

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