Dideoxycytidine ( Ro 24-2027 ) A Randomized, Open-Label, Comparative Study of Dideoxycytidine ( ddC ) Versus Zidovudine ( AZT ) in Patients With AIDS or Advanced ARC Who Have Received Long-Term AZT Therapy.

Completed · Phase 2

Conditions studied: HIV Infections

In brief

To compare the effectiveness of zalcitabine ( dideoxycytidine; ddC ) therapy to zidovudine ( AZT ) in the treatment of AIDS or advanced AIDS related complex ( ARC ) in patients who have already received at least 1 year of AZT therapy and to define the safety profile. ddC has been shown to have an antiviral effect, and AZT is known to significantly decrease mortality and to reduce the frequency of opportunistic infections in patients with AIDS or advanced ARC. After 1 year of AZT therapy, the effectiveness tends to diminish and patients progress with more opportunistic infections and higher mortality rates. This may be due to the emergence of AZT resistant virus isolated from some patients who have been on long-term AZT therapy. These isolates were still sensitive to ddC. A study of long-term effectiveness of ddC in patients with AIDS or advanced ARC who have been on long-term AZT therapy is warranted because (1) ddC has antiviral activity, (2) there is no blood toxicity associated with taking ddC, and (3) the effectiveness of ddC in test tube studies does not seem to be diminished by decreased effectiveness of AZT.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00000678

Run by

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

People needed

320

Last updated by the study team

2011-03-14

Who can join

Age: 13 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Concurrent Medication:
• Required:
• Aerosolized pentamidine will be given, as tolerated for all patients, for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia prophylaxis at a dose of 300 mg once every 4 weeks.
• Allowed maintenance treatment with:
• Pyrimethamine (= or < 75 mg/day).
• Sulfadiazine (< 4 gl/day).
• Amphotericin (1 mg/kg/day up to 5 days).
• Fluconazole (400 mg/day).
• Ketoconazole (400 mg/day).
• Acyclovir (up to 12.4 mg/kg q8h IV for zoster or up to 4000 mg/day will be allowed PO with precautions - nausea and vomiting possible with doses > 1000 mg/day).
• Ganciclovir (6 mg/kg/day).
• Medications for tuberculosis or Mycobacterium avium for patients who have recovered from toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, candidiasis, herpes virus infections, cytomegalovirus infections, tuberculosis, or Mycobacterium avium intracellulare.
• Erythropoietin and megace as needed.
• Isoniazid if patient has no peripheral neuropathy at study entry and is taking pyridoxine at least 50 mg/day concomitantly.
• Phenytoin if patient has no peripheral neuropathy at study entry and has been stable on the drug for at least 3 months.
• Patients must have had Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and no other AIDS defining opportunistic infection present when zidovudine (AZT) therapy was first initiated.
• Patients must have:
• Advanced AIDS related complex (ARC).
• Antibody to HIV by federally licensed ELISA and confirmed by Western blot analysis.
• Ability to give conformed consent.

You may not qualify if…

• Co-existing Condition:
• Patients are excluded who:
• Have had zidovudine (AZT) therapy interrupted for > 30 consecutive days at any time during AZT therapy or have been off AZT for > 90 days total.
• Have had AZT therapy interrupted for "recurrent" grade 4 toxicity, defined as > one episode of the same grade 4 toxicity after dose interruption or attenuation.
• Have visceral or extensive Kaposi's sarcoma requiring therapy or any other malignancy requiring therapy.
• Have a history of peripheral neuropathy.
• Concurrent Medication:
• Excluded:
• Other experimental medications, including foscarnet, ribavirin, and fluconazole (prior to IND approval).
• Other antiretroviral agents, biologic modifiers or corticosteroids.
• Drugs that can cause peripheral neuropathy including phenytoin (under conditions not specifically allowed), hydralazine, metronidazole, nitrofurantoin, vincristine, cisplatinum, dapsone, disulfiram, and diethyldithiocarbamate.
• Patients with the following are excluded:
• History of peripheral neuropathy or moderate to severe peripheral neuropathy as defined by the combination of signs or symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and findings indicative of peripheral neuropathy on the standardized neurologic exam.
• Active opportunistic infection.
• Participation in another research treatment study.
• Prior Medication:
• Excluded:
• Dideoxycytidine (ddC).
• Didanosine (ddI).
• Active substance or alcohol abuse.

Where it is running

• Davies Med Ctr — San Francisco, California, United States
• Mount Zion Med Ctr — San Francisco, California, United States
• Univ of Miami School of Medicine — Miami, Florida, United States
• Indiana Univ Hosp — Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
• Tulane Univ School of Medicine — New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
• Johns Hopkins Hosp — Baltimore, Maryland, United States
• Albany Med College / AIDS Treatment Ctr — Albany, New York, United States
• Holmes Hosp / Univ of Cincinnati Med Ctr — Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
• Graduate Hosp — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• N Texas Ctr for AIDS & Clin Rsch — Dallas, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.