Phase III Trial Of Docetaxel Versus Docetaxel Plus ZD1839 In Head And Neck Cancer

Stopped early · Phase 3 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer, Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

In brief

Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Gefitinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for their growth. Combining docetaxel with gefitinib may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether docetaxel is more effective with or without gefitinib in treating head and neck cancer. This randomized phase III trial is studying docetaxel and gefitinib to see how well they work compared to docetaxel alone in treating patients with metastatic or locally recurrent head and neck cancer.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT00088907
Run by: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
People needed: 270
Starts: 2004-08-01
Expected to finish: 2012-08-01
Last updated by the study team: 2015-05-06

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Histologically or cytologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; patient must not have nasopharyngeal carcinoma of histologic types World Health Organization (WHO) 2 and 3
Metastatic or locally recurrent carcinoma of the head and neck that is considered incurable by local therapies
Any number of prior chemotherapy or biologic/targeted therapy regimens is allowed
No prior systemic EGFR inhibitors, such as ZD1839 (Iressa, gefitinib)/Iressa (AstraZeneca), ABX-EBX (Abgenix), MDX-447 (Medarex/Merck), OSI-774/Tarceva (OSI pharmaceuticals), C225/Cetuximab (ImClone), PKI166 (Novartis), CI-1033 (Parke-Davis), EKB-569 (Wyeth Ayerst); treatment with paclitaxel is allowed if the patient did not progress while on paclitaxel
NOTE: the use of cetuximab given concurrently with radiation or chemoradiotherapy for up to 9 total weekly doses, as part of initial potentially curative therapy is allowed, if completed > 6 months prior to registration
Patients must not receiving any other investigational agent while on the study
Patients must have either:
Strata A:
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 2 (in bed 50% of the time. Ambulatory and capable of all self-care, but unable to carry out any work activities; up and about more than 50% of waking hours), AND no prior chemotherapy for recurrent metastatic head and neck cancer OR
Strata B
PS 0-2 AND prior chemotherapy (i.e. one or more prior chemotherapy regimens (without docetaxel)) for locally recurrent/metastatic disease or exposure to prior chemotherapy (without docetaxel) as part of primary curative therapy < 6 months prior to randomization; patients who receive chemotherapy as part of potentially curative therapy of primary disease within 6 months of randomization will be considered as having prior chemotherapy for recurrent/metastatic disease, whereas patients who received chemotherapy as part of potentially curative therapy of disease > 6 months of randomization will be considered as having no prior chemotherapy for recurrent/metastatic disease
Patients must have fully recovered from the effects of any prior surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy
A minimum time period of 3 weeks must elapse between the completion of radiation therapy and randomization to the study
A minimum period of 4 weeks must elapse between the last administration of any prior chemotherapy and randomization to the study
At least 2 weeks must elapse between the last administration of biologic/targeted therapy and randomization to the study
Patients must be > 3 weeks since major surgery, or significant traumatic injury prior to randomization
Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1500 /mm\^3
Platelets >= 100,000 /mm\^3
Hemoglobin >= 8.0 g/dl
Bilirubin within normal limits
Creatinine < 2.0 or creatinine clearance of > 60 ml/min
All females of childbearing potential must have a blood test or urine study within 2 weeks prior to randomization to rule out pregnancy
Women of childbearing potential and sexually active males must use an accepted and effective method of contraception while on treatment and for three months after the completion of treatment
Patients must have measurable or non-measurable disease based on Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST); baseline measurements and evaluations must be obtained < 4 weeks of randomization; all areas of disease should be recorded and mapped out in order to assess response and uniformity of response to therapy; disease in previously irradiated sites is considered measurable if there has been unequivocal disease progression or biopsy-proven residual carcinoma following radiation therapy; persistent disease after radiotherapy must be biopsy proven at least 8 weeks after completion of radiation therapy
Radiographic findings are acceptable providing that clear-cut measurements can be made

You may not qualify if…

Prior therapy with docetaxel at any time (even if part of prior curative treatment)
Unstable systemic disease, including active infection, uncontrolled hypertension, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, or serious arrhythmia requiring medication
Hypercalcemia related to head and neck cancer
Brain metastasis
Current peripheral neuropathy >= grade 2 at time of randomization
Patients have co-existing condition that would preclude full compliance with the study
Known hypersensitivity to ZD1839 (Iressa, gefitinib) or any excipients of this product; prior history of severe hypersensitivity reaction to Docetaxel or other drugs formulated with polysorbate 80
HIV positive patient's receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy are excluded from the study because of possible pharmacokinetic interactions with ZD1839 (Iressa, gefitinib)
Patients have had tumor-related hemorrhagic events in the previous three months that required as major medical intervention, such as surgery or embolization
Patients are on therapeutic anticoagulation or have tumors that are unequivocally invading major vessels (e.g. carotid artery)
Females are pregnant or breast feeding because chemotherapy may be harmful to the fetus or the nursing infant; also, the effects of ZD1839 (Iressa, gefitinib) on the developing human fetus are unknown

Where it is running

Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group — Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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