Activity of pirarubicin (4'-0-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin) in malignant mesothelioma

Perspectives on the role of breast cancer susceptibility gene in breast cancer

PURPOSE

Breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 can repair damaged DNA through homologous recombination. Besides, the local immune microenvironment of breast cancer is closely linked to the prognosis of patients. But the relationship of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 expression and local immunosuppressive microenvironment in breast cancer is not clear. The aim of this study was to discuss the correlation between them.

METHODS

The fresh primary breast tumors and paired normal tissues of 156 cases of breast cancer patients as well as peripheral blood of 156 cases among them in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from January 2014 to October 2018 were collected. The association between breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 germline mutation and immune status of microenvironment in situ was analyzed.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the germline mutation of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 was inconsistent with the breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 protein expression, and the proportion of immune cells in patients with negative expression of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 protein was higher than patients with positive expression of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 protein (p < 0.05). And the expression of programmed cell death protein 1, cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Antigen 4, programmed death ligand-1 of CD3⁺ T cells in patients with negative expression of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 protein was higher than patients with positive expression of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 protein (p < 0.05). The breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 protein expression was significantly correlated with family history of breast cancer patients (p = 0.006), local lymph node metastases (p = 0.001), and TNM staging (p ≤ 0.001). The breast cancer susceptibility gene 2 protein expression was significantly related to local lymph node metastases (p ≤ 0.001), III stage rate(p = 0.003) and molecular subtyping (p ≤ 0.001). Besides, the 5 years disease free survival was worse for G1 group and pathological III stage patients than other groups and other TNM stage patients.

CONCLUSION

In short, the immune therapy may be a potential therapy method for breast cancer patients with negative expression of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 protein.

Chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: past results and recent developments

This review summarises results of previously conducted clinical trials and subsequently presents data arising from all phase II-III studies on chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) published since the last relevant overview. While response rates exceeding 30% have barely been achieved with established cytotoxic drugs in MPM therapy, novel chemotherapeutic agents and their combinations appear somewhat more promising. This applies especially to the antimetabolites, and in particular to pemetrexed which produced response rates of up to 45% in combination with platinum compounds. Raltitrexed combined with oxaliplatin has also been shown to be effective, and gemcitabine--applied as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin--as well as vinorelbine appear to improve quality of life in patients presenting with MPM. Data can now be more precisely analysed by increasingly implemented randomised studies, applying a standardised staging system, and distinguishing prognostic groups. While chemotherapy for MPM remains a challenging task, important steps have clearly been made in the past years to combat this aggressive disease. Publication of results from a phase III trial of pemetrexed with cisplatin in a peer reviewed journal may soon establish a standard of care.

Chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma

This paper covers the outcome of previously conducted clinical trials on chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma and presents data from recent phase II and phase III trials. In contrast to conventional cytotoxic drugs, which have barely produced response rates exceeding 30%, recently introduced chemotherapeutic agents and their combinations promise to be more effective. Especially pemetrexed has yielded response rates of up to 45% in combination with platinum compounds. Furthermore, raltitrexed-oxaliplatin has shown promising activity and gemcitabine was found to improve quality of life in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma when applied as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin. Based on robust phase III study results, pemetrexed-cisplatin may soon be considered with chemotherapy for this aggressive disease.

Chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: past results and recent developments

This review summarises the results of previously conducted clinical trials, and subsequently presents data arising from all phase II-III studies on chemotherapy of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) published since the last relevant overview. While response rates exceeding 30% have barely been achieved with established cytotoxic drugs in MPM therapy, novel chemotherapeutic agents and their combinations appear more promising. This applies especially to the antimetabolites, and in particular to pemetrexed that produced response rates of up to 45% in combination with platinum compounds. Raltitrexed combined with oxaliplatin has also been shown to be effective, and gemcitabine-applied as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin-as well as vinorelbine appear to improve the quality of life in patients presenting with MPM. Data can now be more precisely analysed by increasingly implemented randomised studies, applying a standardised staging system, and distinguishing prognostic groups. While chemotherapy for MPM remains a challenging task, important steps have clearly been made in the past years to combat this aggressive disease. The publication of pemetrexed with cisplatin phase III results in a peer-reviewed journal may soon establish a standard of care.

Prognostic significance of DNA aneuploidy in diffuse malignant mesothelioma

DNA ploidy of pepsin digested preparations of 48 paraffin-embedded specimens from 19 patients with histologically confirmed malignant mesothelioma was determined by laser flow cytometry. Eight of the 19 tumors (42%) were diploid and 11 (58%) were aneuploid. Of the aneuploid tumors, only one showed multiploidy. The median survival time of the patients with diploid tumors was 19, 16, and 14 months from the onset of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, respectively. The median survival in patients with aneuploid tumors was 8, 7, and 7 months from the onset of first symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Thus, patients with diploid tumors lived longer than patients with aneuploid tumors. These results suggest that DNA ploidy analysis may be of prognostic value in malignant mesothelioma.

Phase II study of pirarubicin combined with cisplatin in recurrent ovarian cancer

Although 50%-80% of patients with advanced ovarian cancer demonstrate an objective response after platinum-based chemotherapy, a majority of these patients will ultimately experience a relapse of their disease. Effective second-line treatment for these patients is of the most importance. We performed a phase II study with cisplatin and pirarubicin (each drug 50 mg/m2 i.v. every 28 days) in 17 patients with relapsed or persistent ovarian carcinoma. All patients had received platinum-containing primary chemotherapy. Overall survival from the time of diagnosis was 38.3 months (45.3 months in relapsed ovarian carcinoma and 28.3 months in ovarian carcinoma persisting after primary chemotherapy). Survival from entrance into the study was 13.0 months (14.2 months in relapsed disease and 11.2 months in refractory disease). Time to progression was 10.3 months. An objective response was observed in 4 patients and another 3 patients had stable disease. Major toxicity consisted of emesis (grade III/IV in 60/64 courses) and myelosuppression WHO grade III/IV in 15 courses. Neurotoxicity occurred in 3 patients and nephrotoxicity in 1 patient. Alopecia occurred in 12 patients. Tachycardia and other low-grade heart toxicities were observed after 5 courses. Dose reduction was necessary because of severe myelosuppression in 4 courses and because of nephrotoxicity in 1 course. Delay of subsequent chemotherapy courses for more than 7 days was necessary after 13 courses and was always due to myelosuppression. The dose-limiting toxicity of combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and pirarubicin is myelosuppression. Response and survival rates are superior in patients with relapsed disease compared to patients with resistant ovarian carcinoma.

New strategies are needed in diffuse malignant mesothelioma

BACKGROUND

Medical records of 50 patients with malignant mesothelioma were reviewed to determine the clinical features and factors influencing survival.

METHODS

Charts of all patients whose conditions were diagnosed as malignant mesothelioma were abstracted and analyzed by statistical software.

RESULTS

The male-to-female ratio was 4:1. The age distribution was younger than 45 years of age, 10%; 45-54 years of age, 12%; 55-64 years of age, 37%; 65-74 years of age, 33%; and 75 years of age or older, 8%. Both mean and median ages were 58 years. Among the 32 patients in whom asbestos exposure was recorded, 24 had documented exposure. The sites were pleura, 73%; peritoneum, 20%; and both, 6%. The histologic types were epithelial, 51%; sarcomatous, 10%; mixed, 15%; and not specified, 24%. The stage at presentation was Stage I, 37%; II, 39%; III, 12%; IV, 6%; and unknown, 6%. The common symptoms in pleural disease were dyspnea and pain; in peritoneal disease, abdominal distension and pain were common. The median time from first symptom to diagnosis was 3 months (range, 0-23 months). The median survival after the appearance of symptoms, the diagnosis, and the treatment were 13, 10, and 8 months, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The survival was independent of age, sex, and smoking behavior. It was longer in patients with earlier-stage disease, a good performance status, a longer duration of symptoms, an absence of pain, and who were treated with combined surgery and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy using anthracyclines yielded more remissions (9 of 21) than that using nonanthracyclines (0 of 13). The remission rate after primary chemotherapy with anthracyclines (7 of 16) may be higher than in recurrent tumor (2 of 14). In future trials, stratification into primary chemotherapy and chemotherapy of recurrent cancer is suggested. There is a need for multitechnique trials incorporating primary chemotherapy.

A phase II evaluation of ifosfamide and mesna in unresectable diffuse malignant mesothelioma. A Southwest Oncology Group study

BACKGROUND

Malignant mesothelioma is a highly treatment-resistant neoplasm. This study represents an attempt to define an effective form of systemic therapy.

METHODS

Twenty-six patients with unresectable diffuse malignant mesothelioma were enrolled in Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) study 8731 and treated with ifosfamide, 2 g/m2 intravenously for 4 days, and mesna 2 g/m2 intravenously for 5 days, every 3 weeks. Patients were either previously untreated with chemotherapy or had at most one prior systemic treatment.

RESULTS

Two patients, or 8% (95% confidence interval, 1-25%), achieved partial response, with response durations of 4 and 6 months. One additional patient met criteria for tumor size reduction but not duration criteria. Thirteen (50%) patients had stable disease of 4 months' median duration (range, 1-13 months). The median survival of the entire group was 6.5 months. The dose-limiting toxicity was granulocytopenia (11 patients, < or = 250/microliters).

CONCLUSIONS

Ifosfamide/mesna has modest activity in malignant mesothelioma. It could be tested using alternate dosage schedules and in combination with other agents in treating this highly resistant neoplasm.

Phase II trial of 4'-0-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin (pirarubicin) in head and neck carcinoma

BACKGROUND

4'-0-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin (Pirarubicin, Meiji Seika (USA) Inc., New York, NY) may be less toxic than doxorubicin.

METHODS

A Phase II trial of Pirarubicin was done in 26 patients who had not previously had chemotherapy and who had measurable and incurable head and neck carcinoma. All patients received an intravenous bolus dose of 60 mg/m2 Pirarubicin in the first cycle without any prophylactic antiemetic. The cycles were repeated every 3 weeks. Based on tumor response, nadir counts, or complications of myelosuppression, the doses were escalated or de-escalated by 10 mg/m2, if necessary, in the second cycle to achieve mild leukopenia (3000-4000 leukocytes/microliters).

RESULTS

Leukopenia was mild, moderate (2000-2999 leukocytes/microliters), severe (1000-1999 leukocytes/microliters), and life threatening (less than 1000 leukocytes/microliters) in 13%, 31%, 27%, and 9% of the first two courses, respectively. The median interval to nadir leukopenia was 13 days (range, 7-21 days), with a median of 8 days (range, 5-13 days) to recover to normal. One patient with a leukocyte count of 800/microliters and an absolute granulocyte count (AGC) of 488/microliters died of sepsis 15 days after the first course. All patients had at least one course that resulted in leukopenia. One episode each of mild (100,000-150,000 platelets/microliters) and severe (25,000-49,999 platelets/microliters) thrombocytopenia occurred in the first two courses. Leukocyte, granulocyte, and platelet counts were not done routinely after the second cycle. Six patients who received four or more courses with cumulative doses of 310, 610, 340, 260, 660, and 550 mg/m2 had decrements of 0%, 1%, 7%, 10%, 12%, and 13%, respectively, in radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). All other toxic effects were mild.

CONCLUSIONS

In the 24 patients with disease evaluable for response to Pirarubicin therapy, 1 had a complete response that lasted 5 months and 4 had a partial response of 2, 3, 6, and 8 months. The median survival time in patients with disease that responded to Pirarubicin therapy was 27 months; in patients with disease that did not respond to Pirarubicin therapy, the median survival time was 4 months, and in the total cohort, it was 5 months. Pirarubicin was well tolerated and was an active agent in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Intestinal obstruction due to diffuse peritoneal fibrosis at 2 years after the successful treatment of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma with intraperitoneal mitoxantrone

A 44-year-old man who had achieved a complete remission of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma after the intraperitoneal administration of 25 mg/m2 mitoxantrone presented with clinical and radiological signs of intestinal obstruction suggestive of recurrent disease at about 2 years following the initial treatment. However, laparotomy revealed extensive adhesive fibrosis but no sign of malignant mesothelioma. The peritoneal complications of intraperitoneal cytostatic treatment are discussed.

Activity of intrapleural recombinant gamma-interferon in malignant mesothelioma

Twenty-two consecutive patients with malignant diffuse pleural mesothelioma were treated with recombinant gamma-interferon by the intrapleural route. Diagnosis was made by thoracoscopic examination and all cases were confirmed by the French Mesothelioma Panel of Pathologist. Patients were staged based on thoracoscopic examination and computed tomography (CT) scan: 12 patients were classified as Stage I and 10 were Stage II. A solution of gamma-interferon (40 X 106 U) was infused twice a week over 2 months. Every patient experienced fever. One patient had a Grade 2 leukopenia and one patient suffered from pleural empyema. Response evaluation was based on the following: (1) CT scan performed 2 weeks after treatment ended, and (2) repeat thoracoscopic examination with histopathologic verification in nine patients who had demonstrated a stabilization or a regression of the disease on CT scan. From the original group, 19 patients could be evaluated. Four complete thoracoscopic histopathologic responses and one partial response were observed in Stage I patients (56%). One partial response was observed in Stage II patients.

A phase I study of 4'-0-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin. Clinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetics

A Phase I study of intravenous (IV) bolus 4'-0-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin (Pirarubicin) was done in 55 patients in good performance status with refractory tumors. Twenty-six had minimal prior therapy (good risk), 23 had extensive prior therapy (poor risk), and six had renal and/or hepatic dysfunction. A total of 167 courses at doses of 15 to 70 mg/m2 were evaluable. Maximum tolerated dose in good-risk patients was 70 mg/m2, and in poor-risk patients, 60 mg/m2. The dose-limiting toxic effect was transient noncumulative granulocytopenia. Granulocyte nadir was on day 14 (range, 4-22). Less frequent toxic effects included thrombocytopenia, anemia, nausea, mild alopecia, phlebitis, and mucositis. Myelosuppression was more in patients with hepatic dysfunction. Pharmacokinetic analyses in 21 patients revealed Pirarubicin plasma T 1/2 alpha (+/- SE) of 2.5 +/- 0.85 minutes, T beta 1/2 of 25.6 +/- 6.5 minutes, and T 1/2 gamma of 23.6 +/- 7.6 hours. The area under the curve was 537 +/- 149 ng/ml x hours, volume of distribution (Vd) 3504 +/- 644 l/m2, and total clearance (ClT) was 204 + 39.3 l/hour/m2. Adriamycinol, doxorubicin, adriamycinone, and tetrahydropyranyladriamycinol were the metabolites detected in plasma and the amount of doxorubicin was less than or equal to 10% of the total metabolites. Urinary excretion of Pirarubicin in the first 24 hours was less than or equal to 10%. Activity was noted in mesothelioma, leiomyosarcoma, and basal cell carcinoma. The recommended starting dose for Phase II trials is 60 mg/m2 IV bolus every 3 weeks.

A phase II study of pirarubicin in malignant pleural mesothelioma

Thirty-five non-pretreated patients (29 male, six female) with malignant pleural mesothelioma, median age of 68.5 years (range, 29 to 78 years) and a median performance status of 80% (range, 60% to 100%) were treated with 70 mg/m2 Pirarubicin. The treatment was repeated every 3 to 4 weeks (median duration per cycle, 23 days) up to progression or severe toxicity. The median cumulative dose given was 294 mg/m2, or 4.5 cycles. All patients were evaluable regarding response. Three partial remissions were achieved, leading to a remission rate of 8.6%. The median duration of remission was 6 months. Five patients achieved minor response, and a further 14 patients were stable under treatment with Pirarubicin. The median survival time was 10.5 months. Leukocytopenia was the main dose-limiting factor and 20% of the patients experienced World Health Organization (WHO) Grades III and IV. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were mild. Nausea and vomiting, WHO Grades I and II, were observed in 46% of all patients. Alopecia, Grades I and II, was seen in 47% and Grade III in 6%. No signs of cardiac dysfunction were detectable, except for cardiac arrhythmia in four patients (11%). Pirarubicin is an active drug in the treatment of pleural mesothelioma with fewer severe side effects than doxorubicin.

Chemotherapy with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil for penile and urethral squamous cell carcinomas

Six men with either recurrent (n = 4) or unresectable (n = 2) squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (n = 5) and urethra (n = 1) received chemotherapy with cisplatin intravenously at a dose of 100 mg/m2. This was followed 24 hours later by a continuous intravenous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) at a dose of 960 mg/m2/d for five days every 3 to 4 weeks. There was universal alopecia. The other toxicities were mild and consisted of mucositis, nausea, vomiting, reversible creatininemia, and transient azotemia. After chemotherapy, five patients had a clinical partial response and one had a complete response. Of the five patients with no metastases, three had residual unresectable tumors. These three patients received radiation and survived for 6, 8, and 20 months after the start of chemotherapy. The other two patients were rendered disease-free by surgery. The first patient, who was a partial responder to chemotherapy, survived for 26 months. The second patient, who was a clinical complete responder, had excision of microscopic disease and is disease-free at 32+ months after the start of chemotherapy. This is the first article to report that the combination of cisplatin and 5-FU is active in penile and urethral carcinomas. After chemotherapy, surgery may be useful in selected patients to accurately assess response and excise localized residual tumors. Patients rendered tumor-free may achieve long-term survival.