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Two Consecutive Phase II Window Trials of Irinotecan Alone or in Combination With Vincristine for the Treatment of Metastatic Rhabdomyosarcoma: The Children's Oncology Group

Alberto S. Pappo, Elizabeth Lyden, Phillip Breitfeld, Sarah S. Donaldson, Eugene Wiener, David Parham, Kristine R. Crews, Peter Houghton, William H. Meyer

From the Texas Children’s Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX; Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC; Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA; Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR; St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN; and the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Address reprint requests to Alberto S. Pappo, MD, Texas Children’s Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 6621 Fannin St, MC CC 1510.00, Houston, TX 77030; e-mail: aspappo{at}txccc.org

Purpose To estimate the antitumor activity and toxicity of irinotecan alone and in combination with vincristine when administered as window therapy and in combination with standard chemotherapy in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma.

Patients and Methods Nineteen patients younger than age 21 years with newly diagnosed metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma or undifferentiated sarcoma received window therapy with two cycles of irinotecan (20 mg/m² daily for 5 days, repeated for 2 weeks) and 50 patients received window therapy with vincristine 1.5 mg/m² (weeks 0, 1, 3, and 4) and two cycles of irinotecan (20 mg/m² daily for 5 days, repeated for 2 weeks). Patients who achieved a partial response (PR) or complete response (CR) received these agents alternating with vincristine (V; 1.5/mg/m²), dactinomycin (A; 1.5 mg/m²), and cyclophosphamide (C; 2.2 g/m²) during weeks 6 through 41. Nonresponders were treated with VAC alone. Radiotherapy was administered to sites of disease at weeks 15 to 21.

Results The window response rate (PR/CR) for patients who received irinotecan was 42% (95% CI, 38% to 80%) but the high progressive disease (PD) rate of 32% (95% CI, 11% to 52%) prompted closure of the trial. The window CR/PR rate for patients who received vincristine and irinotecan was 70% (95% CI, 57% to 83%), and the PD rate was only 8%. GI toxicities (abdominal pain, diarrhea, dehydration) were the most common adverse effects associated with the administration of irinotecan.

Conclusion The combination of vincristine and irinotecan is highly active in metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma. The different mechanism of action and nonoverlapping toxicity profile with VAC makes this combination an attractive candidate for further testing in intermediate risk patients with rhabdomyosarcoma.

Supported by Grants No. U10 CA 98543, CA 13539, and CA 30969.

Presented in part in abstract form at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 13-17, 2005, Orlando, FL.

Authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.

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