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Developmental Chemotherapy [S. L. S., B. J. B., R. H., R. P. W.], Thoracic Oncology [V. A. M.], and the Head and Neck/Genitourinary Oncology Services [D. G. P.], Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York 10021, and Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc., San Diego, California 92128 [B. A. P., S. A. A., A. C.]
| ABSTRACT |
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, ß, and
isoforms) and a potent inhibitor of
AP-1, a protein that is closely linked with trophic responses and
malignant transformation. We conducted a dose ranging study to evaluate
the pharmacokinetics, safety, clinical tolerance, and potential
efficacy of this drug in patients with advanced cancer. Twenty-seven
patients received oral doses of LGD1550 once per day at doses ranging
from 20400 µg/m2. Skin toxicity was the dose-limiting
reaction at the 400 µg/m2 daily dose level. Less
prominent reactions included nausea and headache. No major antitumor
effects were observed. Pharmacokinetic studies in 15 patients at five
dose levels showed that the peak plasma concentration
(Cmax) and areas under the plasma
concentration-time curve on day 1 were dose-proportional and were
similar to values obtained on days 15, 29, and 84. Unlike other
retinoids, LGD1550 did not induce its own metabolism, and there was
little evidence of drug accumulation. The
t1/2 was approximately 5 h after both
the initial and repeated doses. We conclude that once-daily doses of
LGD1550 of up to 300 µg/m2 are relatively well tolerated.
Additional clinical explorations are warranted, especially in patients
with cancers of the prostate, thyroid, head and neck, and cervix. | INTRODUCTION |
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Retinoids affect gene expression after binding to specific
intracellular receptor families (5)
: (a) the
RARs (6)
; or (b) the RXRs (7)
.
Each of these families has three isoforms (
, ß, and
isoforms).
The RXRs are also cofactors for RARs as well as receptors for vitamin
D3, thyroid hormone, and peroxisome
proliferation-activating receptors (8, 9, 10)
.
LGD1550
[(2E,4E,6E)-3-methyl-7-(3,5-di-ter-butylphen-yl)octatrienoic acid;
Fig. 1
) binds all three RAR isoforms and
is a potent activator of gene expression. However, the compound has a
very low affinity for RXRs. RARs modulate cell proliferation in part
through interaction with AP-1, a protein that is closely linked with
trophic responses. LGD1550 is a potent inhibitor of AP-1, and in
vitro studies have shown that the drug inhibited the growth of
both hematological and epithelial tumor cell lines (11)
.
Both alone and in combination with other anticancer agents, LGD1550
exhibited striking growth inhibition in a head and neck squamous cell
carcinoma xenograft model in vivo (12)
.
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| PATIENTS AND METHODS |
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3,000/µl;
(b) hemoglobin level
9 g/dl; (c) platelet
count
100,000/µl; and (d) adequate coagulation,
hepatic, and renal function. Patients were excluded if they had
undergone major surgery or had received other anticancer or
investigational therapy within the preceding 34 weeks. Exclusion
criteria included: (a) hypercalcemia; (b) history
of brain metastases or cardiomyopathy; (c) active choroidal
or retinal inflammation; or (d) known allergy or
hypersensitivity to retinoids. The clinical protocol was reviewed and
approved in advance by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center institutional review board. Signed informed consent was
obtained from all patients.
Treatment Plan.
LGD1550 was supplied in soft gelatin capsules containing either 5 or 50
µg of drug (Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., San Diego, CA). The drug was
administered once daily p.o. with food. The initial starting dose was
20 µg/m2, and all doses were rounded to the
nearest 5-µg equivalent. The intended treatment period was 4 weeks
(or a minimum of 25 days). If no unacceptable toxicity was seen,
patients could be retreated with additional monthly courses of therapy
until their disease progressed.
Patients were evaluated weekly for the first 4 weeks, and then they were evaluated every 2 weeks until week 24 of treatment, and every 4 weeks thereafter. Dose escalation in an individual patient was not permitted. At least three patients were entered at each dose level. If any one of three patients experienced a DLT, accrual to that level was expanded to a total of six patients. The maximum-tolerated dose was defined as the highest dose that resulted in not more than one patient experiencing a DLT among at least six patients who completed 25 days of treatment at that dose level. DLT was defined by the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria: grade 3 toxicity was considered to be dose-limiting in all categories, with the exception of cardiac and neurological toxicity, in which grade 2 toxicity was dose-limiting. Parameters monitored during the study included: (a) serial blood cell counts; (b) coagulation tests; (c) lipid profiles; (d) thyroid function tests; (e) urinalyses; (f) eye examinations; and (g) echocardiograms (or MUGA scans). The extent of disease was monitored as clinically indicated to evaluate possible antitumor effects.
Pharmacokinetic Studies.
LGD1550 was administered p.o. after at least an 8-h fast with 6 ounces
of water or other fluid and was taken with food or a food supplement
(Ensure). On the first day of dosing and on selected days thereafter
(days 15, 29, and 84), blood samples were collected in tubes containing
EDTA before dosing (0 h) and at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h after
dosing, and the samples were placed immediately on ice. A predose blood
sample was collected on day 8. Plasma samples were obtained after
centrifugation and stored at -20°C until analysis. All samples were
protected from direct light during collection, preparation, and
storage.
Pharmacokinetic Analysis.
LGD1550 plasma concentrations were determined by a gas chromatography
with mass spectrometric detection method with a lower limit of
quantification of 0.020 ng/ml. Cmax
and time to Cmax
(Tmax) values were recorded as
observed. Apparent terminal elimination rate constants
(
z) were determined as the negative of the
slope of the terminal log-linear portion of the plasma
concentration-time profile. Terminal elimination half-life
(t1/2) values were calculated as
ln(2)
/
z. The AUC from time 0 to the time of
the last measurable concentration (AUC0t) was
determined by linear trapezoidal approximation, and the AUC from time 0
to infinite time (AUC0
) was determined by
the summation of AUC0t and
Ct/
z, for
which Ct was the last measurable
concentration. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by
noncompartmental methods using nominal sample collection times.
| RESULTS |
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Pharmacokinetics.
Blood samples from 15 patients at five different dose levels were
assayed for pharmacokinetic analysis. After single-dose administration
(see Fig. 1
), mean plasma concentrations increased with increasing
dose. Mean AUC0
± SD ranged from 1.33 ±
0.89 ng·h/ml (n = 4) after a 20
µg/m2 dose to 11.22 ng·h/ml
(n = 2) after a 180 µg/m2 dose,
and mean plasma Cmax and
AUC0
values were roughly dose-proportional
after doses of 20180 µg/m2. Mean ± SD
Cmax values ranged from 0.20 ±
0.13 to 1.09 ± 0.25 ng/ml (0.59 ± 0.38 to 3.2 ± 0.73
nM), respectively.
Tmax was variable, but it generally
ranged from 35 h. The mean apparent terminal elimination half-life
was typically approximately 5 h and was similar for all dose
levels and after single or multiple doses.
After multiple doses of 20180 µg/m2, the
pharmacokinetics were similar to those observed after a single dose
(Fig. 2)
. There was no evidence of
autoinduced metabolism. There was minimal drug accumulation, and the
predose concentrations were less than 5% of
Cmax after repeated dosing.
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| DISCUSSION |
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-mediated effect
(15
, 16)
, which might account for
the lower incidence of cutaneous reactions in that study. Thus, it is
not surprising that skin toxicity was dose-limiting in this trial,
considering the RAR selectivity of LGD1550. Headache, which was dose-limiting in studies with 9-cis-RA (a RAR/RXR pan agonist; Ref. 14 ), was only of mild intensity and occurred in only five patients. LGD1550 had no effect on triglyceride concentrations, whereas hyperlipidemia is a common consequence of chronic therapy with all-trans-RA, 13-cis-RA, 9-cis-RA, and LGD1069 (13 , 17 , 18) .
In addition to having an improved safety profile, LGD1550 may also have
a pharmacokinetic advantage relative to other retinoids.
All-trans-RA, when given on a continuous oral dosing
schedule, is associated with a progressive decline in plasma
concentration (19)
, which may contribute to relapse and
retinoid resistance in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.
Similarly, 9-cis-RA (in doses exceeding 140
mg/m2/day) also exhibited significant
autoinduction of catabolism (14)
. In contrast, LGD1550
plasma levels remained relatively stable over time at all dose levels
(Fig. 3)
. There was minimal
accumulation with repeat dosing. Moreover, plasma concentrations of
LGD1550 exceeded those previously shown to induce growth-inhibitory
effects in vitro, and the
t1/2 (approximately 5 h) suggests
that the agent can be effectively given on a once-daily schedule.
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 Supported in part by CA-77136 from the National
Cancer Institute, and by grants from The Lymphoma Foundation and Ligand
Pharmaceuticals Inc. Steven Soignet is a Mortimer J. Lacher Fellow.
This work was presented in part at the annual meeting of the American
Society of Clinical Oncology, Los Angeles,CA. ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue,
New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 639-8984; Fax: (212) 717-3272; E-mail: soignets{at}mskcc.org ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: RA, retinoic acid;
RAR, RA receptor; RXR, retinoid X receptor; AUC, area under the plasma
concentration-time curve; Cmax, peak plasma
concentration; DLT, dose-limiting toxicity. ![]()
Received 10/ 6/99; revised 2/17/00; accepted 2/18/00.
| REFERENCES |
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gene to a novel transcribed locus. Nature (Lond.), 347: 558-561, 1990.[CrossRef][Medline]
2b or cisplatin in vitro. Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res., 37: 293 1996.
. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 86: 5310-5314, 1989.
and ß retinoic acid receptors and a novel receptor
predominantly expressed in skin. Nature (Lond.), 339: 714-717, 1989.[CrossRef][Medline]
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