Phase I clinical trial and pharmacokinetic study of the spicamycin analog KRN5500 administered as a 1-hour intravenous infusion for five consecutive days to patients with refractory solid tumors.

PURPOSE

The spicamycin analogue KRN5500 is a nucleoside-like antibiotic with broad spectrum activity against human solid tumor models. It appears to possess a novel mechanism of action directed against the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus with effects on protein processing. A Phase I trial was undertaken to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), dose-limiting toxicities, and pharmacokinetic behavior of KRN5500 given as a 1-h i.v. infusion for 5 consecutive days every 3 weeks.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Adult patients with refractory solid tumors, good performance status, and normal to near normal renal, hepatic, and hematological function were eligible for the study. At least three patients were evaluated at each dose level, and a modified Fibonacci algorithm was used for dose escalation. The MTD was based on the occurrence of severe toxicity during the first cycle of therapy. The plasma pharmacokinetics of KRN5500 was characterized during the first week of dosing.

RESULTS

Characteristics of the 26 patients entered into the study were as follows: 13 males and 13 females; median age, 54.5 years (range, 40-70 years); and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-1. A majority had refractory colorectal carcinoma (17 of 26 patients) with at least two prior regimens of therapy. The dose of KRN5500 was escalated from 0.8 to 4.9 mg/m(2)/day in five dose levels, and the MTD was 2.9 mg/m(2)/day. All dose-limiting toxicities were nonhematological and included pulmonary toxicities, hyperglycemia, fatigue, hepatotoxicity, and ataxia, with one fatality due to interstitial pneumonitis. Clinically significant toxicities occurring in multiple patients that were not dose-limiting included nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, neurological symptoms, hyperbilirubinemia, hyperglycemia, lymphopenia, and thrombocytopenia. There were no objective responses, although 3 of 17 evaluable patients exhibited disease stabilization for 5-6 cycles. The pharmacokinetics for the first dose of KRN5500 was biexponential and linear across all five dose levels. Mean values of pharmacokinetic parameters were as follows: total plasma clearance, 6.15 +/- 2.37 liters/h/m(2); apparent volume of distribution at steady state, 6.56 +/- 1.98 liters/m(2); biological half-life, 1.29 +/- 0.37 h; and mean residence time, 1.07 +/- 0.31 h. Clearance was significantly lower (P = 0.011) in the eight patients who were at least 65 years old (4.6 +/- 1.6 liters/h/m(2)) as compared with the 18 younger patients (7.1 +/- 2.3 liters/h/m(2)). Peak plasma concentrations of KRN5500 in the cohort receiving the MTD ranged from 350 to 400 ng/ml.

CONCLUSIONS

The MTD of KRN5500, when given as a 1-h i.v. infusion for 5 consecutive days, was 2.9 mg/m(2)/day. The only suggestion of therapeutic activity observed in this study was disease stabilization in three patients with chemorefractory colorectal cancer. Administering KRN5500 as a continuous i.v. infusion with the objective of prolonging systemic exposure to potentially cytotoxic concentrations of the drug should be considered.