Purpose: The purpose of this trial was to assess the objective clinical response, toxicity, and time to progression of treatment with 9-Nitro-Camptothecin (9-NC) in patients with advanced chordoma, soft tissue sarcoma (STS), and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).
Patients and methods: Patients with locally advanced and/or metastatic chordoma, STS, or GIST received 9-NC 1.25 mg/m2 orally for 5 consecutive days followed by 2 days of rest. Patients continued on therapy until disease progression, uncontrollable toxicity, or withdrawal of consent.
Results: From January 2000 to May 2003, 51 patients (15 chordoma, 23 STS, 13 GIST patients) enrolled. One patient (7%) with chordoma and one patient (4%) with STS had an objective response. Median time to progression was 9.9, 8.0, and 8.3 weeks for chordoma, STS, and GIST patients, respectively. Three- and 6-month progression-free survival rates were 47% and 33% for chordoma patients, 26% and 22% for STS patients, and 31% and 23% for GIST patients, respectively. Ten patients (10%) stopped study drug before disease progression secondary to toxicity. Common adverse events included anemia (42 patients, seven with grade 3/4 toxicity), leukopenia (33 patients, nine with grade 3/4 toxicity), fatigue (30 patients, three with grade 3/4 toxicity), nausea (34 patients, six with grade 3/4 toxicity), and diarrhea (28 patients, five with grade 3/4 toxicity).
Conclusion: 9-NC has modest activity in delaying progression in patients with unresectable or metastatic chordoma. 9-NC is associated with moderate toxicity and shows little benefit in patients with advanced STS and GIST.