title: Mitomycin C and menadione for the treatment of advanced gastrointestinal cancers: a phase II trial.
abstract: A phase II trial of menadione (2.5 g/m2 as a continuous intravenous infusion over 48 h) followed by mitomycin C (10-20 mg/m2 i.v. bolus) administered every 4-6 weeks was performed in 43 patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer. Menadione, a vitamin K analog that lowers intracellular pools of reduced glutathione, was combined with mitomycin C in an attempt to overcome thiol-mediated resistance to alkylating-agent chemotherapy. The median age of patients entered on this trial was 58 years; performance status ranged from 60%-100%. None of the 43 evaluable patients obtained an objective response to this combination regimen. Median survival was 6.6 months. Treatment with menadione and mitomycin C was reasonably well tolerated except for hematological toxicity. A total of 27% of treatment courses were complicated by grade 3 or 4 hematological toxicity including one episode of hemolytic anemia and one episode of hemolytic uremic syndrome. One patient developed irreversible interstitial pneumonitis, and 1 patient had an asymptomatic decrease in the left-ventricular ejection fraction. Despite preclinical evidence indicating that menadione pretreatment enhances the cytotoxicity of mitomycin C, our study documents the resistance of advanced gastrointestinal cancers, particularly colorectal cancer, to mitomycin C modulated by menadione.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tetef
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Margolin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coluzzi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leong
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raschko
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shibata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016685:Mitomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D014812:Vitamin K / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D014812:Vitamin K; D016685:Mitomycin