Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study

Clarithromycin may improve cachexia and survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but adequately controlled data are lacking. This study was undertaken primarily to inform the feasibility and scale of a phase III trial. Eligible consenting patients with stage IV NSCLC and cachexia were to be r...

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Main Authors: Awan, Sarah, Crosby, Vincent, Potter, Vanessa, Hennig, Ivo, Baldwin, David, Ndlovu, Mehluli, Paradine, Sharon, Wilcock, Andrew
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48254/
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author Awan, Sarah
Crosby, Vincent
Potter, Vanessa
Hennig, Ivo
Baldwin, David
Ndlovu, Mehluli
Paradine, Sharon
Wilcock, Andrew
author_facet Awan, Sarah
Crosby, Vincent
Potter, Vanessa
Hennig, Ivo
Baldwin, David
Ndlovu, Mehluli
Paradine, Sharon
Wilcock, Andrew
author_sort Awan, Sarah
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Clarithromycin may improve cachexia and survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but adequately controlled data are lacking. This study was undertaken primarily to inform the feasibility and scale of a phase III trial. Eligible consenting patients with stage IV NSCLC and cachexia were to be randomized to receive either clarithromycin 250 mg twice daily or placebo for eight weeks. Aspects of trial feasibility recorded included numbers eligible, approached and recruited, together with adherence and completion of treatment and assessments. Over 6 months, none of 125 patients identified fulfilled the entry criteria. The commonest reasons for ineligibility were the use of an excluded concurrent drug (45, 36%), brain metastases (22, 18%), poor performance status (21, 17%) and current chemotherapy (15, 12%). A phase III trial of clarithromycin using these entry criteria is not feasible in this setting. Other macrolides that have a lower risk of a drug–drug interaction may be more practical to pursue.
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spelling nottingham-482542020-05-04T19:58:38Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48254/ Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study Awan, Sarah Crosby, Vincent Potter, Vanessa Hennig, Ivo Baldwin, David Ndlovu, Mehluli Paradine, Sharon Wilcock, Andrew Clarithromycin may improve cachexia and survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but adequately controlled data are lacking. This study was undertaken primarily to inform the feasibility and scale of a phase III trial. Eligible consenting patients with stage IV NSCLC and cachexia were to be randomized to receive either clarithromycin 250 mg twice daily or placebo for eight weeks. Aspects of trial feasibility recorded included numbers eligible, approached and recruited, together with adherence and completion of treatment and assessments. Over 6 months, none of 125 patients identified fulfilled the entry criteria. The commonest reasons for ineligibility were the use of an excluded concurrent drug (45, 36%), brain metastases (22, 18%), poor performance status (21, 17%) and current chemotherapy (15, 12%). A phase III trial of clarithromycin using these entry criteria is not feasible in this setting. Other macrolides that have a lower risk of a drug–drug interaction may be more practical to pursue. Elsevier 2017-02 Article PeerReviewed Awan, Sarah, Crosby, Vincent, Potter, Vanessa, Hennig, Ivo, Baldwin, David, Ndlovu, Mehluli, Paradine, Sharon and Wilcock, Andrew (2017) Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study. Lung Cancer, 104 . pp. 75-78. ISSN 0169-5002 Cachexia; Clarithromycin; Macrolide antibiotics; Non-small cell lung cancer http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169500216305773 doi:10.1016/j.lungcan.2016.12.010 doi:10.1016/j.lungcan.2016.12.010
spellingShingle Cachexia; Clarithromycin; Macrolide antibiotics; Non-small cell lung cancer
Awan, Sarah
Crosby, Vincent
Potter, Vanessa
Hennig, Ivo
Baldwin, David
Ndlovu, Mehluli
Paradine, Sharon
Wilcock, Andrew
Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study
title Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study
title_full Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study
title_fullStr Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study
title_full_unstemmed Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study
title_short Is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study
title_sort is clarithromycin a potential treatment for cachexia in people with lung cancer?: a feasibility study
topic Cachexia; Clarithromycin; Macrolide antibiotics; Non-small cell lung cancer
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48254/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48254/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48254/