rapamycin for kidney angiomyolipomas

Conditions: Nonmalignant Neoplasm; Tuberous Sclerosis; Lymphangioleimyomatosis; Kidney Angiomyolipoma

Summary: this research study is evaluating a drug called rapamycin as a possible treatment for the lumps (or tumors) that form in the kidneys, called angiomyolipomas, in people who have either tsc or lam. kidney angiomyolipomas are tumors that are made up of blood vessels, muscle and fat. rapamycin has been approved to treat other diseases, but it is investigational for treating kidney angiomyolipomas. investigational means that it is being as a possible treatment for kidney angiomyolipomas but is not currently approved by the u.s. food and drug administration (fda) for treating this disease.

this research study is a phase ll clinical trial. phase ii clinical trials test the effectiveness of an investigational drug to learn whether the drug works in treating a specific disease. "investigational" means that the drug is still being studied and that research doctors are trying to find out more about it-such as the safest dose to use, the side effects it may cause, and if the drug is effective for treating different types of diseases. it also means that the fda (the u.s. food and drug administration) has not yet approved this drug for this type of disease. the purpose of this research study is to see if the drug, rapamycin, is effective in treating kidney angiomyolipomas. rapamycin is a drug that may decrease the size of tumors. this drug has been used in treating other diseases and cancers in humans and information from those other research studies suggests that rapamycin may help to shrink tumors in this research study. the investigators will also be looking at the safety of this drug in people with tsc or lam. in addition, the investigators will also look at whether this drug is effective for treating other conditions that occur in people that have tsc or lam (tubers, subependymal giant cell astrocytomos, facial angiofibromas, kidney cysts in tsc, or symptoms of cough, breathing trouble or other symptoms of lung problems in people with lam). although these tumors (kidney angiomyolipomas) may not change for many years, they do not go away on their own. they often grow larger and may bleed. the standard of care for treating these tumors is to take pictures of them using ultrasound, ct or mri (called kidney imaging) every 1-3 years to see if they are getting larger or if they are bleeding. if they do grow larger or bleed, removing them by surgery or cutting off the blood supply to the tumor (vascular embolization) may be recommended. this research study is being done because there are no medicines available at this time that can treat kidney angiomyolipomas. however, recent studies in the laboratory have shown that the drug, rapamycin, maybe effective in treating these tumors. because rapamycin is approved by the fda for treating other medical conditions, we know what doses are safe to use based on guidelines that have been approved by the fda.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * age 3-65 years old (females of reproductive age must not be pregnant or breastfeeding) * kidney angiomyolipoma 2 cm or greater on baseline mri (a ct scan may be used for patients who cannot undergo mri imaging) * no evidence of severe lam (not on continuous oxygen) * informed consent, including consent for submission of blood, urine and tissue samples as described in the appendix. * adequate renal and liver function (egfr of 30 or higher, sgot, sgpt, tbili, alk phos all\<2x normal) * hct\>27% * anc \> 1500 and platelet count \>100,000 * diagnosis of tsc or lam (diagnosis of tsc using revised diagnostic criteria \[45\], diagnosis of lam made by chest ct scan and reviewed by a pulmonologist). * fertility/reproductive issues: the effects of rapamycin on the developing fetus at the doses used in this study are unknown. for this reason, rapamycin should not be taken during pregnancy. participants who are fertile must maintain adequate contraception while they are taking rapamycin and for twelve weeks after stopping the drug. acceptable contraceptive measures include prior hysterectomy, oophorectomy or tubal ligation, complete abstinence, barrier methods which include both a cervical diaphragm and spermicidal jelly, and progestin based contraceptives. pregnancy tests will be obtained at enrollment and during study visits at 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 24 weeks, 32 weeks, 40 weeks, and 52 weeks. * note: eligibility requirement of ecog ps of 0 or 1 has been removed to allow participation of those subjects with tsc who are classified as ecog ps of 2,3, or 4 because of cognitive impairment rather than progressive disease. this change allows site pl's to individualize decision making on whether or not to enroll such subjects after discussing details of the study with prospective participant and legal guardian. the decision to enroll individuals with ecog ps of 2,3, or 4 will be at the discretion of the principal investigator. exclusion criteria: * unstable seizures (defined as changes in anti-epileptics or increase in frequency and/or severity or seizures in the 60 days prior to study entry) * significant bleed associated with kidney angiomyolipoma(s) (defined as bleed associated with shock or requiring a blood transfusion in the 30 days prior to study entry) * severe lam (defined as dependent on continuous supplemental oxygen) * evidence for accelerating renal dysfunction or acute renal failure * diagnosis of renal cell cancer that has not been treated (additional clarification: individuals with a prior history of renal cancer who have had appropriate surgery and have no evidence of metastatic disease can be enrolled) * active infection * patients will be excluded if they have been treated with any investigational agent in the 30 days prior to study entry * patients may not be treated with other investigational agents while on study * prior history of coronary artery disease * vascular embolization for treatment of kidney angiomyolipoma(s) within 6 months * patients who must take diltiazem, ketoconazole or rifampin chronically will be excluded because of known drug interactions. both diltiazem and ketoconazole are strong inhibitors of cyp3a4 and are known to increase rapamycin levels. rifampin is a known cyp3a4 and p-glycoprotein inducer and is known to significantly reduce rapamycin levels.

Keywords: angiomyolipoma