Conditions: Breast Cancer Drug/Agent Toxicity by Tissue/Organ Unspecified Adult Solid Tumor, Protocol Specific
Keywords: drug/agent toxicity by tissue/organ stage I breast cancer stage II breast cancer stage IIIA breast cancer stage IIIB breast cancer stage IIIC breast cancer stage IV breast cancer unspecified adult solid tumor, protocol specific
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 137
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
RATIONALE: Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and topical urea/lactic acid-based cream may prevent or lessen hand-foot syndrome caused by chemotherapy. It is not yet known whether giving pyridoxine with or without topical urea/lactic acid-based cream is more effective than topical urea/lactic acid-based cream alone or a placebo in preventing hand-foot syndrome.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying pyridoxine and topical urea/lactic acid-based cream to see how well they work compared with giving pyridoxine together with a placebo, giving topical urea/lactic acid-based cream together with a placebo, or giving two placebos in preventing hand-foot syndrome in patients who are receiving capecitabine for breast cancer or other cancer.

Detailed description:
OBJECTIVES:

* Determine whether the prophylactic use of a topical urea/lactic acid cream can decrease the incidence/severity of capecitabine-caused palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia in patients receiving capecitabine for breast and/or other cancer.
* Evaluate the potential toxicity of this cream.
* Determine whether the prophylactic use of vitamin B6 can decrease the incidence and/or severity of capecitabine-caused palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia.
* Evaluate the potential toxicity of vitamin B6.
* Determine whether the prophylactic use of a topical urea/lactic acid cream in combination with vitamin B6 can decrease the incidence and/or severity of capecitabine caused palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients are stratified according to age (\< 50 years old vs 50-60 years old vs \> 60 years old), sex, capecitabine dose level (2000 mg/day vs 2500 mg/day), cancer type (breast vs other), and mode of therapy (adjuvant \[including neo-adjuvant\] therapy vs metastatic disease). Patients are randomized to 1 of 6 treatment arms (treatment arms I-IV closed to accrual as of 10/24/007).

* Arm I (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007): Patients receive topical urea/lactic acid-based cream applied to palms and soles twice daily and oral pyridoxine once daily on days 1-21.
* Arm II (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007): Patients receive topical urea/lactic acid-based cream as in arm I (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007) and oral placebo once daily on days 1-21.
* Arm III (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007): Patients receive placebo cream applied to palms and soles twice daily and pyridoxine as in arm I (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007).
* Arm IV (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007):Patients receive placebo cream as in arm III and oral placebo as in arm II (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007).
* Arm V: Patients receive topical urea/lactic acid-based cream applied to palms and soles twice daily on days 1-21.
* Arm VI: Patients receive placebo cream applied to palms and soles twice daily on days 1-21.

In all arms, treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients receive topical urea/lactic acid-based cream applied to palms and soles twice daily and oral pyridoxine once daily on days 1-21. arm 2: Patients receive topical urea/lactic acid-based cream as in arm I (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007) and oral placebo once daily on days 1-21. arm 3: Patients receive placebo cream applied to palms and soles twice daily and pyridoxine as in arm I (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007). arm 4: Patients receive placebo cream as in arm III and oral placebo as in arm II (closed to accrual as of 10/24/2007). arm 5: Patients receive topical urea/lactic acid-based cream applied to palms and soles twice daily on days 1-21. arm 6: Patients receive placebo cream applied to palms and soles twice daily on days 1-21.

Interventions: intervention 1: pyridoxine hydrochloride intervention 2: urea/lactic acid-based topical cream intervention 3: placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Given orally intervention 2: Applied topically intervention 3: Given orally or applied topically

Protocol document: