Conditions: Precancerous Condition
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 375
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This randomized phase III trial is studying eflornithine and sulindac to see how well they work compared to a placebo in preventing colorectal cancer in patients with colon polyps. Chemoprevention is the use of certain drugs to keep cancer from forming, growing, or coming back. The use of eflornithine and sulindac may prevent colorectal cancer. It is not yet known whether eflornithine and sulindac are more effective than a placebo in preventing colorectal cancer

Detailed description:
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Compare the rate of new adenomatous polyp formation in patients with a history of adenomatous polyps of the colon treated with eflornithine and sulindac vs placebo.

II. Correlate the effects of eflornithine and sulindac on polyamine and prostaglandin content in the flat mucosa with the rate of new adenoma formation in these patients.

III. Compare the rate of side effects in patients treated with these regimens.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to participating center and aspirin use (yes vs no).

Patients receive oral double placebo once daily for 4 weeks. Patients who are more than 70% compliant by pill measurement or self reporting are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

Arm I: Patients receive oral double placebo once daily.

Arm II: Patients receive oral eflornithine (DFMO) and oral sulindac once daily.

In both arms, treatment continues for 36 months in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or the development of an invasive malignancy.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients receive oral double placebo once daily. In both arms, treatment continues for 36 months in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or the development of an invasive malignancy. arm 2: Patients receive oral eflornithine (DFMO) and oral sulindac once daily. In both arms, treatment continues for 36 months in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or the development of an invasive malignancy.

Interventions: intervention 1: placebo intervention 2: eflornithine intervention 3: sulindac intervention 4: laboratory biomarker analysis
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Given orally intervention 2: Given orally intervention 3: Given orally intervention 4: Correlative studies

Protocol document: