Conditions: Adenocarcinoma of the Colon Adenocarcinoma of the Rectum Recurrent Colon Cancer Recurrent Rectal Cancer Stage IV Colon Cancer Stage IV Rectal Cancer
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 58
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
RATIONALE: Vorinostat may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fluorouracil and leucovorin calcium, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It is not yet known which dose of vorinostat is more effective when given together with combination chemotherapy in treating patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying the best dose of vorinostat to see how well it works when given together with fluorouracil and leucovorin calcium in treating patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that has not responded to previous treatment.

Detailed description:
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Describe the 2-months progression free rate on vorinostat 800mg/day x 3 in combination with 5-FU/L V every 2 weeks. (Arm I) II. Describe the 2-months progression free rate on vorinostat 1400mg/day x 3 in combination with 5-FU/L V every 2 weeks. (Arm II) SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Describe the response rate on Arm 1 and Arm 2 of the study. II. Estimate the median progression free survival on both arms of the study. III. Describe the overall survival on Arm 1 and Arm 2 of the study. IV. Describe the toxicities on Arm 1 and Arm 2 of the study. V. Describe vorinostat pharmacokinetics on Arm 1 and Arm 2 of the study. VI. Describe 5-FU steady state pharmacokinetics on Arm 1 and Arm 2 of the study. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. ARM I: Patients receive low-dose oral vorinostat once daily on days 1-3, leucovorin calcium IV over 2 hours on day 2, and fluorouracil IV over 46 hours on days 2 and 3. Courses repeat every 2 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. ARM II: Patients receive high-dose oral vorinostat once daily on days 1-3 and leucovorin calcium and fluorouracil as in arm I. Courses repeat every 2 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study therapy, patients are followed up for 30 days and then every 3 months.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients receive low-dose oral vorinostat once daily on days 1-3, leucovorin calcium IV over 2 hours on day 2, and fluorouracil IV over 46 hours on days 2 and 3. Courses repeat every 2 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. arm 2: Patients receive high-dose oral vorinostat once daily on days 1-3 and leucovorin calcium and fluorouracil as in arm I. Courses repeat every 2 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Interventions: intervention 1: fluorouracil intervention 2: leucovorin calcium intervention 3: vorinostat intervention 4: pharmacological study
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Given IV intervention 2: Given IV intervention 3: Given orally intervention 4: Correlative study

Protocol document: