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Pneumonia, Pneumocystis CariniiPhase 3NCT00000714

An Open, Prospective, Multicenter Study of Trimetrexate With Leucovorin Rescue for AIDS Patients With Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia (PCP) and Serious Intolerance to Approved Therapies

A Phase 3 study testing Trimetrexate glucuronate and Leucovorin calcium in people with Pneumonia, Pneumocystis Carinii and HIV Infections, run by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at 21 sites in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

To determine the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug therapy (trimetrexate plus leucovorin calcium (TMTX / LCV)) in the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in patients who have AIDS, are HIV positive, or are at high risk for HIV infection, and who have suffered severe or life-threatening… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 12 years and older
What is being tested?
Trimetrexate glucuronate and Leucovorin calcium
How many people
Not given
Where
21 sitesUnited States
Study dates
Start not givento Jul 2004
Phase
Phase 3
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 12 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Concurrent Medication:
  • Allowed:
  • Noninvestigational therapies as needed.
  • Maintenance therapy with investigational triazoles such as itraconazole and SCH 39304.
  • High-dose corticosteroids (exceed physiologic replacement doses) including oral prednisone 40 mg bid for 5 days, 40 mg daily for 5 days and then 20 mg daily for the remainder of PCP therapy. Same dose for methylprednisolone.
  • Concurrent Treatment:
Show all 34Show fewer
  • Allowed:
  • Any ventilatory support, antihypertensive agents, invasive monitoring, and other necessary medical intervention, according to his/her medical status, personal wishes, and the judgment of his/her physician.
  • Patients must have:
  • HIV seropositivity.
  • Diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP).
  • Serious intolerance to trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole (TMP / SMX) therapy defined as follows:
  • Platelets < 50000 platelets/mm3.
  • Neutrophil count (polys plus bands) = or < 500 cells/mm3 on at least two occasions = or > 12 hours apart.
  • Mucocutaneous reaction - blistering rash, mucosal involvement, generalized maculopapular eruption, or intolerable pruritus.
  • Hepatitis demonstrated by transaminase elevation > 5 times the upper limit of normal, or = or > 300 IU if baseline is abnormal.
  • Drug fever with daily temperature = or > 103 degrees F beginning after the 5th day of treatment persisting for at least 3 days and not responsive to antipyretic therapy, with no other discernible cause.
  • Any other severe or life-threatening adverse reaction to TMP / SMX which, in the investigator's opinion, makes continued or recurrent treatment with TMP / SMX inadvisable as determined on a case-by-case basis.
  • Serious intolerance to pentamidine therapy defined as follows:
  • Platelets < 50000 platelets/mm3.
  • Neutrophil count (polys plus bands) = or < 500 cells/mm3 on at least two occasions = or > 12 hours apart.
  • Serum creatinine > 3.0 mg/dl.
  • Systolic blood pressure < 90 mm requiring supportive therapy.
  • Symptomatic hypoglycemia with blood glucose < 40, or hyperglycemia requiring therapy.
  • Pancreatitis with laboratory confirmation (abnormal amylase and/or lipase).
  • Any other severe or life-threatening adverse reaction to pentamidine, which, in the investigator's opinion, makes continued or recurrent treatment with pentamidine inadvisable as determined on a case-by-case basis.
  • Informed consent by patient or legal guardian.
  • Prior Medication:
  • Required:
  • Trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole and pentamidine therapies.
  • Prior Medication:
  • Allowed:
  • Myelosuppressive or nephrotoxic agents including zidovudine.
  • History of high-risk behavior for HIV infection - homosexual or bisexual men, intravenous drug abusers, recipients of HIV-infected blood products, or sexual partners of persons in these groups may be admitted without proof of HIV infection.

Who cannot join

  • Co-existing Condition:
  • Patients with the following conditions or symptoms are excluded:
  • History of Type I hypersensitivity (i.e., urticaria, angioedema, or anaphylaxis), exfoliative dermatitis, or other life-threatening reactions due to trimetrexate.
  • Patients with a less severe adverse reaction may be enrolled if, in the opinion of the investigator, these adverse effects do not prohibit rechallenge with the drug.
  • Concurrent Medication:
  • Excluded:
Show all 11Show fewer
  • Myelosuppressive or nephrotoxic agents including zidovudine and ganciclovir.
  • Investigational therapies.
  • Patients with the following are excluded:
  • History of Type I hypersensitivity (i.e., urticaria, angioedema, or anaphylaxis), exfoliative dermatitis, or other life-threatening reactions due to trimetrexate.
  • Patients with a less severe adverse reaction may be enrolled if, in the opinion of the investigator, these adverse effects do not prohibit rechallenge with the drug.

Trial locations and contacts

21 sites in 1 country.

21 sites in 1 country

United States21 sites
  • Johns Hopkins Hosp

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21287

  • Beth Israel Deaconess - West Campus

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02215

  • SUNY / Erie County Med Ctr at Buffalo

    Buffalo, New York, 14215

  • Northwestern Univ Med School

    Chicago, Illinois, 60611

  • Case Western Reserve Univ

    Cleveland, Ohio, 44106

  • Duke Univ Med Ctr

    Durham, North Carolina, 27710

  • City Hosp Ctr at Elmhurst / Mount Sinai Hosp

    Elmhurst, New York, 11373

  • Indiana Univ Hosp

    Indianapolis, Indiana, 462025250

  • Univ of Miami School of Medicine

    Miami, Florida, 331361013

  • Warner-Lambert Parke-Davis

    Morris Plains, New Jersey, 07950

  • Tulane Univ School of Medicine

    New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112

  • Beth Israel Med Ctr

    New York, New York, 10003

  • Bellevue Hosp / New York Univ Med Ctr

    New York, New York, 10016

  • Mount Sinai Med Ctr

    New York, New York, 10029

  • Univ of Rochester Medical Center

    Rochester, New York, 14642

  • Univ of Washington

    Seattle, Washington, 981224304

  • SUNY - Stony Brook

    Stony Brook, New York, 117948153

  • Bronx Municipal Hosp Ctr/Jacobi Med Ctr

    The Bronx, New York, 10461

  • Montefiore Med Ctr / Bronx Municipal Hosp

    The Bronx, New York, 10467

  • Julio Arroyo

    West Columbia, South Carolina, 29169

  • Univ of Massachusetts Med Ctr

    Worcester, Massachusetts, 01655

Other trials in United States

About this study

To determine the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug therapy (trimetrexate plus leucovorin calcium (TMTX / LCV)) in the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in patients who have AIDS, are HIV positive, or are at high risk for HIV infection, and who have suffered severe or life-threatening ill effects from both conventional therapies for PCP. AMENDED: 08/01/90 As of August 31, 1989, 437 patients were enrolled into uncontrolled studies of trimetrexate for PCP:214 in TX 301/ACTG 0=039 (trimetrexate for patients intolerant of approved therapies) and 223 in NS 401 (trimetrexate for patients refractory to approved therapies). The analysis of overall response rate, stringently defined as having received at least 14 days of trimetrexate and being alive at follow-up 1 month after the completion of therapy, reveals 84/159 intolerant patients and 48/160 refractory patients had responded, for rates of 53 percent and 30 percent, respectively. These response rates include all individuals who received at least one dose of trimetrexate. Of the 111 patients who were ventilator-dependent at study entry, 18 completed a course of therapy and were alive a month later, for a response rate of 16 percent. All other ventilated patients died. The most common severe (grades 3 and 4) toxicities were: transaminase elevation (> 5 x normal) in 94 patients, anemia (< 7.9 g/dl) in 109, neutropenia (< 750 cells/mm3) in 58, fever (> 40 C) in 37, and thrombocytopenia (< 50000 platelets/mm3) in 27. Toxicity required discontinuation of therapy in approximately 5 percent of all patients.

Original design: The drugs usually used to treat PCP in AIDS patients, trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole and pentamidine, have had to be discontinued in many patients because of severe side effects. Currently there are no proven alternatives to these drugs. TMTX was chosen for this trial because it was found to be very active against the PCP organism in laboratory tests. Also TMTX, in combination with LCV, had a high response rate and did not cause severe toxicity in a preliminary trial.

Read the detailed description

AMENDED: 08/01/90 As of August 31, 1989, 437 patients were enrolled into uncontrolled studies of trimetrexate for PCP:214 in TX 301/ACTG 0=039 (trimetrexate for patients intolerant of approved therapies) and 223 in NS 401 (trimetrexate for patients refractory to approved therapies). The analysis of overall response rate, stringently defined as having received at least 14 days of trimetrexate and being alive at follow-up 1 month after the completion of therapy, reveals 84/159 intolerant patients and 48/160 refractory patients had responded, for rates of 53 percent and 30 percent, respectively. These response rates include all individuals who received at least one dose of trimetrexate. Of the 111 patients who were ventilator-dependent at study entry, 18 completed a course of therapy and were alive a month later, for a response rate of 16 percent. All other ventilated patients died. The most common severe (grades 3 and 4) toxicities were: transaminase elevation (> 5 x normal) in 94 patients, anemia (< 7.9 g/dl) in 109, neutropenia (< 750 cells/mm3) in 58, fever (> 40 C) in 37, and thrombocytopenia (< 50000 platelets/mm3) in 27. Toxicity required discontinuation of therapy in approximately 5 percent of all patients.

Original design: The drugs usually used to treat PCP in AIDS patients, trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole and pentamidine, have had to be discontinued in many patients because of severe side effects. Currently there are no proven alternatives to these drugs. TMTX was chosen for this trial because it was found to be very active against the PCP organism in laboratory tests. Also TMTX, in combination with LCV, had a high response rate and did not cause severe toxicity in a preliminary trial.

Patients entered in the study are given TMTX for 21 days and LCV for 24 days. Doses are determined by body size. Both drugs are given by intravenous infusion, but LCV may be given orally after the first 10 days. It is essential to ensure that patients receive each and every dose of LCV and that LCV therapy is continued for a full 3 days after TMTX therapy has been completed or discontinued. Doses are adjusted if side effects, such as low white blood cell counts, are too severe. During the 21-day trial, zidovudine (AZT) may not be used, because of possible increased bone marrow toxicity. AZT may be resumed as soon as the administration of TMTX and LCV has been completed.

Being tested
Trimetrexate glucuronate, Leucovorin calcium
Keywords
Trimetrexate, AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections, Pneumonia, Pneumocystis carinii, Leucovorin, Drug Evaluation, Drug Therapy, Combination, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Antiprotozoal Agents
Medical subject headings
Pneumonia, Pneumocystis, HIV Infections, AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted31 Aug 2001 (estimated)
  2. Study completionJul 2004

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (open label)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00000714
Sponsor's protocol ID
ACTG 039
Other IDs
11744
Status last verified
Oct 2021
First submitted
2 Nov 1999
Last updated
29 Oct 2021
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Katz D, Feinberg J, Myers M, Gubish E, Hoth D. Providing access to promising investigational drugs for AIDS: A management model for "treatment INDs". Int Conf AIDS. 1989 Jun 4-9;5:855 (abstract no TEP51)

  • Feinberg J, Katz D, McDermott C, Myers M, Hoth D. Trimetrexate (TMTX) salvage therapy of PCP in AIDS patients without any therapeutic options: interim results of the 1st AIDS "treatment IND" protocol. Int Conf AIDS. 1989 Jun 4-9;5:201 (abstract no TBO28)

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 3 study testing Trimetrexate glucuronate and Leucovorin calcium in people with Pneumonia, Pneumocystis Carinii and HIV Infections, run by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at 21 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 34 inclusion and 11 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 Oct 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 21 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00000714, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 29 Oct 2021.

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