Pilot Feasibility Study of Paclitaxel Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Cancer Patients
The goals of this prospective, observational cohort study are to determine the feasibility of implementing paclitaxel therapeutic drug monitoring for cancer patients and explore the relationship between paclitaxel drug exposure and the development of neuropathic symptoms. This trial studies if paclitaxel can be consistently measured in the blood of patients with solid tumors undergoing paclitaxel treatment. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Nerve damage is one of the most common and severe side effects of paclitaxel. The ability to consistently measure paclitaxel in the blood may allow doctors to control the dose of paclitaxel, so that enough chemotherapy is given to kill the cancer, but the side effect of nerve damage is reduced.
• Male or female sex
• Age ≥ 18 years
• Individuals receiving treatment at the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center who are anticipated to receive paclitaxel for curative or palliative intent, with or without surgery and/or radiation (i.e. neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or in the setting of recurrent or metastatic disease) as per decision with their medical oncologist for the following malignancies and dosing regimens:
• Invasive breast cancer (any HER2 and ER/PR status)
• Patients considered for curative or palliative chemotherapy with paclitaxel 80-175 mg/m2 with or without doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, carboplatin, trastuzumab, bevacizumab, or pertuzumab
⁃ Cervical cancer • Patients considered for curative or palliative chemotherapy with paclitaxel 135-175 mg/m2 with or without cisplatin, carboplatin, topotecan, or bevacizumab
⁃ Non-small cell lung cancer
⁃ • Patients considered for curative or palliative chemotherapy with paclitaxel 45-200 mg/m2 with or without carboplatin, cisplatin, bevacizumab, atezolizumab, or pembrolizumab
⁃ Ovarian cancer • Patients considered for curative or palliative chemotherapy with paclitaxel 60-175 mg/m2 with or without carboplatin, cisplatin, ifosfamide, gemcitabine, pazopanib, or bevacizumab
⁃ Uterine neoplasms
⁃ • Patients considered for curative or palliative chemotherapy with paclitaxel 135-175 mg/m2 with or without carboplatin, cisplatin, doxorubicin, ifosfamide, bevacizumab, or trastuzumab
⁃ Vulvar cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)
• Patients considered for curative or palliative chemotherapy with paclitaxel 60-175 mg/m2 with or without cisplatin, carboplatin, or bevacizumab
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign an IRB-approved informed consent document (either directly or via a legally authorized representative)
• Patients with prior radiation treatment or surgery will not be disqualified from enrollment into the study, unless the aforementioned interventions resulted in peripheral neuropathy as a complication