Psicofarma SA de CV

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy and safety the combination of TRANSKRIP ® vs placebo plus Carboplatin/Paclitaxel as first line treatment in patients with recurrent-persistent cervical cancer.

The current standard for recurrent, persistent or metastatic cervical cancer is palliative chemotherapy with cisplatin topotecan, however, the results need to be improved. Epigenetic aberrations play an important role in cancer progression by silencing growth regulatory genes and there is now evidence that inhibitors of DNA methylation and HDAC inhibition synergize the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy.
Objective. To determine the superiority of epigenetic therapy with hydralazine and valproate plus standard cisplatin topotecan against placebo plus cisplatin topotecan upon progression-free survival.
Hypothesis. Hydralazine and magnesium valproate associated to cisplatin topotecan will increase progression-free survival from 4.6 to 7.6 months as compared with the same regimen of chemotherapy plus placebo.

Chemotherapy resistance, either innate or acquired requires for its development, expression changes on a large number of genes therefore, it has been hypothesized that epigenetic-mediated changes could be the responsible driving force for chemotherapy resistance. Aberrant DNA methylation and histone deacetylation are the main epigenetic alterations hence, their reversal by inhibitors of DNA methylation and histone deacetylases (HDACs) may overcome resistance in refractory solid tumors.
Patients will be treated with hydralazine and magnesium valproate starting from day -7 until chemotherapy ends which consists on the same pre-study protocol regimen on which patients progressed. Response and toxicity were evaluated. Global DNA methylation and HDAC activity were evaluated in the peripheral blood cells, as well as the plasma levels of valproic acid and hydralazine.