ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT02094625Updated Apr 18, 2023

NAC to Prevent Cisplatin-induced Hearing Loss

A Phase 1 interventional study of N-Acetylcysteine in Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, Liver Neoplasms and Osteosarcoma, sponsored by Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 1 Year to 21 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-04-18.

Sponsored by Children's Hospital Los Angeles · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
52
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
1 Year to 21 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Cisplatin is a key chemotherapy agent for the treatment of multiple childhood cancers but causes permanent hearing loss. This study investigates the drug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to determine the dose necessary to protect hearing and also how well tolerated NAC is when combined with chemotherapy.

Read the detailed description

The study is a dose-finding study of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to protect hearing in children receiving cisplatin for the treatment of their cancer. NAC also has potential to protect the kidneys from cisplatin toxicity.

The study uses a 3+3 dose-escalation scheme to determine the dose of NAC necessary to achieve serum levels consistent with hearing protection in pre-clinical animal models. Three dose levels are predefined. Once the maximum tolerated dose is determined, an expansion cohort will then be enrolled to further evaluate tolerability as well as intra-patient and inter-patient variability in achieved serum levels. An option to enroll in a separate arm for study assessments only is available for those who do not wish to receive NAC. Hearing loss in the cohort will be assessed in the entire cohort in comparison to historical and non-treated children to evaluate for trends toward efficacy.

02

Conditions studied

  • Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive
  • Liver Neoplasms
  • Osteosarcoma
  • Other Childhood Cancers Using Cisplatin-based Regimens

Keywords

  • Cisplatin
  • N-acetylcysteine
  • Hearing Loss
  • Otoprotection
03

In context

Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive

120 studies on the registry are indexed under Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive; 22 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 52 is above the median of 35 across 88 interventional studies indexed under Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive.

Browse Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive studies →

Lead sponsor

Children's Hospital Los Angeles is the lead sponsor of 152 studies on the registry; 46 are open to participants now.

Of its 9 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 6 (67%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Year to 21 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Are between 1 and 21 years of age (inclusive) at time of diagnosis of underlying
  • Have a new diagnosis of a localized malignancy with a planned treatment course to include at least two cycles of cisplatin
  • Diagnosis to be assigned by oncology attending of record (may be reported via designee), histological diagnosis does not need to be confirmed separately
  • Most common but not exclusive diagnoses consist of hepatoblastoma, medulloblastoma, osteosarcoma
  • Total cumulative dose of planned cisplatin must be >200 mg/m2 (or 6.67 mg/kg equivalent for infants requiring weight-based dosing. Conversion factor used is 30:1).
  • Cisplatin must be delivered over \<3 days
  • Planned cisplatin dose to be infused over ≤6 hours for ≤2 days per cycle
  • Are anticipated to be able to comply with end-of-therapy audiology assessment (note that hearing assessments are performed per routine clinical care in children receiving cisplatin and consist of an audiogram or auditory brainstem response, and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions)
  • Patients with any hearing status are eligible for study (as long as they can comply with the study primary aims of assessing toxicity and dose-response)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • no preexisting risk of serious arrhythmia as defined by (a) normal sinus rhythm on and interval \<500 and (b) no previous history of congenital arrhythmia (e.g. Wolf-Parkinson-White)
  • Hepatic, biliary, cardiac, or bone marrow function inadequate for chemotherapy as per patient's treatment regimen. There are no additional protocol-specific restrictions for these markers.
  • Moderate or Severe Persistent Asthma as defined by the latest recommendations from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute definition includes daily asthma exacerbation with need for rescue medication) or an overnight hospitalization for asthma exacerbation within the previous 28 days
  • Disseminated disease (e.g. lepto-meningeal spread, tumor )
  • or Lansky score \<50%
  • Pregnancy or breast-feeding mothers
  • Documented or allergy to previous NAC infusion
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(6)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

ECG (electrocardiogram)

A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.

QT and QTc

On an ECG, the QT interval is the time the heart’s lower chambers take to activate electrically and recover in each beat. QTc is that time adjusted for heart rate (QTcF by Fridericia’s formula, QTcB by Bazett’s). Some medicines lengthen it, and a long QTc can raise the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.

The study may name a correction formula and a limit in milliseconds, often around 450–480.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

Karnofsky performance status (KPS)

A 0–100 scale of how well someone can carry out everyday activities. 100 is no complaints and no signs of illness; 70 is able to look after yourself but not to work or keep up normal activity; 50 is needing considerable help and frequent medical care.

Studies often ask for 60 or 70 and above. Your doctor gives the score.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
52 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    N-Acetylcysteine Intervention

    This is a dose-finding study using a traditional 3+3 dose escalation scheme. Up to 18 subjects (3 dose levels as per below) will be enrolled to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). The MTD is defined as per traditional 3+3 criteria of less than or equal to one dose-limiting toxicity at the dose level. Once the MTD is determined, subjects will be equally distributed at the "safe" dose levels (less than or equal to the MTD) to determine the optimum dose to achieve NAC levels in the blood necessary for hearing protection. As of August 2018: The dose-escalation phase was completed and dose-level three was selected for expansion in 9 subjects.

    Drug: N-Acetylcysteine

  • No intervention
    Observation only

    Subjects who are ineligible to receive the study drug NAC will have the option to enroll for study assessments only including laboratory testing and hearing assessments identical to the experimental intervention arm. This is a "cohort of convenience" for which we anticipate up to 36 children will be enrolled over the course of the study.

Interventions

  • NAC will be administered intravenously over \~60 minutes starting 4 hours following completion of cisplatin chemotherapy. Three dose levels have been pre-determined: Dose Level 1: 225 mg/kg Dose Level 2: 300 mg/kg Dose Level 3: 450 mg/kg Should Dose Level 3 exceed the MTD, the study will examine blood levels of NAC and if below the target blood level necessary for hearing protection, the study will "de-escalate" from Dose Level 3 to an intermediate Dose Level 2.5 and test a dose of 375 mg/kg. As of August 2018: Dose escalation completed with MTD not reached. Dose level 3 (450mg/kg) selected for expansion with NAC.

    Also known as: N-acteylcysteine, acteylcysteine injectable, Acetadote

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Target Serum Level NAC

    Following the first dose of cisplatin, NAC will be administered as described below. A NAC level will then be measured immediately following this first dose of NAC to determine if the blood (serum) level reaches the threshold necessary for hearing protection.

    Time frame: On average up to 4 weeks from diagnosis

Secondary outcomes

  1. Adverse events during infusion of NAC

    Subjects will be monitored during and after each NAC infusion to determine how well they tolerate the drug. Infusion rate related and spontaneously resolving "anaphylactoid" reactions are the most common reported toxicity and will be closely monitored. Most subjects will receive 3 cycles of cisplatin and NAC, typically within the first 15 weeks of starting chemotherapy. Subjects who continue to receive cisplatin and NAC for additional cycles will continue to be monitored.

    Time frame: Up to approximately 40 weeks from start of chemotherapy (regimen dependent)

  2. NAC Level

    A NAC serum level will be measured surrounding the first dose of NAC at 4 times: 1. pre-cisplatin (baseline) 2. following cisplatin/before NAC 3. immediately following NAC (primary aim) 4. delayed four hours following NAC For those in the non-intervention arm, NAC serum levels will be measured at corresponding times as determined by the start of the cisplatin infusion.

    Time frame: -6,0, 0.5, and 4 hours from start of first NAC dose (intervention)

  3. Hearing assessment

    Routinely performed hearing assessments will be analyzed at the end of therapy as compared to a historical cohort, non-treated, and to patient's baseline (if available) to evaluate for any trend toward a protective effect from NAC.

    Time frame: Up to approximately 40 weeks from start of chemotherapy

  4. Renal Toxicity

    Information regarding renal toxicity due to cisplatin will be collected at end of therapy and compared to historical rates and non-treated patients to evaluate a potential protective effect by NAC

    Time frame: Up to approximately 40 weeks from start of chemotherapy

  5. Response of tumor to treatment

    Early indicators of tumor response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy (e.g. percent necrosis in resected tumors, early remission rates, etc) will be informally evaluated in comparison to historical data for any evidence NAC decreases efficacy of the chemotherapy

    Time frame: On average up to 15 weeks from start of chemotherapy (regimen dependent)

  6. Effect of Genotype on Hearing Loss and Hearing Protection

    Saliva/cheek swabs will be collected one-time for genotype analysis to examine the influence of glutathione polymorphisms on cisplatin-induced hearing loss and NAC hearing protection

    Time frame: On average up to 15 weeks from start of chemotherapy

  7. Glutathione serum level

    Glutathione serum levels will be measured at times corresponding to NAC levels surrounding the first dose of NAC at 4 times: 1. pre-cisplatin (baseline) 2. following cisplatin/before NAC 3. immediately following NAC (primary aim) 4. delayed four hours following NAC For those in the non-intervention arm, serum levels will again be measured at corresponding times as determined by the start of the cisplatin infusion.

    Time frame: -6,0, 0.5, and 4 hours from start of first NAC dose (intervention)

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California 90027, United States
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Mar 2016 to primary completion in Sep 2020, 54 months.

Of 21 phase 1 interventional studies under Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, half reached primary completion within 65 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 54 and three quarters within 134. This study's 54 months is below that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Mar 13, 2014
First posted
Mar 24, 2014
StartActual
Mar 2016
Primary completionActual
Sep 2020
CompletionActual
Aug 2021
Last update
Apr 18, 2023
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 18, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02094625
Responsible party
Etan Orgel (Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 24, 2014
Start date
Mar 2016
Primary completion
Sep 2020
Completion
Aug 2021
Last update
Apr 18, 2023

Study contacts

Etan Orgel, MD MS
principal investigator · Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drug tested here: Acetylcysteine

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