Fever-range whole-body thermal therapy combined with cisplatin, gemcitabine, and daily interferon-α: A description of a phase I-II protocol

Purpose: The purpose of the Phase I component of this study was to find the maximally tolerated dose (MTD) of cisplatin administered within a regimen of fever-range whole body thermal therapy (FR-WB-TT), cisplatin, gemcitabine, and low-dose interferon-alpha (IFN-α). The Phase II component aimed to assess which cancer diagnoses responded to the regimen, the response rate, and response duration.Materials and methods: The protocol design derived from a schedule-optimized preclinical regimen. Drugs were administered together, and also with thermal therapy in a schedule that optimized the therapeutic index. Eligible patients were those with therapy-resistant, metastatic or advanced solid malignancies. Beginning at 40 mg/m2, the cisplatin dose was escalated by 10 mg/m2 to the maximally tolerated dose (MTD) in successive cohorts of 3 patients. A treatment cycle consisted of cisplatin on day one, followed by thermal therapy and simultaneous gemcitabine 36 hours later; then a second dose of gemcitabine one week la...