By Andy Giusti, Ph. D, C3 Research Program Manager
A phase IV clinical trial designed to test if calcium/magnesium infusions lessened neuropathy when administered with Eloxatin (oxaliplatin) as part of the common FOLFOX+Avastin chemotherapeutic regimen has been closed. The manufacturer of Eloxatin, Sanofi-Aventis has stopped the trial after an interim analysis indicated that the use of calcium/magnesium could reduce the effectiveness of this chemotherapy treatment.
Read the text of the alert here in PDF format.
This study compared the use of calcium/magnesium infusions vs. placebo in previously untreated colorectal cancer patients receiving FOLFOX+ Avastin. The objective of the study was to determine if the addition of calcium/magnesium would reduce the severity or incidence of neuropathy, a commonly observed side effect in patients that are receiving Eloxatin as part of their chemotherapy treatments.
The trial was stopped while Sanofi-Aventis performs a more complete analysis of their data. It should be noted that this was not a safety issue with Eloxatin, but rather an issue of reduced efficacy when using calcium/magnesium in an attempt to lessen the side effects of Eloxatin treatment.
Until this analysis is made available, patients should carefully weigh the supposed benefit of decreased neuropathy that may be obtained when using calcium/magnesium, with the potentially more serious prospect of reduced effectiveness of their chemotherapy treatment.
Disclosure: C3 has accepted funding for projects and educational programs from Sanofi-Aventis in the form of charitable donations. C3 has ultimate authority over website content.
June 29, 2007 at 11:07 am, Laurie said:
Would this mean that taking oral supplements of cal/mag would also reduce the effectiveness of chemo? Do the researchers believe that it may have the same effect on other chemo treatments as well?
June 29, 2007 at 1:21 pm, Nancy Roach said:
You raise good questions; unfortunately, there’s no data available to provide clear answers. Analysis of this specific trial is underway, and we will communicate the results as soon as they are available. However, the data from this trial will not answer your questions about cal-mag supplements.
My suggestion is to print the cal-mag information and discuss it in depth with your oncologist. This article talks about complementary medicine in more detail.
On the question of cal-mag interactions with other forms of chemo, I’m not aware of research that’s been done. Research in this area is very sparse; however, some of the results show that ‘natural’ compounds such as herbs and vitamins may decrease the effectiveness of some chemos. For example, Saint John’s Wort decreases the impact of irinotecan, a chemo used as part of the folfiri treatment regimen.
Again, your questions are very good questions, and illustrate the complexity of being an informed patient. Please let us know what your doctor says.