Surgery With or Without Thalidomide in Treating Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

OBJECTIVES:

- Compare the disease-free survival probability in patients with previously resected
recurrent or metastatic colorectal carcinoma treated with adjuvant thalidomide vs
placebo.

- Compare the time to recurrence in patients treated with these regimens.

- Determine whether serum/plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and basic
fibroblast growth factor preresection and postresection correlate with tumor recurrence
and determine if these levels, as well as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) measurements,
aid in predicting time to recurrence in these patients.

- Determine the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of long-term thalidomide therapy in these
patients.

- Determine whether patients receiving thalidomide develop measurable antiangiogenic
activity.

- Measure the presence of circulating tumor cells preresection and postresection and
determine if this type of analysis can be used to predict recurrence in this patient
population.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients are
stratified according to site of most recent lesion resection that rendered no evidence of
disease (lung vs liver with no more than 3 lesions vs liver with more than 3 lesions vs lung
and liver vs all other sites[including sites that were both resected and ablated]). Patients
without evidence of residual disease are randomized to one of two treatment arms.

- Arm I: Patients receive oral thalidomide once daily.

- Arm II: Patients receive an oral placebo once daily. Treatment continues in both arms
for 2 years in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or disease progression.

Patients are followed every 3 months for up to 3 years.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 94 patients (47 per treatment arm) will be accrued for this
study within 3 years.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Diagnosis of recurrent or metastatic colorectal carcinoma previously resected within
12 weeks of study entry

- Surgical resection combined with radiofrequency ablation allowed

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

- 18 and over

Performance status:

- Not specified

Life expectancy:

- Not specified

Hematopoietic:

- Hemoglobin at least 8.0 g/dL

- Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,000/mm^3

- Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

- Partial thromboplastin time (PTT)/prothrombin time (PT) no greater than 120% of
control (except in therapeutically anticoagulated nonrelated medical conditions
[e.g., atrial fibrillation])

- Total bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL (direct bilirubin no greater than 1.0 mg/dL
for patients with Gilbert's syndrome)

- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) less than 2.5 times
normal

- No history of hepatic cirrhosis

- No concurrent hepatic dysfunction

Renal:

- Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

- No severe congestive heart failure or active ischemic heart disease

- No active clots within 1 year before diagnosis OR must be receiving concurrent
treatment with anticoagulant (e.g., low molecular weight heparin or equivalent agent)

Other:

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use 1 highly effective method of contraception AND 1 additional
effective method of contraception for least 4 weeks before, during, and for at least
4 weeks after study participation

- No history of severe hypothyroidism

- No history of seizures

- No significant history of other medical problems that would preclude surgery

- No peripheral neuropathy greater than grade 1, except localized neuropathy due to a
mechanical cause or trauma

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

- At least 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy

Chemotherapy:

- At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

- Not specified

Radiotherapy:

- At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy

Surgery:

- See Disease Characteristics

Other:

- See Cardiovascular

- No concurrent sedating drugs that cannot be reduced to a minimal level

- No concurrent sedating recreational drugs or alcohol

- No concurrent antiseizure medications