A Randomized Study of Sulindac in Oral Premalignant Lesions

The purpose of this study is to see if a drug called sulindac can prevent the development of changes in the mouth that are related to oral pre-cancer growths (oral epithelial dysplasia) or oral cancer. Sulindac is an anti-inflammatory drug that has already been tested in people with arthritis (inflammation of a joint). This study is being done by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center in Cochin, India, and Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Trivandrum, India.

Oral precancerous lesions (OPL) represent a valuable model for clinical trials for tobacco related cancers. However, due to the relatively low prevalence of this condition in the United States, subject accrual to such trials is slow. Conversely, in India, the prevalence of oral leukoplakia is among the highest in the world. Indeed oral cancer, caused by exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol and betel nut quid, is the leading cause of cancer deaths in India. To date, there are no effective treatments documented in randomized controlled clinical trials to prevent malignant transformation of leukoplakia. However, evidence that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) prevent experimental and animal head and neck cancer, and colon and breast cancer in humans lends support to the promise of NSAIDs in the chemoprevention of oral cancer. The purpose of this protocol is to pilot a multi-center chemoprevention trial of sulindac, a pan-cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, for oral leukoplakia through an international collaboration between Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Trivandrum, India and the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kerala, India. Specifically, we will conduct a 66 subject, 2-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study of sulindac 150 mg bid to test the clinical efficacy, safety and molecular effects of sulindac against OPL and OPL tissue. Oral leukoplakia subjects will be enrolled from both RCC, AIMS and MSKCC, however, we expect that most subjects will be recruited from AIMS due to the substantially higher prevalence of this condition among the Indian compared to the US population. MSKCC will be the coordinating center for this trial, and will thus be responsible for all aspects of clinical trial design and management. Our study team, in collaboration with the Office of Clinical Research and the Office of the Physician-in-Chief, has spent a considerable amount of time and effort in developing a comprehensive data and safety monitoring (DSM) plan.