Background:
* Standard treatment for advanced Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a liposomal anthracycline, plus antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
* KS is not curable and relapses are common. Prolonged use of liposomal anthracyclines with cumulative dosing exceeding 550 mg/m(2) is frequently required.
* KS is notable for pathogenic autocrine and paracrine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling. The monoclonal antibody, bevacizumab is a rational agent for the treatment of KS.
* Preliminary results from our phase II study of bevacizumab monotherapy, 03-C0110, suggest that bevacizumab has promising activity in the treatment of KS.
* The combination of anti-angiogenic therapy with cytotoxic chemotherapy has been a successful strategy in KS as well as other solid tumors.
* This pilot study will evaluate the activity and safety of liposomal doxorubicin combined with bevacizumab followed by bevacizumab maintenance in patients with advanced KS. A goal of this combination strategy is to develop a tolerable and highly active regimen that would limit the need for prolonged anthracycline use.
Objectives:
* The primary objective is to estimate the overall response rate (ORR) of six cycles of liposomal doxorubicin combined with bevacizumab in patients with advanced KS.
* Secondary objectives include evaluation of the safety of the regimen, as well as estimation of the complete response rate after 6 cycles, the median number of cycles need to obtain a partial response, and 12-month progression-free survival.
Eligibility:
Inclusion criteria:
* Age greater than or equal to 18
* Biopsy proven KS
* Indication for chemotherapy
* Any HIV status
* Normal multigated acquisition scan (MUGA)
* Able to tolerate aspirin 81 mg
* systolic blood pressure (SBP) \<150, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) \<90
* Urine protein \<1+ or 500mg/24hrs
Exclusion Criteria:
* Surgery within 4 weeks
* Thrombo-embolic disease
* Chemotherapy within 3 weeks
* Hemoptysis or severe gastrointestinal bleeding, unless caused by KS
* Pregnancy or breast feeding
Design:
* This is an open label, single center pilot with 2 cohorts. Cohort 1: HIV negative, HIV infected with stable KS despite 1 year of HAART with HIV viremic control, or HIV infected with progressive KS despite 4 months of HAART with HIV viremic control. Cohort 2: All other patients with advanced AIDS-associated KS.
* Subjects will receive bevacizumab 15 mg/kg and liposomal doxorubicin 20 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks until complete response (CR) or a maximum of 6 cycles. Those with stable disease or better will continue on bevacizumab 15 mg/kg monotherapy every 3 weeks for 11 cycles. HIV infected subjects will receive HAART.
* ORR will be calculated with 80% CI for each cohort separately. If estimates in the two cohorts are similar (p\>0.30 by a Fisher s exact test), they may be combined to form a somewhat more precise estimate of ORR after 6 cycles of treatment.
* A total of 10 evaluable patients will be accrued in each cohort.