Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Quisinostat, a Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, in Combination With Chemotherapy

It was proven that Quisinostat increases HDAC1-inhibited E-cadherin expression (at the low concentrations of 30 nM) which increases susceptibility to epidermal growth factor inhibitors in case of non-small-cell lung cancer and stops proliferation of paclitaxel-resistant cells. Thus, besides its own efficacy, which can potentially lead to better results of polychemotherapy and increase the mean time to progression, it may be demonstrated that Quisinostat leads to sustained tumor sensitivity to platinum drugs and possibly to resensitiztion in case of acquired or primary resistance. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of Quisinostat in multiple ascending doses and establish its maximum tolerated dose (MTD), administered in combination with standard backbone chemotherapy, as follows: Gemcitabine + Cisplatin in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (second line) and Paclitaxel + Carboplatin in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (second line) and in patients with ovarian cancer (second and subsequent lines). MTD is defined as maximum dose at which DLT occurs in no more than 1 patient of 6. Secondary objectives are: • Study of pharmacokinetics (PK) of multiple dosing of Quisinostat administered in combination with chemotherapy, as follows: Gemcitabine + Cisplatin in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (second line) and Paclitaxel + Carboplatin in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (second line) and in patients with ovarian cancer (second and subsequent lines) Preliminary estimation of possible effect of the drug, added to chemotherapy, on tumor growth.