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Phase I Study of Noni in Cancer Patients


Phase 1
N/A
N/A
Not Enrolling
Both
Neoplasms, Neoplasm Metastasis

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Trial Information

Phase I Study of Noni in Cancer Patients


This Phase I study of noni in cancer patients represents a first step in the systematic
study of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practices that draw on Asian and
Pacific Island cultural traditions of healing to control cancer and its related symptoms.
Noni, extracted from Morinda citifolia or the Indian mulberry plant, is included in the
traditional pharmacopoeias of Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders and Asian
populations, and has been used to treat various diseases for hundreds of years. It is now
commonly taken by cancer patients based on purported usefulness in the disease although
there is little scientific evidence to either support or refute these claims. A large
marketing enterprise and at least eleven different suppliers supports the food supplement's
popularity. The broad long range objectives which this study will initiate are to define the
usefulness of noni extracts for cancer patients. The hypothesis to be tested is that noni at
a specified dosing provides cancer patients with a sufficient benefit to toxicity profile to
be useful as a therapeutic. Specific aims of this study are: 1. Determine the maximum
tolerated dose of capsules containing 500mg of freeze-dried noni fruit extract. 2. Define
toxicities associated with the ingestion of noni. 3. Collect preliminary information on the
efficacy of noni in respect to anti-tumor and symptom control properties to help select
specific patients for subsequent Phase II studies. 4. Identify chemical constituents of the
extract that can be used to characterize the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of noni
food supplement.

Inclusion Criteria


Patients must:

- Have a pathologically or cytologically verified diagnosis of cancer and evidence of
disease for which no standard treatment is available;

- Be ambulatory, capable of self care, and up and about more than 50% of waking hours;

- Have completed all other cancer treatments at least four weeks previously;

- Have been on any medications considered by their physician to be essential to their
health (e.g. lipid lowering, antidiabetic , antihypertensive) at consistent dosing at
least four weeks prior to starting noni;

- Agree to take no other CAM treatments while taking noni and agree to keep a diary,
recording all medications taken daily, including all non prescription products and to
record the time that noni is taken.

Type of Study:

Interventional

Study Design:

Primary Purpose: Treatment

Principal Investigator

Brian F. Issell, MD, FRACP

Investigator Role:

Principal Investigator

Investigator Affiliation:

University of Hawaii

Authority:

United States: Federal Government

Study ID:

R21 AT000896-01

NCT ID:

NCT00033878

Start Date:

November 2001

Completion Date:

June 2006

Related Keywords:

  • Neoplasms
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Advanced Cancer
  • Neoplasms
  • Neoplasm Metastasis

Name

Location

University of Hawaii, Cancer Research Center Honolulu, Hawaii  96813