Testing Low-Dose Common Chemotherapy (Liposomal Doxorubicin) in Combination With an Anti-Cancer Drug, Peposertib, in Advanced Sarcoma

This phase I trial tests the safety, side effects, and best dose of combination therapy with liposomal doxorubicin and peposertib in treating patients with sarcoma that has spread from where it first started, to other places in the body (metastatic), or cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable) and for which no known cure is available (advanced). Doxorubicin is in a class of medications called anthracyclines. Doxorubicin damages the cell's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and may kill cancer cells. It also blocks a certain enzyme needed for cell division and DNA repair. Liposomal doxorubicin is a form of the anticancer drug doxorubicin that is contained inside very tiny, fat-like particles. Liposomal doxorubicin may have fewer side effects and work better than other forms of the drug. Peposertib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. It may also enhance the activity of chemo- and radiotherapy. There is some pre-clinical evidence in animal models that combining peposertib with liposomal doxorubicin can shrink or stabilize certain types of cancer for longer than either drug alone, but it is not known if this will happen in people. Combination therapy with liposomal doxorubicin and peposertib may be effective in treating patients with advanced sarcoma.