Minocycline Hydrochloride in Reducing Symptom Burden in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients with a pathologically proven diagnosis of CRC seen either at MD Anderson or Lyndon B Johnson General Hospital (LBJ)
• Patients who qualify for oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy (in the adjuvant or metastatic setting) and are likely to receive at least 3 months of oxaliplatin
• Patients who speak English or Spanish
• Patients with a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) version (v) 4 sensory neuropathy score of 0
• Serum creatinine must be < 1.5 times the upper limit of the institutional normal range; test results must be no more than 3 months old
• No prior renal disease that in the opinion of the attending physician would make the patient ineligible to receive the study drug
• Total bilirubin must be < 2.0 times the upper limit of the institutional normal range; test results must be no more than 3 months old
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) must be < 3.0 times the upper limit of the institutional normal range; test results must be no more than 3 months old
• Patients willing and able to review, understand, and provide written consent

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients continuously taking any minocycline within the last 15 days; patients who have conditions that potentially preclude use of minocycline as determined by the treating physician
• Patients continuously taking systemic steroids within the last 15 days
• Patients with autoimmune disorders (for example, systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis), who have been treated in the last 3 years
• Patients who are pregnant; the absence of pregnancy will be confirmed by negative urine test
• Hypersensitivity to any tetracycline, or a history of other allergies or drug reactions that in the treating physician's judgment make the patient inappropriate for this study
• Patients receiving vitamin K antagonist (warfarin)
• Patients with a body mass index (BMI) > 40 (obese class III criteria)
• Patients who will receive cetuximab or other targeted therapy where physicians may use topical doxycycline to reduce the rash associated with therapy