Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas Treated With Panitumumab and Gemcitabine Regimen to Investigate Overall Survival as Primary Endpoint (APPRISE 1)

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men or women ≥ 18 and ≤ 75 years of age
• Histologically or cytologically confirmed pancreatic adenocarcinoma meeting one of the following criteria: Locally advanced unresectable disease, or metastatic disease
• Measurable or unmeasurable disease
• Patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer who have had surgery (exploratory laparotomy, bilary, gastrointestinal bypass) are eligible, if the patient has fully recovered from surgery and ≥ 28 days has passed since the operation. Patients with history of pancreatoduodenectomy are eligible provided that there is radiographically documented disease recurrence
• Karnofsky performance score ≥ 60 %
• Life expectancy of ≥ 12 weeks as documented by the investigator
• Hematologic function, as follows: Absolute neutrophils count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 x 10^9/L, platelet count ≥ 100 x 10^9/L, and hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
• Renal function, as follows: Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL
• Hepatic function, as follows: Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 x upper limit of normal (ULN) (if liver metastases ≤ 5 x ULN), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 3 x ULN (if liver metastases ≤ 5 x ULN), and total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL. Patients with history of biliary obstruction are eligible after intervention, once this criteria is met.
• Metabolic function, as follows: Magnesium ≥ lower limit of normal, and calcium ≥ lower limit of normal
• Competent to comprehend, sign, and date an International Ethics Committee/Institutional Review board (IEC/IRB)-approved informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

• Islet cell or acinar cell carcinoma or cystadenocarcinoma
• History or known presence of central nervous system (CNS) mestatases
• History of another primary cancer, except: Curatively treated cervical carcinoma in situ, or curatively resected non-melanomatous skin cancer, or other primary solid tumor curatively treated with no known active disease present and no treatment administered for ≥ 3 years prior to enrollment
• Other concurrent anticancer chemotherapy
• Concomitant malignant disease
• Prior radiotherapy ≤ 14 days, or if subjects has not recovered from radiotherapy
• Uncontrolled seizure disorder or other serious neurological diseases
• Any co-morbid disease that would increase risk of toxicity
• Prior anti-Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) antibody or Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy (eg, cetuximab, bevacizumab) or treatment with small molecule EGFr inhibitors (eg, gefitinib, erlotinib, lapatinib)
• Adjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy ≥ 24 weeks prior to enrollment
• Prior treatment with gemcitabine
• Patients requiring chronic use of immunosuppressive agents (eg, methotrexate, cyclosporine, corticosteroids)
• Regular use (as determined by the investigator) of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents
• Known allergy to panitumumab or any components of panitumumab formulation or gemcitabine
• Recent infection requiring a course of systemic anti-infectives that was completed ≤ 14 days before enrollment (exception can be made at the judgment of the investigator for oral treatment of an uncomplicated urinary tract infection [UTI])
• Clinically significant cardiovascular disease (including myocardial infarction, unstable angina, symptomatic congestive heart failure, serious uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia) ≤ 1 year prior to enrollment
• History of interstitial lung disease (eg, pneumonitis or pulmonary fibrosis or evidence of interstitial lung disease) on screening chest x-ray or computed tomography (CT) scan
• Pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, or other significant thromboembolic event ≤ 8 weeks prior to enrollment
• Pre-existing bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy with the exception of well-controlled chronic anticoagulation (eg, coumadin or heparin therapy). Patients receiving coumadin should have their International Normalized Ratio (INR) monitored closely
• History of any medical or psychiatric condition or addictive disorder, or laboratory abnormality that, in the opinion of the investigator, may increase the risks associated with study participation or study drug administration or may interfere with the conduct of the study or interpretation of study results
• Patient unwilling or unable to comply with study requirements
• Patient who is pregnant or breast feeding
• Man or woman of child bearing potential (women who are post menopausal < 52 weeks, not surgically sterilized, or not abstinent) who do not consent to use adequate contraceptive precautions (per institutional standard of care) during the course of the study and for 24 weeks for women and 4 weeks for men, after the last dose of gemcitabine or panitumumab, whichever dose is last
• Known positive test(s) for human immunodeficiency virus infection, hepatitis C virus, chronic active hepatitis B infection
• Major surgery ≤ 28 days or minor surgery ≤ 14 days prior to enrollment
• Documented history of alcohol, cocaine or intravenous drug abuse ≤ 6 months of enrollment