Chemotherapy Compared to Biological Therapy in Treating Patients With Cancer of the Pancreas

December 18, 2013 updated by: Meyer Pharmaceuticals

An Open Label Randomized Trial Comparing the Safety and Efficacy of Systemic Chemotherapy (Gemcitabine) to Immunotherapy (CYTOIMPLANT - Intra Tumor Implants of Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Sensitized Against Patient Alloantigens by Mixed Lymphocyte Culture) as First Line Therapy for Patients With Unresectable Locally Advanced, and Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Biological therapies use different ways to stimulate the immune system and stop cancer cells from growing. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy is more effective than biological therapy in treating patients with cancer of the pancreas.

PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to compare the effectiveness of gemcitabine with biological therapy in treating patients who have cancer of the pancreas that cannot be surgically removed.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the efficacy of CYTOIMPLANT (intratumor implants of allogeneic peripheral blood mononuclear cells sensitized against patient alloantigens by mixed lymphocyte culture) vs gemcitabine in patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. II. Compare the overall survival, progression free survival, objective tumor response, time to treatment failure, and quality of life of these patients. III. Compare the safety and toxicities of CYTOIMPLANT vs gemcitabine in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, open label, multicenter study. Patients are randomly assigned (2:1 ratio in favor of CYTOIMPLANT arm) to one of two treatment arms. Arm I: Patients receive gemcitabine IV weekly for 7 weeks, followed by 1 week of rest. In subsequent courses, patients then receive gemcitabine IV weekly for 3 weeks followed by a week of rest. Courses are repeated every 4 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Arm II: Patients undergo leukapheresis to collect lymphocytes. Patient lymphocytes are mixed with donor lymphocytes at the sponsor labs. The mixture is implanted into the tumor using endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle injection. This process may be repeated in the fifth month using different donor's lymphocytes. Follow up assessments may include physical exams, lab tests, CT scans, and quality of life assessments at 4 weeks and at 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12 months from the date of randomization. Patients are then contacted every 3 months to assess status.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 150 patients will be accrued for this study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

150

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Irvine, California, United States, 92614
        • Meyer Pharmaceuticals, LLC

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically proven stage II, III, or IV pancreatic cancer that is unresectable No symptomatic third space fluid collection (e.g., ascites, pleural effusion)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: Karnofsky 70-100% Life expectancy: At least 3 months Hematopoietic: WBC at least 3,500/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hematocrit at least 33% Hemoglobin at least 10.5 g/dL Hepatic: Bilirubin no greater than 3.0 mg/dL SGOT or SGPT no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal Renal: Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL Cardiovascular: No history of myocardial infarction within past 3 months No congestive heart failure Other: HIV negative No other prior malignancy except basal cell skin cancer No persistent fever greater than 102 degrees F (39 degrees C) unless caused by the pancreatic cancer Not pregnant or nursing Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: No prior biologic therapy (e.g., interferons, interleukins) Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy Endocrine therapy: No concurrent systemic steroids Radiotherapy: No prior radiotherapy Surgery: At least 30 days since prior surgery Decompressive surgery and endoscopic stenting (including expandable wire stents) allowed to relieve symptoms of disease Other: At least 30 days since prior investigational therapy Palliative care to relieve symptoms of disease allowed, including pain management and celiac block by endoscopic ultrasonography or percutaneously

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Meyer Pharmaceuticals

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Michael F. O'Neill, Meyer Pharmaceuticals

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

December 1, 1998

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 1, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 13, 2004

First Posted (Estimate)

September 14, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 19, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 18, 2013

Last Verified

May 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CDR0000066912
  • MEYER-AIT-PAN-201

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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