Gemcitabine and Monoclonal Antibody Therapy in Treating Patients With Metastatic Cancer of the Pancreas

December 18, 2013 updated by: Brown University

Herceptin (NSC #688097) and Gemcitabine for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancers That Overexpress HER-2/NEU

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies such as trastuzumab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Combining monoclonal antibody therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of gemcitabine and trastuzumab in treating patients who have metastatic cancer of the pancreas that overexpresses HER2/neu.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

  • Determine the response rate and survival of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and overexpression of HER2/neu treated with gemcitabine and trastuzumab.
  • Determine the toxic effects of this regimen in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes once weekly during weeks 1-7. Patients receive trastuzumab IV over 90 minutes once during week 1 and trastuzumab IV over 30-90 minutes once weekly during weeks 2-8.

Patients with stable or responding disease receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes once weekly during weeks 1-3 and trastuzumab IV over 30 minutes once weekly during weeks 1-4. Courses repeat every 4 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year and then every 6 months thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A maximum of 41 patients will be accrued for this study over 18-24 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

41

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
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
        • Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02111
        • New England Medical Center Hospital
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02135-2997
        • St. Elizabeth's Medical Center
    • New Jersey
      • New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, 08903
        • Cancer Institute Of New Jersey
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10021
        • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213-3489
        • University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
    • Rhode Island
      • Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States, 02860
        • Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02903
        • Rhode Island Hospital
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02912
        • Brown University Oncology Group
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02908-4735
        • Roger Williams Medical Center/BUSM
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030-4009
        • University of Texas - MD Anderson Cancer Center

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

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

  • Histologically proven metastatic pancreatic cancer with overexpression of HER2/neu
  • Patients in whom there is inadequate tissue to evaluate for HER2/neu overexpression but who have elevated serum HER2/neu antigen levels are eligible

  • Radiographically measurable disease

    • May have metastatic disease in which primary lesion is measurable but metastatic lesions are not measurable
    • Ascites is not measurable

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

  • Over 18

Performance status:

  • ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

  • Not specified

Hematopoietic:

  • Granulocyte count at least 1,500/mm3
  • Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3

Hepatic:

  • Bilirubin no greater than 3.0 mg/dL

    • Greater than 3 times normal if increase in bilirubin is due to biliary obstruction from tumor as long as biliary system is stented or bypassed and bilirubin, SGOT, or SGPT is stable or decreasing

  • SGOT no greater than 3 times normal

    • No greater than 5 times normal if liver metastases present OR
    • Greater than 5 times normal if increase in SGOT or SGPT is due to biliary obstruction from tumor as long as biliary system is stented or bypassed and biliary SGOT or SGPT is stable or decreasing

Renal:

  • Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

  • No unstable angina
  • No prior congestive heart failure
  • No prior myocardial infarction
  • LVEF at least 45% by MUGA or echocardiogram

Other:

  • Not pregnant
  • Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

  • No prior trastuzumab
  • No concurrent growth factors

Chemotherapy:

  • No prior anthracyclines
  • No prior gemcitabine except prior low dose (no greater than 300 mg/m2/week) gemcitabine with radiotherapy
  • At least 6 months since prior adjuvant therapy
  • More than 2 weeks since other prior chemotherapy
  • No other concurrent cytotoxic chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

  • Not specified

Radiotherapy:

  • See Chemotherapy
  • More than 2 weeks since prior radiotherapy
  • No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery:

  • Not specified

Other:

  • No other concurrent investigational agents

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

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Brown University

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

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

March 1, 1999

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 1, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 1, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

May 2, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 19, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 18, 2013

Last Verified

December 1, 2002

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CDR0000066940
  • BRUOG-PA-77
  • NCI-T98-0067

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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