Active clinical trials for "Pancreatic Neoplasms"

People with pancreatic cancer usually have a large amount of the cancer in the area of the pancreas and around it when they are diagnosed with it. Or their cancer has spread (metastasized)outside that area of the abdomen and is not able to be surgically removed (resected). For patients with metastatic disease, one standard treatment is the combination of gemcitabine and erlotinib. This combination has shown slightly longer survival compared to getting gemcitabine alone. For patients with localized but unresectable disease, the standard treatment remains controversial. Early studies showed that chemotherapy and radiation together was better than either one used alone. The greatest benefit of external beam radiotherapy may be after a period of full-dose chemotherapy alone, to help the rapid spread. A problem of beginning treatment with standard radiotherapy is that the doses of chemotherapy usually have to be reduced sometimes by half. Studies have already shown that low dose radiotherapy (LDRT)is safe. This study will evaluate the safety of LDRT instead of standard doses with full dosing of gemcitabine and erlotinib in patients with locally advanced or limited metastatic pancreatic cancer. Patients will be enrolled in groups of 3 to 6 each with a slightly higher dose of LDRT and erlotinib. For patients with locally advanced disease, this protocol also may help because most patients develop and die from spread to the liver and abdominal cavity.

This study is being conducted to find out what effects (good and bad) that a combination of treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery has on you and your pancreatic cancer. The chemotherapy drugs to be used: Gemcitabine, Docetaxel, Oxaliplatin, 5-FU and alpha-interferon. The goal is to decrease the size of the tumor, so that removal by surgery can be performed. Current treatments for this stage of pancreas cancer offer less than ideal results, with little opportunity for treatment with curative intent.

The purpose of the Phase 1 portion of this study was to determine the dose of LY2603618 that can be safely administered 24 hours after gemcitabine treatment. This dose was then used for the Phase 2 portion of the study. The Phase 2 portion of the study evaluated whether LY2603618, when administered 24 hours after gemcitabine therapy, was an effective treatment for participants with pancreatic cancer.

Primary objective: to evaluate whether the addition of sunitinib prolongates the Progression-Free Survival (PFS) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer receiving first-line gemcitabine chemotherapy.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether S-1 is effective in slowing tumor activity in participants with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer who have not had chemotherapy. The study is also looking at the safety of S-1.

This study will compare the efficacy and safety of escalating versus standard doses to rash of Tarceva, in combination with gemcitabine, in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. During a 4 week run-in period, all patients will receive Tarceva 100mg/day po plus gemcitabine 1000mg/m2 iv on days 1, 8,15 and 22. After 4 weeks, patients who have not developed rash, or only develop grade 1 rash, will be randomized to one of 2 groups. Group 1 will receive a starting dose of Tarceva 150mg po daily, increased in steps of 50mg every 2 weeks up to a maximum of 250mg/day po, until development of grade 2 rash or other dose-limiting toxicity. Group 2 will continue to receive Tarceva 100mg/day po. All patients will continue to receive gemcitabine 1000mg/m2 iv on days 1, 8 and 15 of each 4 week cycle. The anticipated time on study treatment is until disease progression, and the target sample size is 100-500 individuals.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as irinotecan, fluorouracil, and leucovorin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of irinotecan when given together with fluorouracil and leucovorin in treating patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer.

This study aims to seek evidence that activation of certain cells of the immune system will be safe and well tolerated in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Preliminary evidence of clinical anti-tumor activity will be sought.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and capecitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Erlotinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. It is not yet known which regimen of chemotherapy with or without erlotinib and/or radiation therapy is most effective in treating pancreatic cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying giving gemcitabine together with or without capecitabine and/or radiation therapy to see how well it works compared with giving gemcitabine together with or without erlotinib in treating patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.

This study is designed to identify biomarkers which may predict improvement in progression free survival from treatment with Tarceva, in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who failed one prior regimen of standard chemotherapy or who are deemed unsuitable for chemotherapy. It will also assess the efficacy and safety of Tarceva in this patient population. Patients will be randomized to receive either Tarceva 150mg/day po, or placebo po daily. Tumor tissue will be used for biomarker analysis. The anticipated time on study treatment is until disease progression, and the target sample size is 100-500 individuals.