Active clinical trials for "Pancreatic Neoplasms"

This protocol is part of a larger grant funded by the NCI to create an international research center to study traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). All of the patients enrolled in this study will be treated at the Cancer Hospital, Fudan University, our sister institution in Shanghai, China. No patients will be seen at MDACC. This protocol will be overseen by the Fudan University Institutional Review Board (IRB00002408) which has Federal Wide Assurance through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (Approved: April 25, 2002). The research nurses have received training at MDACC and will receive regular oversight by MDACC personnel. Primary End Point: 1. Determine the efficacy of huachansu as measured by progression free survival at 4 months. Secondary End Points: Examine the feasibility and safety of treatment using huachansu in combination with gemcitabine in patients with pancreatic cancer. Determine clinical efficacy by other measures including tumor response, 6-month survival, and changes in quality of life (QOL) in patients with pancreatic cancer. Monitor patient blood levels of the three main cardiac glycosides that are in huachansu (bufalin, cinobufagin, and resibufogenin). This information will provide evidence to delineate the role of these cardiac glycosides in antitumor activity.

Research Hypothesis: Ipilimumab (an antibody that blocks negative signals to T cells) administered alone or in combination with a pancreatic cancer vaccine (allogeneic pancreatic tumor cells transfected with a GM-CSF gene), has an acceptable safety profile in subjects with locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Primary Objective: To determine the safety profile of ipilimumab alone or in combination with a pancreatic cancer vaccine in subjects with locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Secondary Objectives: To estimate overall survival (OS) which will serve as the primary efficacy signal. To explore an association of T cell responses and immunological responses with OS in patients receiving treatment. To estimate overall response rate (ORR), immune related best overall response rate (irBOR), progression free survival (PFS), and duration of response in patients receiving treatment. To explore an association between immune-related adverse events (IRAEs) and ORR. To measure tumor marker kinetics (CA 19-9) in patients receiving treatment.

The purpose of the phase 2 component of this study is to determine if giving the immune molecule NPC-1C to individuals who have cancer of the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract (colon or rectum) which has not responded to standard treatments can shrink or halt the growth of cancer, and to obtain additional data to study its effect on the immune system. Safety data will also be accumulated and evaluated during this study. NPC-1C is a monoclonal antibody that recognizes a specific tumor target on certain cancers. In laboratory studies, the antibody killed tumor cells in some colon and pancreatic cancers that express the NPC-1C antigen by a process called "antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity" or ADCC.

The purpose of the study is to find out whether the drug celecoxib has beneficial effects on people with pre-cancerous lesions of the pancreas.

This study is designed to establish the safety and efficacy of a combination of Erbitux (cetuximab)/Gemzar (gemcitabine)/radiation in patients with pancreatic cancer.

This is a Phase 2 study being conducted at multiple centers in the United States, Europe and Canada. Patients having pancreatic cancer that is locally advanced or that has spread to other parts of the body (i.e., metastatic) are eligible to participate. Patients must have not had any prior systemic treatment for advanced disease. The purpose of the study is to test whether the angiogenesis inhibitor Axitinib [AG-013736] in combination with gemcitabine is an effective treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer vs. gemcitabine alone by overall survival.

RATIONALE: Calcitriol may cause pancreatic cancer cells to look more like normal cells, and to grow and spread more slowly. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Calcitriol may also help docetaxel work better by making the tumor cells more sensitive to the drug. Giving calcitriol together with docetaxel may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving calcitriol together with docetaxel works in treating patients with metastatic or locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

This study will examine a proposed research treatment which evaluates the addition of oxaliplatin, a chemotherapy agent, to gemcitabine, another chemotherapy agent, and radiation therapy for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer. The researchers have already done studies using gemcitabine and radiation therapy together. They want to build on the information they have from this previous research. The researchers believe that the combination chemotherapy with radiation is worth investigating to treat pancreatic cancer. They will use this study to determine what type of side effects occur with this treatment and to assess how effective the treatment is at controlling the cancer.

This study will examine an investigational (experimental) treatment using gemcitabine, cisplatin, and celecoxib. Preliminary studies have shown that this experimental treatment may be effective in reducing the size of cancerous tumors and/or preventing further tumor growth. This is a phase II clinical trial studying the reactions of the patient's body and their tumor to the combination of gemcitabine, cisplatin, and celecoxib. The purpose of this study is to see if the tumor responds to this treatment and to determine how long the response lasts. This study will also look at what kind of side effects this experimental treatment causes and see how often these side effects occur. Blood levels of celecoxib will be measured to find out how this treatment affects factors (proteins) involved in new blood vessel formation and tumor growth (angiogenesis).

The purpose of the study is to determine the optimal safe and tolerable dose of gemcitabine in combination with once daily or twice daily dose of PTK/ZK in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. The Phase II part of this study planned to determine the antitumor activity of this regimen and its effectiveness of preventing tumor growth and spread.