Active clinical trials for "Pancreatic Neoplasms"

Determining the efficacy, based upon overall survival, of ruxolitinib added to capecitabine for the treatment of advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Malignant obstructive jaundice is a common complication of advanced stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. Over 50% of common bile duct (CBD) obstructions are due to malignancy, and the majority of neoplasms are unresectable at the time of diagnosis. Biliary drainage with placement of self-expanding metal stents (SEMSs) for palliation is the therapy of choice in this set of patients. Conventional stent placement provides palliation for a limited duration only and these subjects come back with obstructive jaundice. Due to age, comorbidities, malignant disease status, it is better to conduct reduced number of therapeutic endoscopies to reduce the number of complications. Additionally, only biliary stenting itself may provide only palliation, and not increase the duration of survival. Currently, there are only two therapies. Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been evaluated as a palliative and potential neoadjuvant modality. Therefore if RFA confers similar benefits, then it may potentially be used as an alternative to PDT, given the lower adverse event profile. More recently, RFA has been recognized for its potential in palliative treatment of malignant biliary strictures. Based on the published data, RFA provides palliation and seems to increase survival duration in pancreatic cancer. Our own limited experience shows the same. The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to definitely confirm the benefit of Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in providing increased survival time and quality of life in patients with non-resectable cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic cancer. These benefits will improve clinical practice by making RFA the new standard of care for unresectable cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and pancreatic cancer (PC). It will also enhance scientific knowledge by opening the door for new opportunities, e.g. RFA as a potential use for neoadjuvant therapy or as a downstaging agent for surgically resectable patients.

This is a prospective, randomized phase II trial. Patients diagnosed with borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment arms, either mFOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. After three cycles of treatment in the gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel arm and 6 cycles in the mFOLFIRINOX arm, patients will be restaged with CT scans and if they remain borderline resectable or have improvement of their disease They will then proceed to SBRT followed by surgical resection.

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and pharmacokinetic profile of nab®-paclitaxel (ABI-007) plus gemcitabine in subjects with advanced pancreatic cancer who have cholestatic hyperbilirubinemia secondary to bile duct obstruction.

The current trial will provide important data on the recurrence rates and patterns of failure using state of the art target agent, chemotherapy and proton beam technology for patients with Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer (LAPC). A median survival of 10 months or greater would be considered evidence of a regimen potentially worthy of further study as a new treatment paradigm in one arm in a future phase III trial.

Malignant bile duct obstruction is a common sequela of pancreatic cancers or distal bile duct cancers, and its development can hinder the use of chemotherapy, decrease patient quality of life, and decrease survival. To relieve obstructive jaundice as a result of the obstruction, endoscopic stent placement is usually required. The use self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) have been shown to result in a longer patency times as compared with plastic stents. However, despite improvements in materials and stent design, stent obstruction still occurs in 13% to 44% of the patients. Tumor in-growth is the most common mechanism of stent obstruction. Recently, the use of endoscopic biliary radiofrequency ablation (EBRFA) have been described in patients suffering from inoperable malignant distal common bile duct (CBD) obstruction. The procedure uses heat energy to cause local tumour tissue death, resulting in re-opening of the bile duct lumen. The procedure has the potential of reducing the rate of stent obstruction after SEMS and also prolonging survival. The safety profile appears to be comparable that of placement of SEMS alone without added complications (<10%). The aim of the current study is to compare the efficacy of EBRFA with the addition of SEMS to SEMS alone in a randomized controlled trial.We hypothesize that the application of EBRFA can reduce recurrent biliary obstruction after SEMS.

This randomized phase II trial studies how well high or standard intensity radiochemotherapy after gemcitabine hydrochloride and paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation (nab-paclitaxel) work compared with gemcitabine hydrochloride and nab-paclitaxel alone in treating patients with pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine hydrochloride and nab-paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing or by stopping them from spreading. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs, such as capecitabine, may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Giving radiation therapy in different ways and adding chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. It is not yet known whether high intensity radiochemotherapy after gemcitabine hydrochloride and nab-paclitaxel is more effective than standard intensity radiochemotherapy after gemcitabine hydrochloride and nab-paclitaxel or gemcitabine hydrochloride and nab-paclitaxel alone in treating pancreatic cancer.

Famitinib is a tyrosin-inhibitor agent targeting at c-Kit, VEGFR2, PDGFR, VEGFR3, Flt1 and Flt3. Phase I study has shown that the toxicity is manageable. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of Famitinib in patients with advanced or metastatic Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor.

People with primary metastatic pancreatic cancer will be treated with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in combination with an investigational agent called necuparanib (M402). It is made from heparin, which is a well known blood thinner. Blood thinners have been shown in prior animal and human studies to have anti-cancer effects. Necuparanib has been re-engineered from heparin to have much lower blood thinning activity while keeping the anti-tumor activity. The investigators are testing whether necuparanib administered in combination with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine may be more effective than nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine.

PURPOSE: To determine the prognostic properties of a comprehensive evaluation of body composition and physical function in patients with GI-HEP cancer from point of diagnosis and throughout the treatment trajectory. GI-HEP: Patients with tumors of the upper gastrointestinal or hepatobiliary tract, specifically tumors of the esophagus, gastro-esophageal junction, stomach, primary tumors of the liver or biliary tract, as well as colorectal liver metastasis or tumors of the pancreas.