New hope
for pancreatic cancer patients Cancer clinical trials open at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center BY BETH LIPHAM
I
nnovative treatments and a brighter sense of hope are on the horizon for pancreatic cancer patients as Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert begins a series of clinical trials. Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers of our time, with approximately 42,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States resulting in 35,000 deaths. Diagnosing pancreatic cancer is difficult because symptoms such as low back pain, indigestion and gastrointestinal complaints could be mistaken for other common conditions such as peptic ulcer, gastritis or arthritis. Unfortunately, once detected, pancreatic cancer is often advanced and not curable. Only 20 percent of patients are candidates for surgery, and only 20 percent of those that have surgery survive up to 5 years after diagnosis.
research efforts with some more recent studies showing promise,” Dragovich says. “A combination regimen called FOLFIRINOX, for the first time extended the survival of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer to beyond 11 months. This is now accepted as a good option for some patients (those with a good performance status). And adding a new drug, nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane), to the current standard therapy (gemcitabine) also appears to extend survival of patients with metastatic disease. “The complete results from this trial will be presented at a national oncology meeting (ASCO GI Symposium) in January,” say Dragovich, who participated as an investigator in this trial. “These are incremental but significant improvements for our patients.”
RESULTS ARE ENCOURAGING PATIENT ACCESS Tomislav Dragovich M.D., division chief of Medical Oncology and Hematology, feels patients with this deadly disease should be offered access to clinical trials because standard therapies are just not good enough. Current research focuses on breaking down the complex genetic code of pancreatic cancer and finding new anti-cancer drugs (“targeted therapies”) for pancreatic cancer. “We are just beginning to see the fruition of years of continued
The Banner MD Anderson team is encouraged by the pace of new research concepts introduced for patients with pancreatic cancer. Some of the research treatments are now available at Banner MD Anderson. Dragovich is the principal investigator on two such trials for patients in whom the standard treatment has failed. The first trial investigates an anti-cancer drug called MM398. This is a chemotherapy drug packaged in nano-liposomes, which coat the drug to allow for better penetration inside
Tomislav Dragovich M.D. pancreatic cancer tissue. The second trial is a radio-immunotherapy trial. It exploits a novel approach where antibodies are tagged with a radioactive head that links to a protein (PAM4) on the surface of the pancreatic cell much like a “lock and key” system. “The antibody attaches to the cancer cell and unloads the radiation to selectively target and kill cancer cells,” Dragovich says. While these are promising and intriguing concepts, they still need to be proven in clinical trials. “We are proud to offer state-of-the art treatment but also to go beyond that and provide access to clinical trials to patients suffering from this disease. We are encouraged with some recent results generated by clinical trials,” he says. To refer a patient, contact Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center at 480-256-3433. To learn more about pancreatic cancer therapy, read Dragovich’s recent review online at emedicine.medscape.com/ article/280605-treatment. He can be reached at 480-256-3335. BannerMDAnderson.com
5