Clinical Trials

Pancreatic Cancer

To determine if patients are eligible for a pancreatic cancer clinical trial, the disease must be properly staged with a specialized CT scan (triphasic CT or pancreas protocol CT). This usually requires a discussion with a multidisciplinary tumor board.

After that process, the disease is classified in one of the following stages:

• Resectable (Stage 1-2: surgery is technically possible right now)
• Borderline resectable (Stage 1-2: surgery is possible, but likely need more treatment to improve chances of success),
• Locally advanced (Stage 3: the tumor can’t be removed by surgery but has not yet spread)
• Metastatic (Stage 4, disease has spread beyond the pancreas)

The current pancreatic cancer clinical trials are listed below. Find more information on clinical trials at MD Anderson.

Resectable Pancreatic Cancer

2015-0064:  Chemoradiation vs Chemoradiation + Pembrolizumab: The patient will be randomized to receive either chemoradiation or chemoradiation with immunotherapy prior to surgery.

2019-0549:  Preoperative chemoradiation with a Therapeutic Microbiome pill (MRx0518): This is a phase I trial where all patients will receive 2 weeks of chemoradiation along with a therapeutic probiotic called MRx0518 prior to surgery.

Borderline Resectable/Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

2015-0064:  Chemoradiation vs Chemoradiation + Pembrolizumab: The patient will be randomized to receive either chemoradiation or chemoradiation with immunotherapy prior to surgery.

2018-0881 (Stand Up to Cancer):  National trial testing whether losartan and/or immunotherapy can improve outcomes in addition to chemotherapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)

2019-1001 (Nanobiotix):  A nanoparticle containing hafnium oxide is injected into the pancreatic tumor which could make it more sensitive to radiation therapy.

Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

2018-0349 (EXTEND):  This trial is for patients with 5 metastatic lesions or fewer.  Patients are randomized to receive standard of care chemotherapy or definitive local therapy (can be radiation, surgery, radiofrequency ablation, or a combination thereof) followed by standard of care chemotherapy.