Investigating a Drug Used for Other Cancers

clear test tubes with black caps and wavy lines on them sit upright in a solid metal rack, with red, white, and blue light shined on them

University of Liverpool Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Photostream; Flickr

Can a drug used to treat cancer of the blood and bone marrow work for uncontrolled pancreatic cancer?

Researchers are adding the drug decitabine to gemcitabine, a commonly used pancreatic cancer chemotherapy drug, in a clinical trial for patients with advanced cancer that is not responding to treatment. The trial is also for patients with soft tissue cancers called sarcomas.

Drug Alters Cell Behavior

Decitabine blocks the action of a protein that modifies the DNA. This results in the reactivation of genes that stop cancer cell growth and division. It is paired with gemcitabine, which is converted into two metabolites that cause cell death. One reduces the number of molecules available to make DNA; the other shortens the DNA strands.

Information about this Trial

This trial is to determine the toxicity of decitabine. Participants will be given increasing doses to see how they respond. The trial is also to assess the response of the tumor to treatment. All participants in this trial will receive the drug combination being studied.

We encourage you to consult your physicians for clinical trials that may be right for you. The website ClinicalTrials.gov provides more details about this trial as well as many others. You can visit the Let’s Win Trial Finder for a listing of all active pancreatic cancer clinical trials.

This trial is active, but no longer recruiting participants.