More Effective Treatment for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Phil and Pam Gradwell; Flickr

Can a new drug that interrupts a number of cellular processes make standard chemotherapy more effective in people with metastatic pancreatic cancer?

Because pancreatic cancer is very often diagnosed after it has spread, better treatments are needed for metastatic disease. In an international phase II/III clinical trial, researchers are testing the drug SBP-101 in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel to see if the trio of drugs increases overall survival.

How the Drug Works

SBP-101 is a synthetic analogue of polyamine, a molecule that tumor cells depend on to proliferate and growth. SBP-101 inhibits the uptake of polyamine disrupting different cell processes, including cell reproduction and tumor cell spreading. Laboratory studies have shown that the drug accumulates in the exocrine pancreas, making it a promising therapeutic agent to treat pancreatic cancer. In addition, the drug does not seem to impact the pancreatic islet cells, which secrete insulin.

A phase I trial showed promising activity, leading to this expanded study.

How the Trial Works

To join the trial patients must have untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer, including those who have had planned or prior surgery (such as a Whipple procedure) with or without neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. The trial is open in sites around the United States, Europe, Australia, and South Korea.

Participants will be randomly assigned to either an experimental arm or control arm. All patients will receive standard nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine treatment. Those on the experimental arm will receive an additional injection of SBP-101, while those on the control arm will receive an injection of a placebo. Researchers are looking at overall survival, as well as whether the disease progresses and quality of life.

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 EmergingMed Trial Finder for a list of all active pancreatic cancer clinical trials.

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