Cancer Center Seeks Participants for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Trial

Clinical trial available for people recently diagnosed with stage IV metastatic pancreatic cancer

  (Baton Rouge, La.) Each year, more than 800 people in Louisiana are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in Louisiana and 12th in the U.S. Because of these historically high mortality rates from the disease, Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center is currently enrolling patients in the CanStem111P trial who are age 18 and older, and who have been recently diagnosed with stage IV, metastatic pancreatic cancer. CanStem111P is a large, randomized trial evaluating the use of an investigational therapeutic candidate that is hypothesized to affect cancer stem cell pathways in pancreatic cancer. Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center is the only site in Louisiana to offer this trial, which could impact how this deadly form of cancer is treated for generations to come. “With innovative clinical trials like this, we are bringing novel pancreatic cancer care to the region while also contributing to overall efforts to treat the disease,” said Dr. Vince Cataldo, medical oncologist and hematologist at the Cancer Center and a principal investigator in the CanStem111P study. “This is one of many trials we are conducting at the Cancer Center in an effort to provide treatment options for patients with cancer.” The trial will compare the treatment of stage IV, metastatic pancreatic cancer with 1. Standard chemotherapy regimen nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in combination with a new drug, napabucasin, versus treatment with 2. Nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine alone. The purpose of the trial is to evaluate the use of napabucasin in conjunction with the approved standard of care. The trial is being conducted across the United States, Asia, Europe, and Japan, and will include 1,132 participants worldwide. Additional key information on CanStem111P includes:

• The trial is for people who are 18 years or older, and who have been recently diagnosed with stage IV metastatic pancreatic cancer.
• Participants will be randomly placed into one of two treatment groups at the start of the trial, determining which medication they will receive.
• Participants and their doctors will know whether they are taking nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine plus napabucasin, or nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine alone.
• Participants’ study treatment will continue until the participant or their doctor determines study treatment is not helping.
• Patients may decide to stop participating in the trial at any time, for any reason.
• Risks involved in the study include, but are not limited to, possible side effects from medication, as well as risks associated with other study procedures, including blood tests and standard radiographic imaging (CT or MRI scans).

For more information on CanStem111P or other clinical trials, please visit www.marybirdlake.org or contact (225) 215-1353 clinicalresearch@marybird.com.   About Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center As a regional destination for cancer care, Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center offers the most advance technology and services provided by a dedicated team of nationally-recognized oncology experts. The Cancer Center provides best-practice, comprehensive care at every stage of the cancer journey, including disease site-specific multidisciplinary care teams, a robust clinical research program, extensive supportive care services and is the only facility in the Gulf South with the revolutionary Leksell Gamma Knife®Icon™. The American College of Surgeons has named the Cancer Center a recipient of its prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award for three consecutive survey cycles. As a nonprofit organization, donor generosity is essential to sustaining the mission of improving survivorship and lessening the burden of cancer for so many throughout Southeast Louisiana and beyond. For more information on the Cancer Center, and how you can become involved, please visit marybirdlake.org.