Ganitumab shows promise in early-phase trials for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Up to 42 study participants at institutions across the United States will be enrolled in the trial and will receive 2 months of induction (high-dose) chemotherapy with gemcitabine and ganitumab to provide early systemic treatment and also to select the study participants most likely to benefit from chemoradiation. Previous RTOG studies, such as RTOG 0411, have shown no increase in toxicity during chemoradiation when induction chemotherapy is first administered.

Following induction chemotherapy, study participants will receive ganitumab-first investigating doses of 12mg/kg and, if tolerated, subsequently 20 mg/kg-along with standard chemoradiation treatment. Upon treatment completion, participants will continue to receive maintenance doses of gemcitabine and ganitumab until tumor progression.

According to Walter Curran, MD, RTOG Group Chair and Executive Director of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, "Amgen is conducting a phase III trial of ganitumab in metastatic pancreatic cancer. If trial results for treatment of metastatic disease are positive, moving forward with a randomized phase II trial for patients with locally advanced disease would be indicated. In this scenario, the RTOG 1102 trial results will expedite further evaluation of this targeted therapy."

Source: American College of Radiology