Drug could better treat late stage pancreatic cancer in Cambridge trial
The early stage trial combines the drug with chemotherapy
People living with late stage pancreatic cancer could be given more effective treatment thanks to a Cambridge trial.
The CRISTAL-APC trial - led by the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and the University of Cambridge - aims to improve treatment for people with stage 4 pancreatic cancer by reducing side effects without reducing efficacy.
As part of the trial, chemotherapy will be combined with a drug known as VP-002, developed based on research performed in Cambridge led by the city's Cancer Research UK Institute.
"Quite a lot of patients don't receive any form of treatment because they're too unwell, so it's important we identify patients earlier, so we have more approaches to manage their cancer better," Dr Bristi Basu, who's leading the trial, said.
What will the trial consist of?
The trial - which started earlier this year - aims to include 120 patients across 15 hospitals across two phases.
The first will look at different doses of VP-002 and chemotherapy to identify which is the safest and most effective combination.
While in the second phase, the combination of chemotherapy and VP-002 will be compared against the current standard treatment of chemotherapy alone.
If successful, larger studies will be needed to prove whether VP-002 should become a standard treatment for late-stage pancreatic cancer.
Researchers have found that VP-002 shuts down a CCR1 receptor, a key protein as a cancer develops inside the body, as the drug makes it harder for the cancer to grow.
Quality of life
Dr Basu - an honorary consultant medical oncologist at CUH and clinical senior research associate in the Department of Oncology at the University of Cambridge - believes the treatment could give people more quality time with family and friends.
"I think it's no point getting more life if it's poor quality, and that's one of the reasons why it's important to see how tolerable your new treatment regimes are," she said.
"We're testing different doses of chemotherapy and seeing what might be an effective dose even if it's a lower dose, and that might mean they have less toxicity associated with the treatment."
Sally's story
Sally Pascall - a retired physiotherapist - has lived with pancreatic cancer for 14 years and helped to design the CRISTAL-APC trial.
Doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital first diagnosed Sally with pancreatic cancer in 2011 after she developed jaundice.
Since she was diagnosed, Sally has had extensive surgery to remove most of the cancer and been treated with two rounds of chemotherapy.
"The current treatments are very hard going; my memories of chemotherapy aren't happy ones, so I think anything that makes it more successful and tolerable is going to be a good thing," she said.
“There are times when the cancer gets on top of you, but living with pancreatic cancer teaches you to make the most of every day."
Challenge to keep patients 'fit enough'
Pancreatic Cancer UK say the disease is the tenth most common cancer in the UK, with around 10,000 people diagnosed each year.
Of these, at least 40% are diagnosed when the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body.
By using VP-002 to weaken the cancer, doctors hope to be able to use a lower dose of chemotherapy, which could mean fewer side effects for patients while still being as effective at treating cancer.
"The idea is to try new therapies and see if it makes a difference and if it doesn't, getting more understanding on why some treatments work and some don't," Dr Basu added.
"The challenge is how to work together - patients, carers, clinical teams - to keep them fit enough so they can access some of these treatments, which we know do cause side effects."
"(As well as) whether we can support them through those effects so they can get a better chance of getting sufficient treatment to have a positive outcome."