Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers, with less than 15% of patients surviving five years after diagnosis. Even when tumors appear operable, many patients relapse after surgery and chemotherapy. Drs. Rachael Safyan, E. Gabriela Chiorean,and Venu Pillarisetty aim to improve those odds by testing whether adding immunotherapy to current gold standard treatment can increase the chances of a cure.
To date, few immunotherapies have been effective in patients with pancreatic cancer, in part because these tumors are especially skilled at evading the immune system by forming a barrier that keeps immune cells out. But, two immunotherapy drugs – cemiplimab (Libtayo®), which is approved to treat patients with basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and motixafortide (Aphexda®), which is approved to treat patients with multiple myeloma – may help break through that wall.
This new clinical trial will test these two drugs in combination with a chemotherapy regimen called nalirifox (liposomal irinotecan [Onivyde®], 5 fluorouracil /leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) given before surgery. The goal is to shrink tumors, improve surgical outcomes, and prevent relapse. This study represents a critical step toward making immunotherapy effective in one of cancer’s most difficult frontiers.
In addition to the University of Washington, clinical trial sites include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Cincinnati.
Projects and Grants
Randomized phase II study of neoadjuvant NALIRIFOX with and without PD1 and CXCR4 inhibition for potentially resectable pancreatic cancer
Co-Investigators
- E. Gabriela Chiorean, MD
- Venu Pillarisetty, MD
