Effect of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields, 150 kHz) as Front-Line Treatment of Locally-advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Concomitant With Gemcitabine and Nab-paclitaxel (PANOVA-3)

Overview

About this study

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness and safety of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, for front line treatment of locally-advanced pancreatic denocarcinoma.The device is an experimental, portable, battery operated device for chronic administration of alternating electric fields (termed TTFields or TTF) to the region of the malignant tumor, by means of surface, insulated electrode arrays.

Participation eligibility

Participant eligibility includes age, gender, type and stage of disease, and previous treatments or health concerns. Guidelines differ from study to study, and identify who can or cannot participate. There is no guarantee that every individual who qualifies and wants to participate in a trial will be enrolled. Contact the study team to discuss study eligibility and potential participation.

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years of age and older.
  • Life expectancy of ≥ 3 months.
  • Histological/cytological diagnosis of de novo adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.
  • Unresectable, locally advanced stage disease according to the following criteria:
  • Head/uncinate process:
    • Solid tumor contact with SMA > 180°;
    • Solid tumor contact with the CA > 180°;
    • Solid tumor contact with the first jejunal SMA branch;
  • Unreconstructible SMV/PV due to tumor involvement or occlusion (can be d/t tumor or bland thrombus).
  • Contact with most proximal draining jejunal branch into SMV.
  • Body and tail:
    • Solid tumor contact of > 180° with the SMA or CA;
    • Solid tumor contact with the CA and aortic involvement;
    • Unreconstructible SMV/PV due to tumor involvement or occlusion (can be d/t tumor or bland thrombus).
  • No distant metastasis, including non-regional lymph node metastasis.
  • No borderline resectable (per Al-Hawary MM, et al., Radiology 201414).
  • ECOG score 0-2.
  • Amenable and assigned by the investigator to receive therapy with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel.
  • Able to operate the NovoTTF-100L(P) System independently or with the help of a caregiver.
  • Signed informed consent form for the study protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior palliative treatment (e.g. surgery, radiation) to the tumor
  • Cancer requiring anti-tumor treatment within the 5 years before inclusion, excluding treated stage I prostate cancer, in situ cervical or uterus cancer, in situ breast cancer and non-melanomatous skin cancer.
  • Serious co-morbidities:
  • Clinically significant (as determined by the investigator) hematological, hepatic and renal dysfunction, defined as:
    • Neutrophil count < 1.5 x 10^9/L and platelet count < 100 x 10^9/L;
    • Bilirubin > 1.5 x Upper Limit of Normal (ULN); AST and/or ALT > 2.5 x ULN; and
    • Serum creatinine > 1.5 x ULN.
  • History of significant cardiovascular disease unless the disease is well controlled. Significant cardiac disease includes second/third degree heart block; significant ischemic heart disease; poorly controlled hypertension; congestive heart failure of the New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II or worse (slight limitation of physical activity; comfortable at rest, but ordinary activity results in fatigue, palpitation or dyspnea).
  • History of arrhythmia that is symptomatic or requires treatment. Patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter controlled by medication are not excluded from participation in the trial.
  • History of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) within 6 months prior to randomization or that is not stable.
  • Active infection or serious underlying medical condition that would impair the ability of the patient to receive protocol therapy.
  • History of any psychiatric condition that might impair patient's ability to understand or comply with the requirements of the study or to provide consent.
  • Concurrent anti-tumor therapy beyond gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel
  • Implantable electronic medical devices in the torso, such as pacemakers
  • Known severe hypersensitivities to medical adhesives or hydrogel, or to one of the chemotherapies used in this trial.
  • Pregnancy or breast-feeding (female patients with reproductive potential and their partners must accept to use effective contraception throughout the entire study period and for 3 months after the end of treatment). All patients who are capable of becoming pregnant must take a pregnancy test which is negative within 72 hours before beginning treatment. The definition of effective contraception is left up to the decision of the investigator.
  • Unable to follow the protocol for medical, psychological, familial, geographic or other reasons.
  • Admitted to an institution by administrative or court order.

Participating Mayo Clinic locations

Study statuses change often. Please contact the study team for the most up-to-date information regarding possible participation.

Mayo Clinic Location Status Contact

Jacksonville, Fla.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Hani Babiker, M.D.

Closed for enrollment

Contact information:

Cancer Center Clinical Trials Referral Office

855-776-0015

More information

Publications

  • Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) is an antimitotic treatment modality that interferes with glioblastoma cell division and organelle assembly by delivering low-intensity alternating electric fields to the tumor. Read More on PubMed
  • Glioblastoma is the most devastating primary malignancy of the central nervous system in adults. Most patients die within 1 to 2 years of diagnosis. Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) are a locoregionally delivered antimitotic treatment that interferes with cell division and organelle assembly. Read More on PubMed
  • Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) are low intensity, intermediate frequency, alternating electric fields. TTFields are a unique anti-mitotic treatment modality delivered in a continuous, noninvasive manner to the region of a tumor. It was previously postulated that by exerting directional forces on highly polar intracellular elements during mitosis, TTFields could disrupt the normal assembly of spindle microtubules. However there is limited evidence directly linking TTFields to an effect on microtubules. Here we report that TTFields decrease the ratio between polymerized and total tubulin, and prevent proper mitotic spindle assembly. The aberrant mitotic events induced by TTFields lead to abnormal chromosome segregation, cellular multinucleation, and caspase dependent apoptosis of daughter cells. The effect of TTFields on cell viability and clonogenic survival substantially depends upon the cell division rate. We show that by extending the duration of exposure to TTFields, slowly dividing cells can be affected to a similar extent as rapidly dividing cells. Read More on PubMed
  • Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) are a non-invasive cancer treatment modality approved for the treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma. The present study determined the efficacy and mechanism of action of TTFields in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer. Read More on PubMed
  • NovoTTF-100A is a portable device delivering low-intensity, intermediate frequency electric fields via non-invasive, transducer arrays. Tumour Treatment Fields (TTF), a completely new therapeutic modality in cancer treatment, physically interfere with cell division. Read More on PubMed
  • Tumor treating fields (TTFields) are low intensity, intermediate frequency, alternating electric fields used to treat cancerous tumors. This novel treatment modality effectively inhibits the growth of solid tumors in vivo and has shown promise in pilot clinical trials in patients with advanced stage solid tumors. TTFields were tested for their potential to inhibit metastatic spread of solid tumors to the lungs in two animal models: (1) Mice injected with malignant melanoma cells (B16F10) into the tail vein, (2) New Zealand White rabbits implanted with VX-2 tumors within the kidney capsule. Mice and rabbits were treated using two-directional TTFields at 100-200 kHz. Animals were either monitored for survival, or sacrificed for pathological and histological analysis of the lungs. The total number of lung surface metastases and the absolute weight of the lungs were both significantly lower in TTFields treated mice then in sham control mice. TTFields treated rabbits survived longer than sham control animals. This extension in survival was found to be due to an inhibition of metastatic spread, seeding or growth in the lungs of TTFields treated rabbits compared to controls. Histologically, extensive peri- and intra-tumoral immune cell infiltration was seen in TTFields treated rabbits only. These results raise the possibility that in addition to their proven inhibitory effect on the growth of solid tumors, TTFields may also have clinical benefit in the prevention of metastatic spread from primary tumors. Read More on PubMed
  • We have recently shown that low intensity, intermediate frequency, electric fields inhibit by an anti-microtubule mechanism of action, cancerous cell growth in vitro. Using implanted electrodes, these fields were also shown to inhibit the growth of dermal tumors in mice. The present study extends these findings to additional cell lines [human breast carcinoma; MDA-MB-231, and human non-small-cell lung carcinoma (H1299)] and to animal tumor models (intradermal B16F1 melanoma and intracranial F-98 glioma) using external insulated electrodes. These findings led to the initiation of a pilot clinical trial of the effects of TTFields in 10 patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM). Median time to disease progression in these patients was 26.1 weeks and median overall survival was 62.2 weeks. These time to disease progression and OS values are more than double the reported medians of historical control patients. No device-related serious adverse events were seen after >70 months of cumulative treatment in all of the patients. The only device-related side effect seen was a mild to moderate contact dermatitis beneath the field delivering electrodes. We conclude that TTFields are a safe and effective new treatment modality which effectively slows down tumor growth in vitro, in vivo and, as demonstrated here, in human cancer patients. Read More on PubMed
  • Low-intensity, intermediate-frequency (100-300 kHz), alternating electric fields, delivered by means of insulated electrodes, were found to have a profound inhibitory effect on the growth rate of a variety of human and rodent tumor cell lines (Patricia C, U-118, U-87, H-1299, MDA231, PC3, B16F1, F-98, C-6, RG2, and CT-26) and malignant tumors in animals. This effect, shown to be nonthermal, selectively affects dividing cells while quiescent cells are left intact. These fields act in two modes: arrest of cell proliferation and destruction of cells while undergoing division. Both effects are demonstrated when such fields are applied for 24 h to cells undergoing mitosis that is oriented roughly along the field direction. The first mode of action is manifested by interference with the proper formation of the mitotic spindle, whereas the second results in rapid disintegration of the dividing cells. Both effects, which are frequency dependent, are consistent with the computed directional forces exerted by these specific fields on charges and dipoles within the dividing cells. In vivo treatment of tumors in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice (B16F1 and CT-26 syngeneic tumor models, respectively), resulted in significant slowing of tumor growth and extensive destruction of tumor cells within 3-6 days. These findings demonstrate the potential applicability of the described electric fields as a novel therapeutic modality for malignant tumors. Read More on PubMed

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