Gemcitabine Plus Nab-PAclitaxel as Switch maiNTEnance Versus cONtinuation of Modified FOLFIRINOX as First-line Chemotherapy in Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: the PANThEON Phase III Trial
PANThEON is a randomized, open-label, multicenter phase III trial aimed at comparing the switch maintenance with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (ARM B) versus mFOLFIRINOX continuation (ARM A) in terms of overall survival (OS) in patients with unresectable LAD or mPDAC without disease progression following 3 months of induction mFOLFIRINOX triplet chemotherapy.
• Patient able and willing to provide written informed consent and to comply with the study protocol.
• Subjects must be ≥18 years.
• Histologically or cytologically confirmed unresectable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma eligible for treatment in the first-line setting.
• Presence of measurable or non-measurable disease assessed by CT scan and/or MRI according to RECIST 1.1. Note: any lesion which has been subjected to percutaneous therapies or radiotherapy should not be considered measurable, unless the lesion has clearly progressed since the procedure.
• Availability of archival tumor sample (primary tumor or metastatic site) for biomarker analysis.
• ECOG performance status of 0-1 (if age \< 70 years). If age ≥70 years, ECOG PS must be 0.
• Estimated life expectancy \> 3 months.
• Adequate baseline hematologic function characterized by the following at screening:
‣ Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 109/L.
⁃ Platelets count ≥ 100 × 109/L.
⁃ Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dl. Note: prior transfusions for patients with low hemoglobin are allowed.
• Adequate liver function characterized by the following at screening:
‣ Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × ULN and \< 2 mg/dL. Note: Subjects with Serum total bilirubin ≥ 1.5 × ULN and conjugated bilirubin ≤ ULN or \< 40% of total bilirubin are allowed.
⁃ Serum transaminases (AST and/or ALT) \< 3 x ULN (\< 5 x ULN in presence of liver metastasis). In participants with elevated AST or ALT, the values must be stable for at least 2 week and with no evidence of biliary obstruction by imaging.
• Adequate renal function, i.e. serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 x institutional ULN and calculated by Cockroft-Gault formula or directly measured creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min.
• Adequate coagulation functions as defined by International Normalized Ratio (INR) ≤ 1.5, and a partial thromboplastin time (PTT) ≤ 5 seconds above the ULN (unless receiving anticoagulation therapy).
• No presence of complete dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) enzyme deficiency (homozygous of the following DPYD polymorphisms: c1679GG, c1905+1AA, c2846TT) with DPYD gene testing mandatory at screening as per national guidelines. UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) testing is not mandatory. However, if UGT test is routinely performed in the participating centers, enrolment of patients carriers of variants of DPYD and homozygous variant UGT1A1 \[7/7\] has to be discussed with the Sponsor.
• Women of childbearing potential must agree to remain abstinent (refrain from sexual intercourse) or use highly effective contraceptive methods, as defined in APPENDIX V of the full protocol, during the treatment period and for at least 7 months after the last administration of study treatments.
• Negative serum pregnancy test within 7 days of starting study treatment in pre-menopausal women and women \<1 year after the onset of menopause.
• Men must agree to remain abstinent (refrain from sexual intercourse) or use highly effective contraceptive methods during the treatment period and for at least 7 months after the last administration of study treatments.
• Participants must agree not to donate eggs/sperm for future use for the purposes of assisted reproduction during the study and for a period of 7 months after receiving the last dose of study treatment. Female and male participants should consider preservation of eggs/sperm prior to study treatment as anti-cancer treatments may impair fertility.