New cocktail approach targets hard-to-treat pancreatic cancer
NCT ID NCT04753879
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests a low-dose combination of five chemotherapy drugs (gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel, capecitabine, cisplatin, irinotecan) followed by two maintenance drugs (olaparib and pembrolizumab) in 38 people with untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer. The goal is to see if this approach can slow cancer growth and control the disease longer than current treatments.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel, capecitabine, cisplatin, irinotecan, olaparib, pembrolizumab
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a new treatment option that delays cancer progression in people with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial (38 people) with no control group. The combination has significant side effects, and it may not improve survival or be better than standard care.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 38 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2021
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Cohort 1 - Subject has stable disease as measured by RECIST 1.1 or iRECIST after 6 cycles of GAX-CI. * Cohort 2 - Subject has progressive disease as measured by RECIST 1.1 and iRECIST prior to 6 cycles of GAX-CI. * Ability to understand and willingness to sign a written informed consent document. * Age ≥18 years. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1 * Have metastatic histologically or cytologically-proven ductal pancreatic cancer. * Patients must not have received prior treatment for pancreatic cancer. * Have measurable disease based on RECIST 1.1. * Willing to have to a tumor biopsy. * Patients must have adequate organ and marrow function defined by study - specified laboratory tests. * Woman of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test and follow contraceptive guidelines as defined per protocol. * Men must use acceptable form of birth control while on study. * Participant understands the study regimen, its requirements, risks and discomforts, competent to report AE, understand the drug dosing schedule and use of medications to control AE. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who will be considered for surgery are ineligible. * Had chemotherapy within 5 years prior to study treatment. * Have received any investigational drugs within 28 days prior to study treatment. * Had surgery within 28 days of dosing of investigational agent. * Has history of central nervous system (CNS) metastases and/or carcinomatous meningitis. * Require any antineoplastic therapy. * Has received prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti PD L2 agent. * Has received prior therapy with gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel, capecitabine, cisplatin, irinotecan, or PARP inhibitor. * Hypersensitivity reaction to any monoclonal antibody. * Is taking a moderate or strong CYP3A inhibitor. * Has uncontrolled acute or chronic medical illness. * Has known additional malignancy that is progressing and requires active treatment. * Has received radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer. * Have received any live vaccine or live-attenuated, any allergen hyposensitization therapy, growth factors or major surgery within 30 days prior to study treatment. * Is currently participating in or has participated in a study of an investigational agent or has used an investigational device within 4 weeks prior to the first dose of study treatment. * Has active autoimmune disease. * Has an active known or suspected autoimmune disease or is receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of study drug. * Prior tissue or organ allograft or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. * Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the study, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator. * Requirement for daily supplemental oxygen. * Patients with a history of (non-infectious) pneumonitis/interstitial lung disease that requires steroids. * Subject with clinically significant wound. * Has a confirmed history of encephalitis, meningitis, or uncontrolled seizures in the year prior to informed consent. * Infection with HIV. * Has active Hepatitis B (defined as Hepatitis B surface antigen \[HBsAg\] reactive) or Hepatitis C virus (defined as hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA \[qualitative\] is detected) infection. Patients who are Hepatitis C antibody positive and viral load negative will be permitted to enroll. * Has uncontrolled infection. * Unwilling to have blood drawn. * Has known psychiatric or substance use disorder that would interfere with cooperation with the requirements of the trial. * Woman who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Baltimore, Maryland, 21231, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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