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Ronny Allan
Trial Summary
This interesting trial is a multi-cancer effort including NET. The phase I clinical trial of Procaspase Activating Compound-1 (PAC-1), a drug that spurs programmed cell death in cancer cells, found only minor side effects in patients with end-stage cancers. The drug stalled the growth of tumors in the five people in the trial with neuroendocrine cancers and reduced tumor size in two of those patients. It also showed some therapeutic activity against sarcomas, scientists and clinicians report in the British Journal of Cancer. As of March 1, 2019, only patients with neuroendocrine tumors will be enrolled in Component 1 of this study. PAC-1 is taken orally on days 1-21 of a 28-day cycle. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of PAC-1 (5 dose levels) will be determined using a modified-Fibonacci dose-escalation 3+3 design. Treatment continues until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, physician discretion, or patient refusal.
Results
Forty-eight patients were enrolled with 33 completing ≥2 cycles of therapy and evaluable for DLT. DL 7 (750 mg/day) was established as the recommended phase 2 dose, with grade 1 and 2 neurological adverse events noted, while NNCF testing showed stable neurologic and cognitive evaluations. PAC-1’s t1/2 was 28.5 h after multi-dosing, and systemic drug exposures achieved predicted therapeutic concentrations. PAC-1 clinical activity was observed in patients with neuroendocrine tumour (NET) with 2/5 patients achieving durable partial response.
Conclusions
PAC-1 dose at 750 mg/day was recommended for phase 2 studies. The activity of PAC-1 in treatment-refractory NET warrants further investigation.
Note a Phase 2 trial is not yet listed so this post is informational only. The phase 1 trial took place in 3 US locations, Illinois, Maryland and Minnesota.
Why was this trial important?
All trials involving NET are important, this one was interesting as it was looking at those patients with refractory disease (other treatments not working). In early 2023, doctors writing in the ASCO Post said, “As a result of perceived disease rarity and nonmalignant clinical course, NENs have not been subjected to rigorous clinical research, as compared with other similar tumor types”. Read more here.
Read more here
1. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02355535
2. Danciu, O.C., Holdhoff, M., Peterson, R.A. et al. Phase I study of procaspase-activating compound-1 (PAC-1) in the treatment of advanced malignancies. Br J Cancer (2022). Read more here
3. Brighterside News. This is what alerted me. Read here.
General Clinical Trials Disclaimer
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided in the clinical trials document. It’s very important to check the trial inclusion and exclusion criteria before making any contact. If you need questions, the articles here is very useful Questions to Ask About Clinical Trials | Cancer.Net
The inclusion of any trial within this blog should not be taken as a recommendation by Ronny Allan.
Disclaimer
I am not a doctor or any form of medical professional, practitioner or counsellor. None of the information on my website, or linked to my website(s), or conveyed by me on any social media or presentation, should be interpreted as medical advice given or advised by me.
Neither should any post or comment made by a follower or member of my private group be assumed to be medical advice, even if that person is a healthcare professional.
Please also note that mention of a clinical service, trial/study or therapy does not constitute an endorsement of that service, trial/study or therapy by Ronny Allan, the information is provided for education and awareness purposes and/or related to Ronny Allan’s own patient experience. This element of the disclaimer includes any complementary medicine, non-prescription over the counter drugs and supplements such as vitamins and minerals.
Finally
Whenever I post about a trial or study, some people get excited without understanding that these new treatments and capabilities can very often take years to come to fruition and it’s also possible that clinical trials can be halted, or that national approval agencies will not approve the final product. Plus, not everyone will be eligible, so always check the exclusion and inclusion criteria in the relevant clinical trials document. Please bear that in mind when reading studies/clinical trials posted on RonnyAllan.NET
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