Coordinating and Data Management Center for the Consortium for the Study of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer

The data management systems, auditing, and monitoring effort are supported by the MD Anderson Cancer Center Clinical Research Support Center (CRSC). The The Coordination and Data Management Center (CDMC) will provide high quality, efficient and consistent leadership and services in all aspects of data quality and assurance; data harmonization and management; while providing assistance to the projects in disseminating and interpreting those data. The CDMC PI will provide statistical (study design, analysis plans, data analysis, and interpretation), data management, and data monitoring/auditing (data quality assurance and harmonization) expertise for the proposed projects. The Cancer Center will have access to identifiable data from studies; analysis of this data will not be conducted under this protocol. Any future analysis conducted on data or specimens as part of CPDPC protocols will be conducted under a separate IRB approved data or lab protocol.

The CDMC will leverage existing support, infrastructure, and resources from the Data Management and Coordinating Center for the Global Cancer Early Detection and the clinical expertise of the Division of Pathology/Lab Medicine at MDACC.

Pioglitazone as Second-Line in Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer After Treatment With Gemcitabine

RATIONALE: Pioglitazone may slow the growth of tumor cells and may be an effective treatment for pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying how well pioglitazone works as second-line therapy in treating patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer that progressed after treatment with gemcitabine.

Gemcitabine Plus Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of gemcitabine plus radiation therapy in treating patients with pancreatic cancer that can not be surgically removed.

Gemcitabine and Celecoxib Combination Therapy in Treating Patients With R0 Resection Pancreatic Cancer

The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is extremely poor, even in those patients who had underwent surgery, the 5-year survival is still less than 10%. Current guidelines recommend Gemcitabine monotherapy for R0 resection of pancreatic cancer. Inflammation plays an critical role in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer. Here we intend to assess the synergistic effect of using celecoxib in combination with gemcitabine on the treatment of R0 resection of pancreatic cancer.

Combined S-1 With DC+CIK As Maintenance Therapy For Advanced Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

The goal of this randomized phase 2 controlled clinical trial is to study safety, efficacy of S-1 combined DC+CIK maintenance therapy compared with S-1 alone in improving clinical benefit rate (CBR) among advanced PDAC patients. The main objectives aim to be achieved through this study are :

1. To evaluate the safety of DC+CIK combined immunotherapy when administered with the chemotherapy S-1 as maintenance therapy following first-line chemotherapy regime to advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients.
2. To demonstrate the superiority of of DC+CIK combined immunotherapy in improving clinical benefit rate (CBR) of advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients when administered with the chemotherapy S-1 as maintenance therapy following first-line chemotherapy regime.
3. To investigate the ability of S-1 combined DC+CIK maintenance therapy in reducing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients' circulating cancer stem cells (CSCs).

In this study, subjects who achieve at least stable disease or partial response will be randomized in ratio of 1:1 into treatment group: DC-CIK plus S1 (27 patients) and control group: S-1 alone (27 patients). For treatment group, they will be infused with DC first, followed by CIK immune cells on day 1. DC+CIK immunotherapy will be repeated for another 2 times (day 8 and 15) as one cycle. All patients are left to rest for a week (start from day 21) prior to receive another 3 times of infusion (day 28, 35 and 42) if condition allowed. Additional third cycle can be performed on those who tolerate well with no toxicity or respond very well. Patients from treatment group will be assessed for their eligibility to receive booster dose on following conditions: 1) tumour achieves partial response or stable disease and 2) ECOG-PS performance status of 0-2 and 3) doesn't exhibit grade 1 and 2 toxicities to improve tumour control.

Additionally, S-1 will be given twice daily after meals for 2 weeks as first cycle along with DC+CIK. Next second cycle of S-1 will be given after 7-days (1 week) rest. The cycles will be repeated every 21 days until disease progression, unacceptable toxic effects, or withdrawal with consent. Dose of S-1 will be determined according to the body surface area.

Meanwhile, patients from control group will receive S-1 alone as maintenance therapy twice daily after meals for 14 days (2 weeks) as one cycle. The next cycle of S-1 will be given after 7-days rest. The cycles will be repeated every 21 days until disease progression, unacceptable toxic effects, or withdrawal with consent.

Gemcitabine, Capecitabine, and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and capecitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving radiation therapy that uses a 3-dimensional image of the tumor to help focus thin beams of radiation directly on the tumor, and giving radiation therapy in higher doses over a shorter period of time, may kill more tumor cells and have fewer side effects. It is not yet known which regimen of chemotherapy given together with radiation therapy is more effective in treating pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is comparing the side effects of two regimens of gemcitabine and capecitabine given together with radiation therapy and to see how well they work in treating patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.

Contrast Enhanced Harmonic Endoscopic Ultrasound (CEH-EUS) in Focal Pancreatic Masses

The aim of the study is to assess the accuracy of real-time perfusion imaging pattern of pancreatic focal lesions visualized by contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasound (CEH-EUS) for the differential diagnosis between chronic pseudotumoral pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer in a prospective multicenter design.

The study will include patients with focal pancreatic masses evaluated by CEH-EUS and EUS-FNA. The diagnosis is usually unknown in the moment of the initial evaluation, the patients being included based on a suspicion of focal pancreatic masses after transabdominal ultrasound, CT or MR examinations. However, after a complete evaluation, a final diagnosis will be reached based on the combination of EUS-FNA cytology/pathology, surgical pathology and minimum 12 months follow-up.

Nivolumab Adding on Gemcitabine/S-1 in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

This study assumes that to achieve significant therapeutic efficacy in advanced pancreatic cancer with immunotherapy, the immune system must remain relatively intact. Therefore, early use, low tumor load, adequate organ function, and slow growth of the tumor are the key points. Stage IV pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients with limited metastatic lesions and adequate organ function will be enrolled. Gemcitabine plus S-1 (GS) will be administered initially, and then CA 19-9 will be evaluated. Those fulfilling pre-defined criteria of CA 19-9 will receive nivolumab add-on therapy.

Phase Ib/II Clinical Study of Adebrelimab in Combination With Decitabine, Albumin-bound Paclitaxel, and Gemcitabine for the First-line Treatment of Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a kind of digestive system tumor with extremely high malignancy and poor prognosis. Although the trend of benefit from immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy is currently reflected in several exploratory studies, the overall efficacy is still relatively limited.

Dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms, which is common in cancer, leads to down-regulation of genes involved in tumor antigen processing or presentation, resulting in immune evasion and thus affecting the efficacy of immunotherapy. Epigenetic inhibitors may enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy by enhancing antigenicity and presentation of tumor-associated antigens, reprogramming the tumor microenvironment to counteract immunosuppression, and reversing cytotoxic T-cell depletion. Thus, decitabine-promoted immunotherapeutic sensitization is a potential therapeutic avenue for mPDAC patients that warrants further exploration in clinical trials. Taking into account the characteristics of pancreatic cancer immunophenotype, exploring combination therapy regimens that enhance anti-tumor immune response and improve the efficacy of immunotherapy has become an urgent clinical problem.

This study is a prospective, single-arm, single-center, phase IB/II clinical study exploring the efficacy and safety of adebrelimab in combination with decitabine, albumin-bound paclitaxel, and gemcitabine in the first-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. The primary study endpoints are DLT, RP2D and ORR. Secondary study endpoints are OS, PFS, DCR, DoR and safety.

Endoscopic Ultrasound Versus Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Tissue Sampling for the Diagnosis of Suspected Pancreatico-Biliary Cancer

The two most commonly used methods to biopsy suspected pancreaticobiliary masses are (1) endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) and (2) cytology brush biopsies obtained during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). At most centers, the specific method used depends on the availability of the technology and local expertise. Although it is believed that EUS-FNA is more accurate than ERCP brushings, there have been no head-to-head comparisons. The investigators' hypothesis is that EUS-FNA is superior to ERCP in obtaining tissue biopsies of pancreaticobiliary tumors, and the investigators aim to directly compare the two techniques.