Gemcitabine Hydrochloride, Paclitaxel Albumin-Stabilized Nanoparticle Formulation, Metformin Hydrochloride, and a Standardized Dietary Supplement in Treating Patients With Pancreatic Cancer That Cannot be Removed by Surgery

Running, not enrolling · Phase 1

Conditions studied: Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Unresectable Pancreatic Carcinoma, Stage III Pancreatic Cancer AJCC v6 and v7, Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer AJCC v6 and v7

In brief

This pilot phase I trial studies the side effects of gemcitabine hydrochloride, nab-paclitaxel, metformin hydrochloride, and a standardized dietary supplement in treating patients with pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine hydrochloride and paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Metformin hydrochloride, used for diabetes, may also help kill cancer cells. Dietary supplements (curcumin, vitamin D, vitamin K2, vitamin K1, B-6, high selenium broccoli sprouts, epigallocatechin gallate, L-carnitine, garlic extract, genistein, zinc amino chelate, mixed toxopherols, ascorbic acid, D-limonene) can block different targets in the cancer cell simultaneously and may slow down cancer growth. Giving gemcitabine hydrochloride, paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation, and metformin hydrochloride with a dietary supplement may work better in treating patients with pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed by surgery.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT02336087
Run by: City of Hope Medical Center
People needed: 21
Starts: 2016-01-14
Expected to finish: 2026-12-09
Last updated by the study team: 2026-02-04

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Patients must have a histologic diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma
Patient must have unresectable disease
Patients must not have received prior chemotherapy except for the following circumstances; gemcitabine and capecitabine chemotherapy given in the adjuvant setting is allowed if the recurrence is greater than 6 months from the completion of chemotherapy; radiation sensitizing doses of 5-fluororuracil or capecitabine are allowed as part of adjuvant treatment and recurrence must be documented greater than 6 months from the completion of adjuvant therapy
Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan must be obtained within 4 weeks prior to study entry
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-2
Absolute neutrophil count > 1,500/mcl
Platelet count > 100,000/mcl
Creatinine < 1.4 mg/dl and/or a measured creatinine clearance > 60 cc/min
Bilirubin < 1.4 mg/dl
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) no greater than 3.0 times the upper limit of normal
Patients currently being treated for severe infections or who are recovering from major surgery or other intercurrent illnesses are ineligible until recovery is deemed complete by the investigator
Patients must not be pregnant or nursing; women and men of reproductive potential must have agreed to use an effective contraceptive method
All patients must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and must sign and give written informed consent in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines
Patients must be able to swallow pills and must not have malabsorption problems or ongoing nausea and vomiting that would affect oral treatment
No other prior malignancy is allowed except for the following: adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer, adequately treated stage I or II cancer from which the patient is currently in complete remission, or any other cancer from which the patient has been disease free for five years
Patients currently taking metformin will be eligible
Patients allergic to eggs are not eligible
Patients taking additional dietary/herbal supplements (excluding Senekot) outside of this protocol and refusing to stop are not eligible
Patients requiring warfarin are not eligible

Where it is running

City of Hope Medical Center — Duarte, California, United States
City of Hope Rancho Cucamonga — Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States
City of Hope South Pasadena — South Pasadena, California, United States
City of Hope West Covina — West Covina, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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