Cancer of Pancreas

The effective diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is often quite challenging, due to a lack of disease-specific symptoms, resulting in the majority of patients presenting with advanced disease, with an associated dismal prognosis. Earlier detection of pancreatic cancer, at a stage where surgery is feasible, would greatly increase the 5-year survival rate. Detecting pancreatic cancer early is therefore vital to improve the prognosis for these patients. Pre-cancerous pancreatic cysts are an early indicator of malignant transformation. The ideal screening test would be capable of detecting pancreatic cancer at these initial stages. Current procedures for pancreatic cancer diagnosis are invasive, uncomfortable and costly, and can be considered unnecessary in those cysts found to be benign. We propose to study a number of tumour regulatory molecules that have been the subject of research in laboratories at the University of Hull (e.g., tissue factor (TF), adrenomedullin (AM) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) tests) that have been studied in the context of carcinogenic transformation in more common malignancies but have yet to be fully tested in pancreatic malignant transformation. The recent introduction of platform technologies at the University of Hull has broadened this area of investigation by giving us access to next generation genomic sequencing and proteomic analyses of small amounts of tissue samples. We intend to analyse pancreatic cystic fluid samples using these technologies to discover new regulatory molecules. Altogether, his study will measure the levels of novel regulatory molecules and genetic changes involved with pancreatic cancer carcinogenesis using a combination of conventional techniques (e.g. ELISA) and state-of-the-art platform technologies in pancreatic cysts from those patients in whom cancer may be suspected, to determine the potential of these molecules to serve as markers to detect early changes towards pancreatic cancer.

This is a research study to evaluate how the genetic makeup of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) can affect the response to FDA-approved chemotherapy treatment, FOLFIRINOX, given before surgery to remove the tumor. Certain types of PDAC tumors can be surgically resected (removed). However, not all types of PDACs are resectable, especially if they are close to important structures like blood vessels or intestines. These types of PDACs are treated with chemotherapy such as FOLFIRINOX. Research studies showed that chemotherapy after surgical resection of PDAC tumors reduced the risk of the cancer returning. Chemotherapy is used to treat PDAC that has not spread outside of the pancreas and is not resectable. FOLFIRINOX is a chemotherapy treatment that combines multiple chemotherapeutic agents, including oxaliplatin, leucovorin, irinotecan, and 5-FU. Patients receive these agents by intravenous infusion. Of these drugs, 5-FU requires you to return home with a chemotherapy pump that will deliver chemotherapy over 46 hours. This regimen has been studied in pancreatic cancer that has been removed with surgery as a method for preventing the cancer from returning. Studies showed FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy reduced the risk of cancer returning and increased patients survival. In this study, researchers want to know if FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy given before surgery will make the cancer easier to remove with surgery and increase the chances of the cancer staying away after surgery. Researchers have shown that pancreatic cancers are not all the same when you look at the DNA and RNA that is inside a pancreatic cancer cell. Depending on the expression of different genes in a cancer cell, some pancreatic cancers may respond differently to chemotherapy. In this study researchers want to know if FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy can change the genetic profile of the cancer. This will be studied by obtaining a biopsy of the cancer before the start of chemotherapy, and after 8 treatments of chemotherapy. They will also study cancer cells that will be collected from blood samples.

International registry for cancer patients evaluating the feasibility and clinical utility of an Artificial Intelligence-based precision oncology clinical trial matching tool, powered by a virtual tumor boards (VTB) program, and its clinical impact on pts with advanced cancer to facilitate clinical trial enrollment (CTE), as well as the financial impact, and potential outcomes of the intervention.

The goal of this interventional study is to learn about the efficacy of first-line chemotherapy with Gemcitabine in metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients expressing the GemCore signature in their tumor. The main question it aims to answer is to assess efficacy of Gemcitabine (tumor response, survival rate) in the population of patient bearing the GemCore signature. Participants will start the chemotherapy with Gemcitabine as usually performed in standard care of their center. They will consent to a genomic analyze of their tumor to know if it bears the GemCore signature. The center will manage the participant's follow up as usually realized in standard care.

The aim of the TAILOR-EUS study (Iconographic Registry of Bilio-Pancreatic Endoscopic Ultrasound Procedures) is to establish a clinical registry comprising images and videos generated during endoscopic procedures conducted for the investigation of pancreatic diseases (PD). The study will compile historical, pathological, and imaging data from approximately 12,000 patients (2,000 retrospectively and 10,000 prospectively) who underwent endoscopic ultrasound procedures for inflammatory pancreatic conditions (e.g., acute, recurrent, chronic pancreatitis), autoimmune bilio-pancreatic diseases (e.g., autoimmune pancreatitis), neoplastic bilio-pancreatic conditions, and screenings for individuals at high risk of developing such diseases at the Bilio-Pancreatic Endoscopy and Endoscopic Ultrasound Unit of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital between 2000 and 2027. Participants have undergone or will undergo the standard diagnostic pathway appropriate for their conditions as part of routine clinical practice. All instrumental examinations and endoscopic ultrasound procedures are integral to the standard diagnostic and therapeutic approach for pancreatic diseases.

The purpose of this research is to compare the amount and quality of tissue obtained by EUS-FNB when the device is flushed with an anticoagulant or "blood thinner" vs. saline a salt water solution as well as the use of a microsieve in order for the doctor to look at the tissue to check the acceptability of the specimens before sending for analysis. You will be randomly assigned (like a flip of a coin) to have either the blood thinner or the salt water solution placed within the needle being used to sample your abdominal tumor and to have either a sieve used or not. You will be one of 42 participants enrolled in this data collection study which includes 1 sites in the United States.

The goal of this research is to use chromatin immunoprecipitation, a method used to study protein-DNA interaction, as a tool to diagnose and prognose pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in human samples. This is a Non-Human Subject Research study. All participants are de-identified.

This is a Phase 1b study to assess the safety and tolerability of STI-1386, an oncolytic virus, in subjects with relapsed and refractory solid tumors (RRSTs).