Conditions: Pancreatic Neoplasms Adenocarcinoma
Keywords: Pancreatic Cancer Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas Alternative therapy Pancreas Pancreatic Neoplasm Cancer of the pancreas
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 50
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if treatment with curcumin can help shrink or slow the growth of pancreatic cancers. The effect of curcumin on the way pancreatic cancer cells function and the safety of treatment with curcumin will also be studied.

Detailed description:
Curcumin, a yellow substance extracted from the plant Curcuma longa, is commonly used as a food additive. It is a natural anti-inflammatory compound and has shown anti-tumor activity in the laboratory. During this study, you will receive much higher doses of curcumin than can be obtained from the diet.

During the study, you will receive curcumin by mouth every day. You will be required to take up to 16 pills per day each morning. Every 8-week period you take curcumin is considered a "course" of treatment. The number of courses you receive depends on how you are responding to treatment. You can continue treatment as long as the disease does not get worse. If the disease gets worse or you experience any intolerable side effects, you will be taken off the study and your doctor will discuss other treatment options with you.

You will be given a questionnaire to complete at the beginning of the study and once a week while you are on therapy to help the medical staff understand how the different symptoms from your disease are affecting you. This questionnaire, which should take about 5 minutes to complete, can be done over the telephone or with the help of one of the study staff during your visits.

At the end of each course of treatment (every 8 weeks), you will have a physical exam and the tumor will be re-evaluated using CT scans and/or blood (about 2 tablespoons) tests.

This is an investigational study. Curcumin is a commercially available substance, which is commonly used as a food additive. Up to 50 participants will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at M. D. Anderson.

Arms:
arm 1: Oral curcumin daily for eight weeks, starting dose 8 gm per day.

Interventions: intervention 1: Curcumin
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Starting dose 8 gm orally per day for 8 weeks. If patient experiences grade III toxicity, dose held and restarted with a 50% dose reduction after resolution of toxicity to \</= Grade I. Patients with grade IV toxicity will discontinue treatments. Patients with \</= grade I toxicity may have a 25% dose increase at each four-week period. Patients will continue on treatment until disease progresses, unless Grade III toxicity supervenes.

Protocol document: