Conditions: Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 110
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
To compare, in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, the effects of IMM-101 in combination with gemcitabine to gemcitabine alone on safety and tolerability (including QoL), clinical signs and symptoms of disease, selected markers of tumour burden and immunological status, and disease outcome.

Detailed description:
Patients in the IMM 101 treated group received an initial dose of IMM-101 followed by a maximum of 12 cycles of Gemcitabine (plus IMM-101); patients in the control group received Gemcitabine alone. All patients were to receive Gemcitabine once weekly for 3 consecutive weeks out of every 4 weeks. Patients in the IMM 101 treated group were to receive IMM 101 every 2 weeks for the first 3 doses, followed by a 4 week rest, then IMM-101 every 2 weeks for the next 3 doses. After this time, patients received doses every 4 weeks. Gemcitabine treatment began at least 14 days after the first dose of IMM-101 in the IMM 101 treated group.

Patients who completed the Main Study and who provided informed consent were eligible to participate in a long term treatment Sub-Study. All patients received IMM-101 in the open-label, single arm, Sub-Study irrespective of whether they had been randomised to Gemcitabine or Gemcitabine plus IMM-101 in the main study.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients in the control arm will receive normal standard of care - up to 12 cycles of Gemcitabine. Dosing of Gemcitabine is as per the normal prescribing information for pancreatic cancer. arm 2: Patients in the experimental arm will receive IMM-101 in addition to the current standard of care, namely chemotherapy (Gemcitabine). The treatment regimen with IMM-101 will be every 2 weeks for the first 3 doses followed by a rest of 4 weeks then every 2 weeks for the next 3 doses followed by every 4 weeks thereafter.

For patients in the active group, chemotherapy (Gemcitabine) will begin at least 14 days after first dose of IMM-101.

Chemotherapy plus IMM-101 will be offered until intolerable toxicity or withdrawal from the study up to a maximum of 12 cycles (i.e. approximately 48 weeks).

Patients who complete the Main Study and who provide informed consent are eligible to participate in a long term treatment Sub-Study (IMM-101-002A)

Interventions: intervention 1: IMM-101 intervention 2: Gemcitabine
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: IMM-101 is a suspension of heat-killed whole cell M. obuense in borate-buffered saline.

A single 0.1 mL intradermal injection of IMM-101 (10 mg/mL) will be administered every 2 weeks for the first 3 doses followed by a rest of 4 weeks then every 2 weeks for the next 3 doses followed by every 4 weeks thereafter.

Chemotherapy plus IMM-101 will be offered until intolerable toxicity or withdrawal from the study up to a maximum of 12 cycles of gemcitabine. intervention 2: Gemcitabine will be administered intravenously at 1000 mg/m2 over 30 minutes once weekly for 3 consecutive weeks out of every 4 weeks.

Chemotherapy will be offered until intolerable toxicity or withdrawal from the study up to a maximum of 12 cycles (i.e. approximately 48 weeks).

Dosage reduction with each cycle or within each cycle may be applied based upon the grade of Gemcitabine-related toxicity experienced by the patient using centre's standard protocol.

Protocol document: