Patients who receive this treatment after surgery are almost twice as likely to survive. Monday, June 04, 2018 For Immediate Release Kingston, Ontario – June 4, 2018 – Clinical trial results presented today at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago show substantial increased survival rates for pancreatic cancer patients who received a four-drug chemotherapy combination known as mFOLFIRINOX after surgery. The PRODIGE 24/CCTG PA.6 randomized phase III clinical trial sponsored by the academic cancer research groups of UNICANCER, in Paris, France and the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG), in Kingston, Ontario, shows that the risk of cancer recurring in post-operative pancreatic cancer patients was reduced by almost 50% with the mFOLFIRINOX chemotherapy combination. Patients who received mFOLFIRINOX lived on average almost twenty months longer and were cancer-free on average nine months longer than those who received the current standard of care. “Our trial shows a large benefit from adjuvant mFOLFIRINOX chemotherapy over standard chemotherapy with gemcitabine, and we can help patients with pancreatic cancer live much longer,” said lead study author Thierry Conroy, MD, medical oncologist and director of the Institut de Cancerologie de Lorraine in Nancy, a UNICANCER comprehensive cancer center in France. “The distressing part of pancreatic cancer is that only a small proportion of patients are candidates for surgery and even if surgery is possible, most will die of recurrent disease,” says Dr. Jim Biagi, Researcher & Oncologist at the Cancer Centre of South Eastern Ontario and the CCTG Canadian study co-chair. “These trial results demonstrate that patients who receive this treatment after surgery are almost twice as likely to survive. This is life changing for these patients and should impact how we treat pancreatic cancer around the world.” CCTG Canadian study co-chair Dr. Alice Wei, Hepato-pancreato-biliary Surgical Oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre says “This study represents a major step forward in the treatment of a disease that has historically been frustratingly resistant to therapy. This study demonstrates that mFOLFIRINOX chemotherapy following surgery is effective and helps patients live longer. These results will certainly impact how we treat pancreatic cancer and provides hope for patients and their families that a cure for pancreatic cancer is possible,” “A few months after my cancer diagnosis, I had surgery and then elected to try this experimental treatment,” says Kathleen Kennedy, one of the trial’s nearly 100 Canadian participants. “I knew that there could be risks, but I also knew that it would be helpful – if not immediately to me, then for other pancreatic cancer patients in the future. Now, three disease-free years later, I feel so blessed that this treatment has afforded me more time with my husband, children and grandchildren.” About PRODIGE 24/CCTG PA.6 Three to 12 weeks after surgery, 493 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) were randomly assigned to receive either the current standard treatment, gemcitabine or mFOLFIRINOX for six months. PDAC is the most common type of pancreatic cancer and accounts for 90% of all cases. Surgery is possible in only 10-20% of patients with pancreatic cancer overall. Many thanks to the Canadian Cancer Society and 7 Days in May for their financial support of this trial, ensuring that patients had access to the latest treatments for Pancreatic Cancer. Media contact Lisa Callahan, Communications Leader, Canadian Cancer Trials Group lcallahan@ctg.queensu.ca 343-363-7158 About the Canadian Cancer Trials Group The Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) is a cancer clinical trials research cooperative that runs phase I-III trials to test anti-cancer and supportive therapies in over 80 institutions across Canada and internationally. We are supported by core funding from the Canadian Cancer Society. From our centre at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, we have supported over 500 trials in over 40 countries aimed at improving survival and quality of life for all people with cancer. About Unicancer Unicancer is the only hospital network 100% devoted to fighting cancer: 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centres (FCCCs): private non-profit hospitals +20,000 women and men engaged in an ongoing quest for excellence in care, research, education +140,000 patients hospitalized a year The 6 characteristics of Unicancer’s unique model: the French Comprehensive Cancer Centres are entirely devoted to fighting cancer strive for excellence to always improve patient care are at the cutting edge on every aspect of the fight against cancer have the best resources for research and development coordinate the fight against cancer with humanism provide comprehensive care for each patient, charging the standard fees set by the French social security system, with no out-of-pocket costs. Unicancer in numbers: In France, the FCCCs treat: 30% of the women with breast cancer, 21% of the patients with endocrine cancer and 20% of women with gynaecologic cancers. A key player in research in France, Unicancer is the main European academic sponsor in oncology: 569 active clinical trials are promoted by the Unicancer network, more than 15% of the patients in the FCCCs are included in a clinical trial, the FCCCs produce one third of the international publication in oncology
