
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
This trial looked at chemotherapy with or without panitumumab (Vectibix) for cancer of the oesophagus, stomach or cancer that started where the oesophagus meets the stomach. This is called gastro oesophageal junction cancer. The trial was for people with cancer that had spread into surrounding tissue or to another part of the body (advanced) and who were unable to have surgery. This trial was supported by Cancer Research UK.
Doctors often treat advanced cancers of the oesophagus and stomach with chemotherapy. One combination of drugs they use is called EOX. This is epirubicin, oxaliplatin and capecitabine. In this trial, doctors wanted to see if adding another drug, called panitumumab, was better than having chemotherapy on its own.
Panitumumab is a type of biological therapy called a monoclonal antibody. These can seek out cancer cells by looking for particular proteins. Doctors hoped that blocking these proteins would stop or slow down the growth of cancer cells.
The aims of this trial were to
When the trial team looked at the first results, they found that adding panitumumab to chemotherapy wasn’t any better. So they decided to stop recruiting and closed the trial earlier than they initially planned.
This was a phase 3 trial. It recruited 553 people. It was a randomised trial. The people who took part were put into 1 of 2 treatment groups
The researchers looked at CT scans to assess how well people responded to treatment. They were able to look at
Of the people in the EOX group they found that
Of the people in the EOX and panitumumab group they found that
68 people in the EOX group and 62 people in EOX and panitumumab group didn’t have a scan. This was for a variety of reasons, but was frequently due to the person becoming more unwell during treatment. In general, the trial team considered that these people had not benefited from treatment.
The average overall amount of time that people lived was
The researchers didn’t find a significant difference between the side effects of both groups. The most common side effects reported were
The trial team concluded that the addition of panitumumab to EOX didn’t increase the overall time that people with advanced cancer of the oesophagus and stomach lived.
We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Professor David Cunningham
Amgen
Cancer Research UK
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
National Institute for Health Research Cancer Research Network (NCRN)
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
This is Cancer Research UK trial number CRUKE/07/049.
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”