
"I am glad that taking part in a trial might help others on their own cancer journey.”
Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.
This trial is looking at a drug called etirinotecan pegol for bowel cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. It is for people who have a genetic change called a K-RAS .
If bowel cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is called advanced bowel cancer. Doctors can treat advanced bowel cancer with chemotherapy. One of the chemotherapy drugs they may use is irinotecan.
Researchers are looking at a drug called etirinotecan pegol which is irinotecan combined with a structure called polyethylene glycol (PEG) added. This technology may allow the drug to stay in the body for longer.
In this trial, they are comparing etirinotecan pegol with standard irinotecan for people who have advanced bowel cancer with the K-RAS genetic mutation. The aims of the trial are to
You may be able to enter this trial if you
You cannot enter this trial if you
This phase 2 trial will recruit about 174 people in different countries. It is a randomised trial. The people taking part are put into treatment groups by a computer. Neither you nor your doctor will be able to decide which group you are in.
You have either etirinotecan pegol or irinotecan through a drip into a vein once every 3 weeks. It takes about an hour and a half each time. As long as you don’t have bad side effects and your cancer doesn’t get any worse, you can carry on having the trial treatment for as long as it helps you.
About 30 people in each treatment group will be asked to have some extra blood tests. This is to learn more about what happens to the drugs in your body. This is called .
You see the trial team and have some tests before you start treatment. The tests include
The trial team will get a sample of your cancer to test for the K-RAS gene mutation. Your cancer may have already been tested for this in the past. But if it hasn’t and there is not a sample available for testing, you may have another .
You go to hospital once every 3 weeks for as long as you have treatment. You have regular blood tests and a CT or MRI scan every 6 weeks.
After you finish treatment, a member of the trial team will phone you every 3 months to see how you are and whether you have started having any other chemotherapy. Depending on the results of the last CT before you stop treatment, you may have CT or MRI scans every 6 weeks.
As etirinotecan pegol is a new drug, there may be side effects we don’t know about yet. The most common side effects of both etirinotecan pegol and irinotecan are
If you do get diarrhoea, the trial team will give you medication to treat it. It is important to take the medication and to drink plenty of fluid to stop you getting .
Before you agree to join, the trial team will talk to you about other possible side effects of both drugs.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Dr Leslie Samuel
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
Nektar Therapeutics
Freephone 0808 800 4040
"I am glad that taking part in a trial might help others on their own cancer journey.”