A trial of a monoclonal antibody and iodine treatment (I131-KAb201) for advanced cancer of the pancreas

Cancer type:

Pancreatic cancer

Status:

Results

Phase:

Phase 1/2

This trial looked at a new treatment called I131-KAb201 for advanced cancer of the pancreas.

Doctors usually treat pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy or surgery, but unfortunately it can be difficult to treat.

The people in this trial had a new treatment called I131-KAb201. KAb201 is a monoclonal antibody. It targets a protein called CEA Open a glossary item , which is produced by some pancreatic cancers.

The ‘I131’ (or iodine 131) is radioactive iodine that is attached to the KAb201 antibody. The doctors hoped that the KAb201 antibody would bind to the pancreatic cancer cells, and that the radioactive iodine would then kill the cancer cells.

Doctors hoped that I131-KAb201 would be useful for treating pancreatic cancer that could not be removed with an operation. One group of people in this trial had I131-KAb201 into a vein. The other group had it directly into an artery near the pancreas. But this was a new and experimental treatment, and doctors were not sure how well it would work.

The aims of this trial were to

Find the best dose of I131-KAb201 to give
Compare having I131-Kab201 into a vein and into an artery, to see which one worked best
Find out more about the side effects

Summary of results

The trial team found the best dose of I131-KAb201. But there was no difference in results for people having it into a vein or into an artery.

The researchers recruited 19 people to take part in this trial. Of these 19 people, 9 had I131-KAb201 into a vein and 10 had it into an artery.

The researchers were able to measure how the cancer responded in 18 of the 19 people. This showed that the cancer

Shrank in 1 person – this is called a partial response
Stayed the same in 1 person – this is called stable disease
Continued to grow in 16

Overall the average time people lived was just over 5 months. There was no major difference in how long the person lived if I131-KAb201 was given into a vein or an artery.

The most common side effect was a drop in the number of blood cells.

The researchers concluded that there was no difference to having I131-KAb201 into a vein or an artery.

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 (peer reviewed Open a glossary item ) and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves