NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PCAN) announced today the launch of Precision Promise, a large-scale clinical trial designed to advance personalized medicine for pancreatic cancer to help meet the organization's goal of doubling patient survival rates by 2020.
"Precision Promise is an unprecedented opportunity for patients and is vital to move the field forward, PCAN President and CEO Julie Fleshman said in a statement. "Instead of looking for the right patient for a clinical trial, we are designing the right clinical trial for each patient."
The trial will be structured as a collection of sub-studies, each investigating different treatment options, conducted under a single trial design. Patients will be enrolled at one of 12 Precision Promise Clinical Trial Consortium sites where they will undergo molecular profiling in order to identify their tumor's molecular characteristics. They will then begin treatment in the sub-study appropriate for their particular cancer.
Patients will be monitored and follow-up analyses conducted to gauge the effectiveness of their treatments. As the trial progresses and yields new data, patients may move from one sub-study to another to receive optimal care, PCAN said.
The trial is expected to begin enrollment in early 2017. Participating research sites include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/University of Washington; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; University of California, San Diego; University of California, San Francisco; University of Chicago; University of Florida; University of Michigan; University of Pennsylvania; Virginia Mason Medical Center; and Washington University.
"All data from the initial 12 Clinical Trial Consortium sites will be analyzed together so scientific findings are gathered and disseminated to the research community in a timely manner," PCAN Chief Research Officer Lynn Matrisian said in the statement. "This model ensures that data and information are shared as quickly as possible for patient benefit."
PCAN has also partnered with Tempus to use the company's genomic sequencing and analysis technologies, and with Trovagene to use its Trovera liquid biopsy test. Non-profit group Clinical Research And Biostatistics will provide Precision Promise with statistical analysis, data management, and clinical monitoring support.
PCAN will fund the trial with a minimum initial investment of $35 million over the first four years, excluding drug costs. It said thousands of patients are expected to participate.