Going the extra mile for people with pancreatic cancer
July 12, 2022
BRUSSELS – The Anticancer Fund is partnering with the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research to support a trial testing a novel strategy in the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer. As people with pancreatic cancer are currently lacking treatment options, the Anticancer Fund and the Rising Tide Foundation decided to join forces. The promising trial, called STEREOPAC, is investigating a particular combination of radiation and chemotherapy before surgery.
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a very aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. The figures are devastating. Today, surgery is the only treatment offering a chance for cure for patients that have a (potentially) resectable tumour. Despite multiple efforts, only 20% of patients with pancreatic cancer are still alive 5 years after treatment.
As the urge and need for better treatments is high, the Anticancer Fund and the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research, are jointly financing a clinical trial designed to increase survival of patients with borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
“Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research mission is to improve quality of life of cancer patients. Strong collaborations with like-minded organizations such as ACF help us achieving our ambitious goal to bring ground-breaking treatment options to the bedside of patients” says Wendelin Zellmayer, CEO of Rising Tide foundation for Clinical Cancer Research.
The trial, called STEREOPAC, is a phase II-study testing the combination of mFOLFIRINOX, a chemotherapy already used to treat pancreatic cancer today, and high-dose SBRD (Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy), followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy (if appropriate) in patients with an adenocarcinoma who have not undergone previous treatment for pancreatic cancer. 256 patients will be enrolled in at least 10 Belgian hospitals.
The key objectives are to assess if the treatment improves the success rate of the surgical intervention and increases the disease-free survival of patients.
The main investigator of STEREOPAC is Professor Jean-Luc Van Laethem of the Hôpital Erasme (ULB), Department Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, in Brussels (Belgium).
Hôpital Erasme is the sponsor of the trial, partly funded by the Anticancer Fund and the Rising Tide Foundation. Additional funds will be provided by the King Baudouin Foundation and Les Amis de L’Institut Bordet. The estimated total cost of the trial is 950.000 euros.
“STEREOPAC offers an opportunity for treatment implementing knowledge that has been building in the latest years. ACF is proud to support this solid clinical research project that, if positive, will immediate impact on a group of patients faced with pancreatic cancer”, says Ilse Rooman, Director of the pancreatic cancer programme at the Anticancer Fund.
More details about the trial
For more details about the trial visit ClinicalTrials.gov:
About the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research
The Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) is a charitable, non-profit organization established in 2010 and located in Schaffhausen Switzerland. RTFCCR’s primary consideration in granting support is given to truly innovative, unique, patient-centered clinical research. The long-term ambition of the foundation is to optimize partnerships and attract the best in Phase I to Phase III clinical trials that aim to bring maximum patient benefit in the shortest time possible. With patients at the core of the mission, the foundation strives to support clinical trials resulting in the creation of less toxic therapeutic approaches, better disease burden management, earlier cancer detection, and innovative intervention strategies that will lead to increased quality of life and survival.
About the Anticancer Fund
The Anticancer Fund is a Belgian Foundation of Public Utility dedicated to expanding the range of treatment options available to cancer patients, regardless of commercial value. We support cancer research in unmet needs and resulting in societal benefit, worldwide.
Through our personal service for people with cancer, My Cancer Navigator, we provide evidence-based information on cancer treatments and engage in comprehensive knowledge-sharing with cancer patients.
The Anticancer Fund works with key policymakers in the areas of research, treatments and cancer care. We contribute to the development of policy frameworks and regulations in order to increase benefits for cancer patients and the society as a whole.
The Anticancer Fund relies on donations and private funding. With no commercial shareholders or interference from special interest groups or pharma companies, our focus remains exclusively on patients.