LIVERPOOL, England, March 15 (UPI) -- British researchers are to begin a pancreatic cancer therapy trial, testing a new vaccine against two chemotherapy drugs.
The University of Liverpool study will involve patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer. The vaccine, GV1001, is a new immunotherapeutic drug for pancreatic cancer developed by Pharmexa, a Danish biotech company.
One of the 10 most common cancers in the United Kingdom and one of the most difficult to diagnose, pancreatic cancer victims usually die within a year of diagnosis.
The Phase III trial designed by Britain's National Cancer Research Institute will test GV1001 alongside two chemotherapy drugs -- gemcitabine and capecitabine.
"GV1001 is a particularly attractive vaccine; the antigen that it targets is expressed on virtually all pancreatic cancer cells and the vaccine stimulates the production of all of the cells that are required for an effective immune attack upon these cancers," said the trial's chief investigator, Dr Gary Middleton of the Royal Surrey County Hospital. "Adding it to the platform of chemotherapy is an exciting strategy which, if successful, would create a new standard of care in this disease."
