Introducing Precision Promise
- Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) has launched a new clinical trial platform called Precision Promise.
- This platform is designed to test multiple experimental therapies at the same time.
- Precision Promise is offered at 15 cancer centers across the country.
- Through this platform, patients may be able to enroll in a clinical trial in as quickly as a week.
“Pancreatic cancer is a difficult enough diagnosis to navigate in and of itself,” Dr. Diane Simeone, a surgical oncologist and Director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet. “So to have a national program like this with centers around the country that have specific expertise in pancreatic cancer, to make it easier for patients to know what options they have and give them more promising new therapies in a way that hasn’t happened before, it’s very exciting.”
Read More“What would happen before Precision Promise is a patient may be a candidate for a new therapy in a clinical trial, but if for some reason that therapy doesn’t work they often don’t have any other options,” Dr. Simeone says. “What we wanted to do is create additional options. So if someone comes onto a trial and get a new therapy, and if that doesn’t provide the benefit we hope for, then we will have something else to offer them. It’s never been done before, but it models out how it can be done not only for pancreatic cancer but other types of cancers….It’s [also] much cheaper to do these kinds of platform trials. If you have a drug that works for patients you can get it to approval much more quickly because you don’t have a pause between the phase 2 and phase 3 aspect of drug development.”
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What to Know When Enrolling
Precision Promise is offered at 15 centers across the country, including facilities such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. As opposed to past experiences enrolling in a clinical trial, which can be a lengthy process, patients who enroll in this may be able to access a clinical trial within just a weeks time. This ensures patients will be able to receive treatment sooner rather than later.
“All patients need to do is reach out at one of the centers or to PanCAN and they can immediately get referred,” Dr. Simeone says. “We were one of the first centers to open at NYU, and as soon as a patient contacts us we will see them within a day or two. With the whole process they could be started on a new experimental therapy within a week.”
Related: "The Cancer Problem That No One's Talking About": The Cost of Traveling to Clinical Trials
Distrust and suspicion of clinical trials have caused low enrollment numbers particularly within Black and other minority communities. When it comes to health care, communities of color are at a severe disadvantage. In order to assuage fears patients may have, Dr. Simeone says centers and PanCAN are working around the clock to provide awareness towards the clinical trial platform and answer any concerns possible participants may have.
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Currently, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is only 10%, but through this platform, experts and advocates like Dr. Simeone want to change that statistic for the future. A pancreatic cancer diagnosis doesn’t mean the end, and these clinical trials offer a glimmer of hope for patients and their loved ones.
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