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Evaluation of MMR Status and PD-L1 Expression Using Specimens Obtained by EUS-FNB in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

Conditions
Pancreatic Cancer
Interventions
Diagnostic Test: EUS-FNB
Other: Immunohistochemistry
Registration Number
NCT03820921
Lead Sponsor
Ponderas Academic Hospital
Brief Summary

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a suboptimal response to standard therapies that modestly impact survival due to its ability to evade host immune surveillance. Emerging evidence has shown that the co-inhibitory receptors, such as programmed death 1 (PD-1), play a critical role in cancer immune-editing. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an immune checkpoint that is often activated in cancer and plays a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of cancer. The advent of immunotherapy, with checkpoint inhibitors, which block PD-L1 interaction between tumor cells and activated T cells, has significantly altered the treatment algorithm for several solid tumors.

However, the clinicopathologic significance and prognostic value of PD-L1 in PDAC remains controversial. The main technical ground may be that PDAC PD-L1 expression quantification is limited to surgical resection specimens and dependent on specific immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests. In addition, PD-L1 expression has not been extensively assessed before surgery in treatment-naive PDAC patients, due to the current IHC test requirement for a histologic rather than a cytologic evaluation. However, a recent study showed that EUS-fine needle biopsy (FNB) can successfully determine primary pancreas malignancy PD-L1 status.

One recently identified subtype within the genomic landscape of PDAC is the mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) tumor. Evaluation of dMMR status is particularly important following the FDA approval of the PD-1 inhibitor, pembrolizumab, for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic, microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or dMMR PDAC that have progressed following prior treatment, and have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.

The objectives of the project will include the assessment of tumor PD-L1/dMMR expression in patients with PDAC using EUS-FNB samples and the prospective correlation of MMR status and PD-L1 expression with overall survival and progression-free survival of PDAC patients.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
30
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

-previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
PATIENTS WITH PANCREATIC CANCEREUS-FNBAll patients with a suspicion of pancreatic masses will undergo EUS (including EUS-FNB for confirmation of diagnosis). A positive cytological diagnosis will be taken as a final proof of malignancy of the pancreas mass. The diagnoses obtained by EUS-FNB will be further verified during a clinical follow-up of at least 6 months. Immunochemistry will be performed on the EUS-FNB specimens to determine PD-L1 expression and MMR status
PATIENTS WITH PANCREATIC CANCERImmunohistochemistryAll patients with a suspicion of pancreatic masses will undergo EUS (including EUS-FNB for confirmation of diagnosis). A positive cytological diagnosis will be taken as a final proof of malignancy of the pancreas mass. The diagnoses obtained by EUS-FNB will be further verified during a clinical follow-up of at least 6 months. Immunochemistry will be performed on the EUS-FNB specimens to determine PD-L1 expression and MMR status
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Feasibility of PD-L1 expression analysis on EUS-FNB pancreatic specimens1 year

the percentage of cases where EUS-FNB material was adequate to determine PDL-1 expression

Feasibility of MMR status analysis on EUS-FNB pancreatic specimens1 year

the percentage of cases where EUS-FNB material was adequate to determine MMR status

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Tumor response3 months

Tumor response will be assessed according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). According to RECIST guidelines,complete response (CR) is defined as the complete disappearance of the tumor, partial response (PR) as ≥30% decrease in longest diameter (LD), progressive disease (PD) as ≥20% increase in LD, and stable disease (SD) as a decrease or increase less than PR or PD based on anatomic assessment. Patients with CR or PR will be defined as responders, whereas those with PD or SD are defined as non-responders.

Overall survivalup to 12 months

The overall survival will be measured from the day of diagnosis to the date of death

Progression-free survivalup to 12 months

The progression-free survival (PFS) will be measured from the day of diagnosis to the date of progressive disease.

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