A Prospective, Open Phase I Study to Investigate the Tolerability and Efficacy of ALECSAT to Pancreas Cancer Patients

This study is a prospective open phase-I study to investigate the safety and tolerability for administration of repeated doses of ALECSAT.

Each patient will be followed up to 24 weeks from the initial blood donation to the last visit. However, the actual treatment starts on day 26, when the first single dose of ALECSAT is administered. The following administrations are given with 3 weeks intervals, i.e. at week 7 and 10. The patients are attending Kirurgisk afdeling K, Bispebjerg Hospital, and are followed by close examinations during the study period and at regular visits after completing the study as advised by the patient's responsible physician.

The selected group of patients suffers from locally advanced pancreatic cancer and have been treated with first line treatment regimens (e.g. surgery, radiotherapy, and/or Folfirinox) and are followed at Kirurgisk afdeling K, Bispebjerg Hospital. The subjects will be recruited consecutively and included to the study if they fulfil the inclusion criteria and do not meet any of the exclusion criteria. Potential candidates will receive oral information by the Investigator subsequent to the written patient information. The potential candidate must have the opportunity to consider the given information and to further ask the Investigator questions before finally deciding to participate. When the patient decides to take part in the study he/she will be required to sign the declaration of consent.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients suffering from locally advanced pancreatic cancer and have started treatment with Folfirinox but must stop because of side effects or who declined the Folfirinox treatment.
• Minimum age of 18 years old and be capable of understanding the information and giving informed consent,
• Minimum height of 155 cm,
• Expected survival time (life expectancy) of over 6 months,
• Adequate performance status £ 2 (see below*),

Exclusion criteria

• Evident signs of distant metastasis at baseline
• Positive tests for anti-HIV-1/2; HBsAg, anti-HBc, Anti-HCV or being positive in a Treponema Pallidum test (syphilis),
• Patient´s which have visit an area where there is an outbreak of West Nile virus or Dengue virus within 28 days prior to donation should be excluded, unless the patient has been tested negative,
• Concurrent illness, e.g. uncontrolled epilepsy, cardiovascular-, cerebrovascular-, and/or respiratory disease which can worsen or cause complications in connection with blood donation,
• Clinically significant autoimmune disorders or conditions of immune suppression,
• Haemoglobin count ≤ 7.5 mmol/l (men & women),
• Lymphocytes below 0.3 x 109/l,
• Clinically abnormal Erythrocyte Volume Fraction (EVF),
• Body weight below 40 kg (men) and 50 kg (women),
• Pregnant or breast feeding women. Fertile women can only be included with a negative pregnancy test at screening and must use contraceptives during the study,
• Patients with uncontrolled serious bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infection,
• Blood transfusions within 48 hours prior to donation of blood for ALECSAT production,
• Any medical condition that will render participation in the study risky or, according to the investigator will make the assessment of the study endpoints difficult,