Dr. Ramanathan on an Analysis of the MPACT Trial

Ramesh K. Ramanathan, MD, medical director, Clinical Trials Program, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, describes the results from an analysis of metabolic response by positron emission tomography (PET) compared with tumor response by computed tomography (CT) from the phase III MPACT trial.

Ramanathan says the study, which was presented at the 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, analyzed a subset of patients from the MPCAT study, which compared nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine versus gemcitabine alone for patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

A subset analysis of about 250 patients from the MPACT study had PET and CT scans done at baseline, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks, Ramanathan says. The analysis showed that the PET response was doubled regardless if the patients received gemcitabine alone or with nab-paclitaxel. The patients who had a PET response had a higher median survival rate compared to those who had a CT response alone.

Ramanathan says the results indicate that PET may be a better indicator of response. However, there was a group of patients who had PET response but no CT response that showed progression. These patients need to be looked at further, Ramanathan says.

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