Clinical Research Directory

Advanced Therapies for Liver Metastases

Liver metastases (MTS) are the main cause of death for patients affected by colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), thus representing the major unmet clinical need for these malignancies. Based on preliminary and published data, the investigators hypothesize that innovative immune, gene, and cell therapy approaches might overcome the tolerogenic liver microenvironment and represent powerful therapeutic tools for liver MTS of PDAC and CRC. The investigators have therefore planned an observational clinical study to enroll distinct cohorts of patients (i.e., metastatic CRC, preneoplastic, metastatic, and non-metastatic PDAC) and finely characterize, through integrated state-of-the-art -omics, the immune and non-immune microenvironment of their primary tumor and/or liver metastases as well as correlate changes in the activation status and phenotype of peripheral blood leukocytes. Healthy volunteers will be enrolled as negative controls. The investigators aim at identifying: i) actionable tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and local immune suppressive and regulatory pathways; ii) biological parameters for early diagnosis of relapse; iii) the effect of therapies on the shaping of anti-tumor immune responses. Data collected will be instrumental for the generation of novel advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). Indeed, this protocol is part of a multi-partner translational program, supported by the AIRC 5 per Mille 2019 grant, focused on the development, validation, and implementation of clinical testing for ATMPs to ameliorate the cure of CRC and PDAC, and possibly to help the study of other solid tumors. Moreover, the systematic and long-term follow-up of enrolled patients will possibly point to early predictors of differential prognosis and patients' categories eligible for tailored therapies, including those with the novel ATMPs. In this regard, two additional substudies were incorporated into the main LiMeT protocol in July 2024 and January 2026, respectively, supported by supplementary funding: 1) the TREATLIVMETS (Treating Liver Metastasis) project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon Europe research and innovation program; 2) the "Deciphering and targeting the immunological niche in PDAC" project, funded by the Fondazione Regionale per la Ricerca Biomedica (FRRB) under the "From Bed to Bench 2024" call. In the latter substudy, machine learning will be integrated with the spatial multi-omic profiling of the immune landscape in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in a subset of IPMN and PDAC patients, supporting the discovery of new therapeutic targets and enabling the early detection of preneoplastic lesion progression.

AI-Powered Precision Decision-Making for Pancreatic Diseases

This multicenter clinical trial evaluates an artificial intelligence (AI) system designed to assist in the diagnosis and management of pancreatic diseases. Using contrast-enhanced CT scans, the study compares the AI's recommendations against the decisions of experienced clinicians to verify the system's accuracy and safety in a real-world setting. Patients are categorized into three management groups: Intervention (surgery/treatment), Intensive Surveillance (close monitoring), or Routine Surveillance (standard follow-up). The primary goal is to determine if the AI system can reliably classify patients, reduce the risk of missing malignant lesions, and prevent unnecessary surgeries, thereby improving clinical decision-making for pancreatic conditions.

Preventing Postoperative Complications in Patients Undergoing High-risk Pancreatoduodenectomy With a Bundle Approach Including Hydrocortisone, Octreotide, and the Teres Ligament Patch (PANENCA)

The PANENCA trial aims to reduce postoperative complications in patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy (also known as a Whipple procedure), a complex surgical operation performed to remove tumors located in or near the head of the pancreas. One of the most frequent and serious complications after this surgery is postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF), a leakage of pancreatic fluid from the surgical connection. POPF can lead to intra-abdominal infection, bleeding, and inflammation, often resulting in delayed recovery and postponement of subsequent oncological treatment. In severe cases, these complications may be life-threatening. Patients with a small main pancreatic duct (3 millimeters or less) are known to have a substantially higher risk of developing POPF. Previous studies have shown that several existing interventions may reduce the risk or severity of these complications. These include hydrocortisone, a medication that suppresses postoperative inflammation; octreotide, a medication that reduces the production of pancreatic secretions; and a surgical technique known as the ligamentum teres hepatis patch, which uses the patient's own tissue to protect nearby blood vessels in the event of a pancreatic leak. Because the development of pancreatic fistulas is multifactorial, the investigators hypothesize that a combined approach targeting different underlying mechanisms may provide a complementary and more effective protective effect than any single intervention alone. The PANENCA trial therefore evaluates whether the combined use of hydrocortisone, octreotide, and the ligamentum teres patch can reduce the rate of major postoperative complications after pancreatoduodenectomy. Patients participating in the study are randomly assigned to receive either the combination treatment in addition to standard perioperative care or standard perioperative care alone. The study medications are administered only during the first postoperative days, and the surgical patch is applied during the operation itself. No additional tests, monitoring procedures, or hospital visits are required beyond routine clinical care. This international, multicenter randomized trial includes patients at high risk for POPF who are undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy. The primary objective is to determine whether the combination treatment reduces the incidence of major postoperative complications. If proven effective, this bundle approach may be implemented more consistently across participating countries and incorporated into international clinical guidelines for pancreatic surgery.

Integration of Multiomics Markers for Invasive IPMNs Identification Through the Set-up of the INvasive Cyst bIomarkers Detection (INCITE) Consortium

Although intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) represent potential precursors of pancreatic cancer, IPMNs with invasive cancer are rare. Based on current risk factors for malignancy, overtreatment (surgery) of benign IPMNs remains a critical issue, with its associated risk of postoperative and long-term complications. Identification of biomarkers that could predict malignancy in IPMNs is an unmet clinical need. Environmental, lifestyle, genetics and metabolic factors may play a role in IPMNs carcinogenesis. Aims of the study are: 1) to analyze exposome, somatic/germline genetic variability, metabolomics and transcriptome profile in order to identify new biomarkers; 2) to use nonparametric epidemiologic approaches and machine learning algorithms to compute a progression score to offer clinicians an innovative tool towards the goal of a personalized medicine approach. In order to perform all the analysis we will set up the Invasive Cyst biomarker detection (INCITE) consortium, between the participant centers in order to collectively enroll an adequate number of patients to fulfill the previous aims. The project is designed as an observational cross-sectional multicenter study with additional procedures. The analysis will be conducted on biological samples collected at a single time point. Some samples (500 patients: 160 surgical, 340 under surveillance) are already available in the consortium, having been collected in previous studies, while additional 300 (100 surgical and 200 under surveillance) patients will be prospectively enrolled during the first 12 months of the study. The sample collection will take place during outpatient visit/EUS procedure for the surveillance cohort, while in the surgical cohort all the material will be retrieved during the surgery. The patients samples will be divided in two cohorts, the first will be a discovery cohort and the second one a validation cohort. The first cohort will consist in patients already collected. The validation cohort will include patients enrolled prospectively during the first year of the study.

Study of IPMN Progression Prevention With Tocotrienol (SIPP-T3)

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, investigating whether treatment with δ-tocotrienol (a.k.a. Delta-tocotrienol, abbreviated as DT3) will prevent the progression of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas.

Identification of New Theranostic Biomarkers of Pancreatic Tumor Progression

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) are one of the main precursor lesions of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a lethal disease predicted to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Western societies within a decade. The mechanisms underlying IPMN progression are poorly understood. The goal of IPMN management is to reduce the risk of patient death due to progression to PDAC through primary and secondary prevention (namely, early diagnosis and risk-reducing surgery). High-risk IPMNs (i.e., high-grade or main duct IPMNs, which account for 57-90% of cases) are referred for surgical resection, while low-risk IPMNs (6-46%) undergo periodic follow-up aimed at monitoring the acquisition of morphological features associated with malignancy over time. However, the clinical management of IPMN remains a significant challenge because the distinction between high and low-risk progression is based on imaging and histological criteria that are not unequivocally recognized and do not take into account the underlying biology of lesions that appear similar but are associated with different clinical behaviors. Consequently, patient risk stratification is often inaccurate, leading to suboptimal treatment. Approximately 1-11% of low-risk IPMN patients assigned to clinical follow-up have developed PDAC. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to improve the understanding of the biology and malignant potential of IPMN to improve prognosis and clinical management of affected patients and guide them toward personalized therapeutic approaches. The availability of markers capable of stratifying IPMN based on their risk of progression to PDAC could enhance the current malignancy criteria assessed in clinical settings by more accurately identifying patients who strongly need surgical resection. \*\*Study Objective\*\* The aim of this study is to identify and validate biomarkers capable of distinguishing between low-risk and high-risk IPMN progression to PDAC. These biomarkers would help more accurately identify IPMN patients who could benefit from therapeutic intervention and/or surgical resection in the future. The study will include patients with IPMN followed at Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS Roma, Fondazione G. Pascale IRCCS Naples, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona, and Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Messina.

The Prevention of Progression to Pancreatic Cancer Trial (The 3P-C Trial)

This is a multi-center randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial of patients with high-risk intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas. The primary objective is to evaluate the effect of sulindac on the presence or absence of progression of IPMN after up to 3 years of treatment. Patients without contraindications will be considered to be eligible and will be required to have a cross-sectional imaging study of the pancreas by CT scan or MRI within 3 months of study entry to document residual IPMNs and to rule out any evidence of pancreatic cancer. Patients will be randomized to receive either sulindac (200 mg p.o. BID) plus standard radiographic and endoscopic surveillance or placebo plus standard radiographic and endoscopic surveillance. Randomization will be stratified by (1) whether the patient had high-grade dysplasia identified in the initial resection specimen (resected patients only) and (2) whether the patient is taking metformin at the time of randomization.

Impact of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists on Patients With IPMN

This study investigates the impact of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) on patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), a type of pancreatic cystic neoplasm that can progress to malignancy. With the increasing use of GLP-1 RAs for managing diabetes and obesity, concerns about their potential to influence pancreatic conditions, like IPMNs, have emerged. Although GLP-1 RAs are generally safe, their effects on pre-existing pancreatic conditions remain unclear. The study aims to evaluate whether GLP-1 RA use in IPMN patients is linked to changes in pancreatic cyst characteristics, the incidence of acute pancreatitis, variations in tumor markers, and the progression of IPMNs to high-grade dysplasia or malignancy. A retrospective analysis will be conducted using medical data from patients diagnosed with IPMNs and treated with GLP-1 RAs between 2010 and 2024 at three Swiss hospitals. Key outcomes will include radiological changes, the incidence of acute pancreatitis, and potential shifts in IPMN surveillance or need for surgical intervention

The LINFU® U.S. Registry in Patients With IPMN (Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm of the Pancreas)

In this study, LINFU® will be evaluated in patients who have been identified with IPMN to determine if it can be used to help identify early, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and its noninvasive precursor lesions (dysplasia). The study will also help determine if LINFU® results in earlier intervention, treatment and improvement in patient outcomes.

Pancreatic Cancer Initial Detection Via Liquid Biopsy

The overall rationale of PANCAID is to provide a diagnostic blood test for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. With a set of different liquid biopsy methods, it is the aim to measure these markers in well-defined patient cohorts. For the entire series of these studies, the following groups are planned: 1) Histologically proven early-stage pancreatic cancer (e.g. T1a/b and T2 carcinomas \[N0M0\]); 2) Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia (IPMN) that were operated with verification of the benign, premalignant or malignant histology; 3) ordinary branched-duct IPMN; 4) individuals at risk (IAR) with and without IPMN, with and without known hereditary cancer gene (e.g. BRCA2); 5) a high risk group of patients with chronic pancreatitis, aged 55-65, who are heavy smokers (≥40 PY), with newly onset diabetes mellitus (NODM).

Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN) Database - A Tool to Predict Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer death in Australia. Surgery remains the most effective treatment for early pancreatic cancer and currently the only potential for cure. Unfortunately, many patients present with advanced disease and are not suitable for surgery. Therefore, it is vital to detect these cancers early. In the absence of significant data from prospective studies, all of the guidelines are based on a critical review of available data and consensus of experts. The primary aim is to delineate the progression of IPMN to pancreatic malignancy as confirmed by surgical pathology, radiology and biochemical diagnosis. The secondary aims are (i) To outline the management of IPMNs for those who have progressed straight to surgery or surveillance by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) (ii)To validate the International consensus guidelines for management of IPMN - Fukuoka consensus guidelines and tertiary aim to identify potential risk factors, if any that increase risk of malignancy within the IPMNs.