Pilot Safety Trial of Chemotherapy and Use of Heparin in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

The trial was a prospective, open-label, single center investigation in patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer who were treated with first-line chemotherapy in an outpatient setting. The intensified treatment consisted of gemcitabine 1g/m² (30 min), 5-flourouracil 750 mg/m² (24 h), folinic acid 200 mg/m² (30 min), and Cisplatin 30 mg/m² (90 min) on day 1 and 8; q3w). Beyond initial 3 months of intensified chemotherapy all patients without cancer progression received further treatment with gemcitabine alone to prevent patients from cumulative toxicities. The concomitant use of Enoxaparin started on day 1 of chemotherapy with a fixed dose of 40 mg daily until cancer progression. Dose adjustment for enoxaparin was recommended in patients with impaired kidney function or thrombocytopenia within the study according to National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria guidelines to minimize bleeding risk. Prophylactic antiemetic therapy and supportive care were provided according to individual symptoms and demand. The study used a sequential design to be able to stop the feasibility investigation in case of severe side effects. After inclusion of three consecutive patients a hold of recruitment was arranged until all three patients received at least 4 weeks of concomitant enoxaparin treatment. In absence of serious events the recruitment should be continued until a minimum of 15 patients received at least 12 weeks concomitant enoxaparin treatment. The trial was approved by the Scientific and Research Ethics Committee of our institution. The investigation was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and Good Clinical Practice Guidelines. Furthermore, the national principles for the proper execution of the clinical examination of drugs ("Bundesanzeiger" No. 243 of 30.12.1987), the national regulations of the German drug law, and the German drug test guidelines were adhered.