Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41535788›Full record

Trial reportBMC cancer2026

Early termination of NCT04617067, a phase II, open label, clinical trial of oral paricalcitol in combination with gemcitabine and NAB-paclitaxel therapy in advanced pancreatic cancer.

David Easty, Ray McDermott, Adrian G Murphy, Liam Grogan, Patrick G Morris, Oscar S Breathnach, Keith Egan, Sinead Toomey, Anne Horgan, Derek Power and 9 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04617067 (Phase II, Open Label Clinical Trial of Paricalcitol in Combination With Gemcitabine/ Nab-Paclitaxel Therapy in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04617067 phase2completednot on this map

Phase II, Open Label Clinical Trial of Paricalcitol in Combination With Gemcitabine/ Nab-Paclitaxel Therapy in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

TypeinterventionalSponsorCancer Trials IrelandRan2020 to 2022Enrolled15ConditionsAdvanced Pancreatic CancerArmsParicalcitol, Gemcitabine (GEM) and Nab-paclitaxel
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

David EastyCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland. david.easty@cancertrials.ie.
Ray McDermottSt Vincent University Hospital, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland.
Adrian G MurphyBeaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Dublin, Ireland.
Liam GroganBeaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Dublin, Ireland.
Patrick G MorrisBeaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Dublin, Ireland.
Oscar S BreathnachBeaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Dublin, Ireland.
Keith EganBeaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, Dublin, Ireland.
Sinead ToomeyMedical Oncology Laboratory, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont Road, Dublin, Ireland.
Anne HorganUniversity Hospital Waterford, Waterford, Ireland.
Derek PowerCork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland.
Nemer OsmanUniversity Hospital limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Imelda ParkerCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland.
Vicky DonachieCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland.
Anna ShevlinCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland.
Aisling BarrettCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland.
Marc NolanCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland.
Jacinta MarronCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland.
Christine J FarrDepartment of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Bryan T HennessyCancer Trials Ireland, 121 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, D02 H903, Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPancreatic cancer (PDAC) often responds poorly to chemotherapy, represents an unmet clinical need and new therapeutic approaches are urgently required. Desmoplasia is a hallmark of PDAC. Multiple preclinical studies suggest cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF) support cancer growth, and attention has recently turned towards inclusion of anti-stromal agents into chemotherapy trials. Our objective was to evaluate safety and tolerability of oral paricalcitol in combination with systemic chemotherapy in patients with advanced PDAC.

methodsThis was a phase II, single-arm study in patients with advanced PDAC who had received no prior systemic chemotherapy. Gemcitabine and NAB-paclitaxel were administered weekly for 3 of every 4 weeks (days 1, 8 and 15) and paricalcitol administered orally every day of a 28-day cycle. Patients were treated until disease progression with an interim analysis. The primary efficacy endpoint was progression free survival (PFS). Secondary efficacy endpoints were evaluation of overall survival (OS), time to treatment failure (TTF) and tumour response rate (TRR).

resultsFifteen patients were enrolled. Median PFS was 14.6 weeks with 95% CI of (7.9–24.0). Estimated PFS rate at 24 weeks was 18.0% with 95% CI of (2.9–43.4). Five patients achieved stable disease; one achieved a partial response. Confirmed tumour response rate was 8.3% with 90% CI of (0.4–33.9). Mild hypercalcaemia, previously associated with vitamin D receptor agonists, occurred in nine (60%) patients, moderate (Grade 3) hypercalcaemia in 2 patients and there was no grade 4/5 hypercalcaemia. The study did not meet its primary objective and discontinued following interim analysis.

conclusionsOral paricalcitol was safely combined with chemotherapy. The prespecified efficacy threshold for 6-month progression free survival probability (≥ 70%) was not met. The study was stopped early after the planned interim analysis as the criterion pre-specified in order to move to the next stage of the study was not met. Efficacy of paricalcitol in advanced PDAC was lower than expected, with a non-significant trend towards decreased PFS. Our study has implications for interpretation and design of clinical trials incorporating paricalcitol for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04617067, registration date 10/27/2020.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsPancreatic NeoplasmsAdministration, OralAdultAgedAlbuminsDeoxycytidineErgocalciferolsFemaleGemcitabineHumansMaleMiddle AgedPaclitaxelTreatment Outcome130-nm albumin-bound paclitaxelAlbuminsDeoxycytidineErgocalciferolsGemcitabinePaclitaxelparicalcitolHypercalcaemiaStromal targetingVitamin D receptor agonist

Identifiers

PMID41535788
PMCPMC12911197

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.