Abstract 4622: PAM4-antigen levels in the serum of patients with pancreatic carcinoma: Early detection of disease and correlation with responses to radioimmunotherapy

Abstract

Abstract Background: A serum-based enzyme immunoassay (EIA) employing MAb-PAM4 demonstrates high specificity and sensitivity for detection of advanced pancreatic carcinoma (PC). We are currently exploring use of the immunoassay as a means to detect early-stage PC, as well as detection of nascent disease progression or relapse during routine post-treatment follow-up. We now also report initial results that provide correlation of serum PAM4-antigen levels with responses to radiolabeled PAM4 therapy. Methods: The PAM4-based EIA was employed for detection and quantitation of antigen in the serum of pancreatic carcinoma patients with known stage of disease (N=68). An additional 11 patients with stage-4 disease who participated in an ongoing phase-1b clinical trial to evaluate the combination of 90Y-hPAM4 IgG, (clivatuzumab tetrexate) radioimmunotherapy with low-dose, radiosensitizing, gemcitabine (Gem) were also examined. Serum specimens from this latter group were collected at baseline prior to treatment, at the end of the 4-week treatment cycle, and again at 4 weeks post-treatment (week 8 from baseline), when a CT scan was performed to determine tumor response. Results: Overall, the sensitivity of the immunoassay for detection of PC was 81%, with a 5% false-positive rate for the healthy volunteers (N=19). When examined by stage of disease, sensitivity rates were 91%, 86% and 62% for stages 3/4 advanced disease, stage-2, and stage-1 PC, respectively. For those patients who had treatment with 90Y-hPAM4 + Gem, a decrease in antigen levels greater than 40%, observed at the end of the treatment cycle (4 weeks), with sustained decline in the antigen levels at the 8-week post-treatment evaluation, provided presumptive evidence of tumor response, either stable disease (SD, N=2) or partial response (PR, N=5) by CT RECIST criteria. None of the patients with progressive disease (N=4) had a sustainable decrease in serum levels of PAM4-antigen, whereas all of the responders did. The median decrease in serum PAM4-mucin levels at the 8-week follow-up evaluation timepoint was 54% (range: 47% - 98% decrease), with a median tumor response (only SD and PR responders) being a decrease in tumor size of 37% (range: 46% decrease to 4% increase), from a baseline median primary tumor size of 10.0 cm (range 2.6 - 12.1 cm). Conclusions: These results suggest that the PAM4-based immunoassay should be further evaluated for use in the detection of early pancreatic carcinoma, as well as to evaluate tumor response to therapy. (Supported in part by grant CA096924 from the NIH.) Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4622.