Zai Lab Limited said that it has treated the first patient in Greater China in the PANOVA-3 phase 3 clinical trial of tumor treating fields (TTFields) in pancreatic cancer.

Tumor Treating Fields are electric fields which disrupt cancer cell division.

PANOVA-3 is a global, open-label, randomized late-stage trial for assessing the efficacy of Tumor Treating Fields simultaneously administered with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel as front-line treatment for patients whose pancreatic cancer is unresectable and locally advanced.

The PANOVA-3 clinical trial is anticipated to enroll nearly 556 patients. Its primary endpoint is overall survival and the secondary endpoints are progression-free survival (PFS), local PFS, one-year survival rate, objective response rate, pain-free survival, quality of life, resectability rate, and toxicity.

Alan Sandler — Zai Lab President, Head of Global Development, Oncology said: “Pancreatic cancer is a common, highly aggressive form of gastrointestinal cancer, with an estimated five-year survival rate of only about 7% in China.

“As the majority of cases have progressed to an advanced stage, there remains an urgent clinical need for more effective treatment options. Tumor Treating Fields has already been approved in the U.S. for glioblastoma and mesothelioma and in China for glioblastoma, and we believe that it represents a promising therapeutic approach for patients with pancreatic cancer as well.”

  Alan Sandler, cancer, China, clinical trial news, Oncology, Pancreatic Cancer, PANOVA-3 trial, tumor treating fields, Zai Lab