Early pancreatic‑cancer trial data

Pancreatic tumors are often called unresectable when they wrap around major arteries, making surgery too dangerous even when the cancer has not spread. A small Phase 1 study now suggests a light-activated treatment might help some of those patients reach surgery. (clinicaltrials.gov) ImPact Biotech said on April 13 that 2 of the first 3 patients in its ongoing trial of padeliporfin vascular targeted photodynamic therapy later underwent tumor resection after treatment at the lowest light dose. The company said the first-cohort safety profile was consistent and well tolerated, and the data were presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology meeting in Toronto on April 11-15. (biospace.com) The trial, listed as NCT05919238, is recruiting and is designed as a multicenter, open-label Phase 1 study with dose escalation first and an expansion cohort later. Patients receive intravenous padeliporfin, then doctors activate it with 753-nanometer laser light delivered through a fiber placed inside an artery feeding the tumor. (clinicaltrials.gov) The basic idea is targeted shutdown of blood flow: the drug stays inactive until light switches it on, and the activated drug is meant to damage tumor blood vessels near the treated artery. Investigators described the goal in an earlier trial outline as destroying tumor that encases the artery while leaving enough surrounding anatomy for standard surgery at least 14 days later. (ascopubs.org) That problem is central in pancreatic cancer because surgery remains the main potentially curative option, but only about 15% to 20% of patients have tumors considered resectable at diagnosis. For patients whose tumors involve major arteries, standard chemotherapy and radiation can control disease, but they do not reliably make surgery possible. (pancan.org, cancer.org) Pancreatic cancer also remains one of the deadliest major cancers in the United States. The National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program lists a 13.3% five-year relative survival rate and estimated 67,440 new U.S. cases with 51,980 deaths in 2025. (seer.cancer.gov) The company’s own trial description says Part A is mainly about safety and finding the best light dose, not proving the treatment works. The expansion phase is intended to test preliminary efficacy after investigators choose the dose from the first stage. (clinicaltrials.gov) That makes the new readout notable but narrow: it comes from three patients in the first cohort, without a randomized comparison group, and from a company statement rather than a peer-reviewed paper. ImPact Biotech said additional results from the pancreatic program are expected later in 2026. (biospace.com) For now, the clearest takeaway is simple: doctors are testing whether a light-activated drug can clear tumor away from critical arteries long enough to turn “inoperable” pancreatic cancer into a surgical case. The answer will depend on whether later cohorts show the same pattern with more patients and longer follow-up. (clinicaltrials.gov, biospace.com)