The innovative blood tests, research, and treatment are made possible by a $4.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute. The OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute's Breakthrough Treatment Center, a collaboration with Origin, has been chosen as one of 10 hubs of this initiative, in collaboration with the Pancreatic Cancer Detection Consortium.

Patients that will be enrolled have been diagnosed with a type of pancreatic cancer called early-stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Chandler Wilfong, MD, general surgeon with OSF HealthCare, says one of the main goals of this study is to create a national database of patients believed to be at high-risk for pancreatic cancer.

“This will mean that we have more ability, not just in Peoria, but across the country to study these patients who are most at risk,” Dr. Wilfong says. “We also have part of the study looking at exosomal micro-RNA. That lets us look for markers in the bloodstream that will, we hope, predict or identify early cases of pancreatic cancer.”

The American Society of Clinical Oncology identifies pancreatic cancer as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among adults in the United States. PDAC is particularly deadly, with less than 6% of patients surviving for five or more years after diagnosis, according to TGen, a leader in applying genomic analysis and bioinformatics to cancer drug development. 

While not ready for mainstream use, according to Dr. Wilfong, the goal is to make a blood test like the liquid biopsy commercially available for patients in the future. Dr. Wilfong says Peoria was chosen as one of the hub sites because of the community’s diverse patient population.

“We cover a large number of patients who have lived in the city, as well as large rural populations, which was not previously well-represented in this study,” Dr. Wilfong adds.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and it’s increasing year after year, Dr. Wilfong says. The biggest challenge is identifying patients earlier on, and this research hopes to change that.

Video Interview Clips

You’re a patient, and your health care provider has talked to you about taking part in a clinical trial – research to see how care can be delivered better. Trials can last weeks to years. You could do them at home or need to make regular trips to a clinic. The study could involve taking new medicine or simply giving feedback about how to manage the cost of your health care. It’s a lot to consider.

Pros and Cons

Leah Watson is clinical research coordinator at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony’s Health Center in Alton, Illinois, which recently started clinical trials at Moeller Cancer Center. Watson says when thinking about participating in a clinical trial, you should first evaluate the pros and cons as they relate to you.

“Pros would be obviously, hopefully, curing [a patient’s ailment], or at least giving [the patient] a longer life or less progression of disease,” says Watson. “Some cons that we're seeing: our patients aren't willing to give personal data. A lot of times they don't want to share about their financial history or run a soft credit check. And some of those do require those different things for trials.”

 Watson says she understands how patients may be wary of trying a new drug that may not help them.

 “Side effects can be a big thing, especially with something quote-unquote new that's never been done or used in a different way,” explains Watson. “You just never know what type of side effects may arise, and everybody's different. So one person may get some, and another person gets a whole different set or none at all. So it's just a luck of the draw type of wait and see situation.”

Who’s taking part?

Dr. Manpreet Sandhu, a medical oncologist and hematologist at OSF HealthCare, says clinical trials are not for everyone simply because each has eligibility criteria, like age or the progression of your disease. She says around 90% of cancer treatment is evidence-based, meaning providers are using something that’s been tested and approved.

“It’s only those less than 10% [of] patients – and in some institutions even less than that – that go on clinical trials because most of cancer treatment, we already know what the evidence is and what to do and how to treat such patients,” Dr. Sandhu says. “But in those cases where it's a unique situation, it's a rare disease, or if patients have run out of options, standard options, that's where clinical trials come [in]to play.”

Future of clinical trials

 Health care providers took a different spin on clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people worked and got medical care at home. For some, work-from-home and telemedicine may be the new normal. So instead of multiple trips to a doctor’s office to check progress, a clinical trial could involve logging symptoms on a smartphone app, speaking information into your smart speaker, or even having sensors – known as ambient intelligence – track your behavior.

 Some health care professionals may be wary about the security and reliability of at-home data, but they seem primed to embrace the shift. A pair of surveys done before and during the pandemic found a big jump in pharma and contract-research organizations’ plans to take trials virtual.

And the change stands to benefit patients, too. Study results released by the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation found 70% of patients live more than two hours from a clinical trial site. These travel barriers often impact underserved populations, which means these groups are underrepresented in clinical trials.

“Things were available to us, but we never really used them prior to COVID. Same thing with telemedicine. We never really heard about telemedicine. We had computers. We had internet,” Dr. Sandhu says. “We started thinking more broadly in terms of how we can use technology to serve applicable areas where patients could have the convenience of not having to come in and fill a form or answer their questions. Or do their visit with the research nurse or the doctor over [an] internet source.”

The bottom line

The bottom line, according to Watson and Dr. Sandhu, is – like any other health care decision – to talk to your provider and your loved ones about whether a clinical trial is right for you. OSF HealthCare also has resources related to clinical research on its website.

Interview Clips - Leah Watson

Interview Clips - Dr. Manpreet Sandhu

OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony’s Health Center Moeller Cancer Center in Alton is looking for patient feedback about navigating cancer care through a newly announced clinical research program, commonly known as a clinical trial.

The clinical trials are a cooperative with Cancer Research For The Ozarks, a fellow faith-based organization headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. The trials are the product of years of preparation, training, and earned accreditations and are the latest effort by OSF Saint Anthony’s to bring the best care close to home.

OSF Saint Anthony’s providers are screening patients for eligibility for one of two initial trials focusing on cancer care delivery. One study will help patients and their spouses understand the costs of cancer care. Patients will take part from home.

“As research shows, many patients don't get the treatment they deserve and that they need because of the cost itself,” said Leah Watson, clinical research coordinator at OSF Saint Anthony’s. “They can't afford it. They can only afford it for so long. The co-pays are high. So this is very important to focus on for those patients.”

The other clinical trial will track possible shortages of cancer-treating drugs at the OSF Saint Anthony’s pharmacy and how that may affect patient care, such as delays in treatment.

Watson said at least one more clinical trial is planned to start soon at Moeller Cancer Center. There, patients will get cancer treatment to stimulate their immune system, and officials will track patients’ progress.

“Offering these treatment trials to patients will allow for, hopefully, future new treatments for patients. So getting them involved, they are contributing to the research to hopefully find more cures for cancer,” Watson said.

It’s not known how long the trials at the cancer center will last, as Watson noted some clinical trials go on for years.

Dr. Manpreet Sandhu is a medical oncologist and hematologist at OSF Saint Anthony’s.

“Everything that we know about cancer treatments and diagnosis is ultimately achieved from investigations through clinical trials,” Dr. Sandhu said. “Certain medications or testing has to be approved through the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] to be able to be generally used. But [OSF Saint Anthony’s is] now wanting to be a part of that process where we can be in the process in helping in developing the drugs and developing new treatments.”

Dr. Sandhu also remarked that OSF Saint Anthony’s is the only health care group in Riverbend offering clinical trials on- site.

“Our older patients or patients who have to rely on their kids to drive them to Saint Louis, sometimes they are not representative in these studies because they have barriers to access, barriers to care,” Dr. Sandhu said of off-site studies.

OSF Saint Anthony’s patients who want to learn more about the clinical trials can contact Watson at (618-) 433-7613 or leah.c.watson@osfhealthcare.org. 

Author's Note

Click here for more from Moeller Cancer Center on clinical trials - what patients need to know before taking part, the future of trials, and more.

Interview Clips - Leah Watson

Interview Clips - Dr. Manpreet Sandhu