Treatment of advanced measurable or evaluable pancreatic carcinoma with 17-1A murine monoclonal antibody alone or in combination with 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and mitomycin (FAM).

Between 1/85 and 3/86, 16 patients with advanced measurable or evaluable pancreatic carcinoma were treated with mouse monoclonal antibody consisting of a single dose of 400 mg 17-1A immunoglobulin given intravenously. None of the eight patients who received monoclonal antibody alone had any subjective or objective benefit. Two of the eight patients who received a combination of monoclonal antibody and 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and mitomycin (F.A.M.) chemotherapy had clinically useful partial responses lasting 11 months and 7 months respectively. One of these patients, whose initial treatment consisted of an 8-week cycle of F.A.M. chemotherapy, had progressive deterioration as evidenced by weight loss and persistent abnormality of his CT scan, and then achieved a partial response following a single injection of monoclonal antibody while chemotherapy was continued. His response lasted 11 months. There was no toxicity associated with the administration of monoclonal antibody, and the F.A.M. chemotherapy was well-tolerated with moderate and acceptable hematologic toxicity and mild gastrointestinal side effects. There were no treatment-related deaths.