Relationship Between Vitamin D Biomarkers and Survival in Blood Samples From Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

The Relationship of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D to Overall Survival in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

RATIONALE: Studying samples of blood from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors identify and learn more about biomarkers related to cancer. It may also help doctors predict how well patients will respond to treatment.

PURPOSE: This research trial is studying the relationship between vitamin D biomarkers and survival in blood samples from patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary Objective

• To measure baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels in a cohort of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer enrolled in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) study 80303 and evaluate the association between vitamin D status and overall survival (OS) or progression free survival (PFS).

Secondary Objective

• To evaluate the association between common germ-line single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the vitamin D pathway genes and 25(OH)D levels in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
• To evaluate the interaction between serum 25(OH)D levels and germ-line SNPs in the vitamin D pathway genes in predicting OS in advanced pancreatic cancer.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Archived serum samples are analyzed for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels by competitive chemiluminescence immunoassay. Results are then compared with the germ-line single nucleotide polymorphisms from the Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) and patients' clinical data.

1. Eligible patients had unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas
2. Received no prior therapy for metastatic disease (prior radiation and/or chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting were allowed).
3. Baseline Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 2
4. Adequate renal, liver, and bone marrow function were required.
5. Patients signed informed consent for participation in the therapeutic trial and consented to the companion study for biomarker research (CALGB-151006).