Skip to content
CompletedEarly Phase 1

Feasibility Study of Oral Ketamine Versus Placebo for the Treatment of Anxiety in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

NCT05086250 · Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Closed to entry
Status
Not accepting participants
Early Phase 1
Phase
12
Target enrolment
1
Study sites
1 US states

What it is testing

Summary

This is a prospective, single center, double blind, randomized, crossover feasibility study of oral ketamine versus placebo for the treatment of anxiety in patients with pancreatic cancer currently receiving or within 12 weeks of receiving cancer targeted therapy. The primary objective is to determine the feasibility of enrolling subjects and treatment adherence. The secondary objectives are to describe the safety and tolerability. Exploratory objectives are to assess the effect of ketamine/placebo on Depression, Anxiety, Physical Function, Pain Interference, Pain Intensity, Fatigue, Sleep Disturbance, and Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities as measured by PROMIS Anxiety Short Form 7a and the PROMIS-29 Profile v2.1 of Patient Reported Outcomes, as well as changes in circulatory inflammatory cytokines, blood glutamine levels, and other biomarkers of anxiety and/or depression.

Summary as written by the trial’s own sponsor and published on ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. It is the sponsor’s description, reproduced unedited, not an assessment by this site.

What counts as success

Primary outcome measures

  • Feasibility of enrolling subjects which will be measured by the proportion of patients dropping out of study for any reason prior to the end of treatment visit.

    Measured over 2 months

A trial succeeds or fails on its primary outcome, declared in advance. Everything else it reports is secondary by definition.

Who can take part

Eligibility, as published

18 Years
Ages
All
Sex
Not accepted
Healthy volunteers
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent. 2. Participant has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 3. Receiving or within twelve weeks of having received cancer targeted treatment, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or other cancer targeted therapy. 4. Age ≥ 18 years. 5. Has moderate to severe anxiety according to the PROMIS Anxiety Short Form 7a and/or PROMIS-29 anxiety module (T-score of \> 60). 6. Documented adequate liver function within the screening period. 7. Use of concomitant standard antidepressants targeting anxiety (e.g. SSRIs) is permitted if dose has been the same for at least 12 weeks prior to study entry and patient still meets inclusion #5. 8. Women of child-bearing potential and men with partners of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and while receiving study drug. Women of child-bearing potential must have a negative urine or blood pregnancy test at screening. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician and study staff immediately. 9. Must be able to read and understand English. 10. Required not to engage in potentially hazardous activities, such as driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery, after receiving a medication dose until the next day after a restful sleep (as per recommendations with Spravato). 11. Agrees to abstain from alcohol use while taking study medication. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Initial cancer diagnosis ≤6 weeks prior to Day 0. 2. Meets MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI Plus), criteria for diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar illness, delirium or psychosis. 3. Scores ≥ 10 on the Suicidal Risk Assessment (SRA). 4. History of allergic reactions or hypersensitivity to ketamine. 5. Documented history of severe cardiac insufficiency (NYHA III or IV), with currently uncontrolled and/or unstable cardiac or coronary artery disease. 6. Current or recent significant tachyarrhythmia, severe angina, or myocardial ischemia, as assessed by a study physician. 7. Documented history of poorly controlled hypertension (Systolic Blood Pressure \> 180 mmHG or Diastolic Blood Pressure \> 100 mmHG twice within a one-month period in last two months), with or without antihypertensives. 8. Women who are pregnant or nursing or expect to become pregnant or start nursing during the expected trial duration, and women of childbearing potential who refuse to use contraceptives to prevent childbearing. 9. Uncontrolled hypo- or hyperthyroidism, as assessed by a study physician. 10. Diagnosis of dementia. 11. Treatment with monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) within 14 days of Day 0. 12. Aneurysmal vascular disease (including thoracic and abdominal aorta, intracranial and peripheral arterial vessels) or arteriovenous malformation. 13. History of intracerebral hemorrhage. 14. Refusal/inability to comply with inclusion criterion #10 (driving restrictions) and inclusion criterion #11 (alcohol abstinence) during study treatment period.

Where

1 study site

FacilityCityRegionCountry
Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterLos AngelesCaliforniaUnited States

On the registry

Contact the trial directly

This site does not enrol anyone and is not involved in this trial. To ask about taking part, use the sponsor’s own contact details on the official registry record, which is also where the most current version of everything above lives.

Before you do, the preparation checklist lists what a site will ask you on a first call and what is worth asking them. It is free and collects nothing.

NCT05086250 on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Last updated in the registry 2026-08-13. Registry records change; this page reflects the data build of 2026-08-25.

Related

Where this trial sits