Ascorbic Acid and Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Recurrent Pancreatic Cancer That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine safety of intravenous ascorbic acid in combination with fluorouracil,
irinotecan hydrochloride, leucovorin calcium, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) as defined by
Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4.03 in patients with advanced
pancreatic cancer.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To test feasibility of collecting quality of life (QOL), patient reported outcomes (PRO)
data and correlative studies on patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Capable of giving informed consent

- Histological diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

- Stage IV or recurrent pancreatic cancer by imaging

- Locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer by National Comprehensive Cancer
Network (NCCN) criteria

- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 0-1

- No prior treatment for metastatic disease (prior neo-adjuvant or adjuvant
chemotherapy, except FOLFIRINOX, chemoradiation or radiation allowed)

- White blood count >= 3000

- Platelets >= 100,000

- Total bilirubin =< 1.5 mg/dl

- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =< 5 X upper limit
of normal (ULN)

- Creatinine < 1.5 mg/dL

- Glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency (G6PD) level of 5-14 units/g hemoglobin (Hgb) or
within institutional standard parameters

- All subjects of child producing potential must agree to use contraception or avoidance
of pregnancy measures while enrolled on study

Exclusion Criteria:

- Other pancreatic cancer histology (islet cell, acinar, neuroendocrine tumors)

- Resectable pancreatic cancer

- Prior neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX

- Pregnant or lactating females

- No clinical ascites (mild ascites on scans permissible)

- Central nervous system (CNS) metastasis

- Known congestive heart failure, significant ventricular arrhythmias, cirrhosis, grade
4/5 chronic kidney disease, uncontrolled diabetes

- Active, uncontrolled bacterial, viral, or fungal infection(s) requiring systemic
therapy

- Peripheral neuropathy grade 2 or greater

- Any condition, psychiatric or otherwise, that would preclude informed consent,
consistent follow-up or compliance with any aspect of the study (e.g., untreated
schizophrenia or other significant cognitive impairment, etc.)