trialsTrialPositive

PANOVA-3

PANOVA-3 is the trial behind the 2026 approval of a wearable electric-field device for pancreatic cancer, the first new approval in locally advanced disease in decades.

571 patients. OS 16.2 vs 14.2 months (HR 0.82, p=0.039; ASCO 2025 plenary). Pain-free survival also improved. FDA approved Optune Pax in Q1 2026. Modest effect size and open-label design are debated.

Setting

Unresectable locally advanced PDAC: TTFields + gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel vs chemotherapy alone

Phase

Phase 3

Sponsor

Novocure

Registry

NCT03377491

Headline result

OS 16.2 vs 14.2 months, HR 0.82.

Reported

2025

Enrolled

571

Replication

Single pivotal trial; open-label design and modest effect size are debated.

Outcomes

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In plain words

What these results mean for people, not percentages

571 people took part

Overall survivalprimarysurvival endpoint

Median 16.2 vs 14.2 months with TTFields + gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel compared with Gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel; about 2 months longer for half the group.
A median is a midpoint: half the people did better than this and half did worse, so it is not a prediction for any one person.
Put another way, the treated group had about 18 percent lower chance of the event at any given time (hazard ratio 0.82, likely range 0.68 to 0.99).

Overall survival counts deaths from any cause, so it is the most direct measure of whether a treatment helps people live longer.
These results apply to the people the trial enrolled: Unresectable locally advanced PDAC: TTFields + gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel vs chemotherapy alone. People in a different situation may not see the same effect.

Numbers are from the trial as recorded here; see the source links in the table below. This is orientation, not medical advice: ask your team how closely the trial population matches you.

571 participants enrolled.

Overall survivalprimary

HR 0.82 (0.68–0.99) · p = 0.039

TTFields + gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel

16.2 mo

Gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel

14.2 mo

Source

Endpoint	Arm	n	Value	HR (95% CI)	p	Source
Overall survivalprimary	TTFields + gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel	284	16.2 months	0.82 (0.68–0.99)	0.039	link
Overall survivalprimary	Gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel	287	14.2 months	0.82 (0.68–0.99)	0.039	link

Replication

Single pivotal trial; open-label design and modest effect size are debated.

Connected

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Pages like this

not linked directly; found by shared links

Evidence strength84/100 · Strong

How much and what kind of evidence, not how big the benefit. Click for the breakdown.

Phase 3+30
571 enrolled+14
Primary endpoint: overall survival+20
Result: positive+15
No independent replication recorded0
A linked product is approved+5

Formula disclosed on the evidence page.

Not yet reviewedNeeds expert (clinical) review. Review this page or see the review queue and roster.

ProvenanceLast edited 2026-09-09 · Jude Gomila · Editing pass: every TL;DR and summary stands alone · diff · file · history

Sources & links

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03377491

Data

JSON · ·

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