EUS-guided Intratumoral Gemcitabine in Locally Advanced Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2014-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Pancreatic cancer is the 11th most common type of cancer but it is the fourth leading cause
of cancer death. The only effective treatment for pancreatic cancer includes surgery.
However, only 20% of the patients have surgically treatable disease. Also, the 5-year
survival for the surgically treated patients is only 15%.
About 40% of the patients present with advanced disease with distant metastasis, and the
remaining 40% present with locally advanced unresectable cancer with the tumor invaded into
surrounding major vessels. For those with locally advanced disease, systemic chemotherapy
with or without radiotherapy provides palliation of the symptoms but cannot cure the
disorder. Systemic chemotherapy is given through peripheral vessels.
The investigators hypothesized that direct injection of the chemotherapeutic drug into the
tumor may help to boost the effect of systemic chemotherapy and radiotherapy in those with
locally advanced pancreatic cancer.