Neoadjuvant Accelerated Short Course Radiation Therapy With Proton Beam and Capecitabine for Resectable Pancreatic Cancer
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2017-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
A standard treatment for pancreatic cancer is radiation therapy plus chemotherapy after
surgery. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are commonly given for up to six weeks. Previous
research has suggested that giving the radiation and chemotherapy for a shorter amount of
time (accelerated schedule) before surgery may be better tolerated. In this research study,
different schedules of proton radiation therapy will be used. Each schedule will give about
the same total dose of radiation. However, the total dose will be spread out over different
time periods and different numbers of sessions. The purpose is to find the shortest schedule
of radiation therapy that can be given without unacceptable side effects. Proton beam
radiation is being used because of its unique ability to deposit its energy directly in the
tumor, resulting in less radiation to normal tissue. A new type of PET scan is also being
studied to see if it can help predict the response to pre-surgery treatment.
Phase:
Phase 1/Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Massachusetts General Hospital
Collaborators:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute National Cancer Institute (NCI)