IORT on Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer (PancFORT)

A Phase II Study of Primary Chemotherapy, Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, and Intraoperative Radiation Therapy in Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

This phase II study investigates the efficacy of IORT for patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the addition of IORT, after FOLOFIRINOX-base chemotherapy, and SBRT, increases the 3-year survival rate. A total of 101 patients will be enrolled, and these patients will receive IORT of 10 to 20 Gy, according to the resection status (to the tumor bed after resection, or to the tumor in situ in case of non-resection).

Study Overview

• Status: Suspended
• Conditions: Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Radiation: Intraoperative radiotherapy

Detailed Description

Treatment outcomes of borderline resectable pancreatic cancer are still poor even after completion of FOLFIRINOX-based chemotherapy and radical resection. A growing body of literature is demonstrating that Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), within a multimodal approach, allow to obtain better oncological outcome, at the price of low to negligible rates of morbidity and mortality. The investigators hypothesize that a "total neoadjuvant" scenario, with the best current therapy, based on up to 6 months of FOLFIRINOX (minimum 4), SBRT and IORT (in situ or after surgery) would increase the disease-specific survival of borderline resectable pancreatic cancer patients. An historical cohort will be used as a comparison group.

Considering the intention-to-treat design and the institutional rates of chemotherapy completion and exploration/resection of borderline resection pancreatic cancer patients, a total of 100 patients will be enrolled in this phase II trial. Patients submitted to IORT, will receive IORT of 10 to 20 Gy according to the resection status (to the tumor bed after resection, or to the tumor in situ in case of non-resection).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Verona, Italy, 37134
    • General and Pancreatic Surgery Unit, Pancreas Institute, University of Verona Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• • Biopsy-proven, previously untreated borderline resectable PC, defined according to the NCCN guidelines v1.2019;

  • Age 18-80 years;
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1;
  • Adequate bone marrow function (absolute neutrophil count ≥1500 per cubic millimeter; platelet count ≥100.000 per cubic millimeter; hemoglobin level ≥10 g per deciliter), liver function (serum total bilirubin level ≤1.5 times the upper limit of the normal range), and renal function (creatinine clearance ≥50 ml per minute);
  • Ability to understand the characteristics of the clinical trial;
  • Written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• • Ampullary, biliary, or duodenal adenocarcinoma; pancreatic adenocarcinoma in the background of an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia (IPMN), other uncommon pancreatic adenocarcinomas (acinar-cell, squamous, giant-cell osteoclastic-like);

  • Invasive cancer in the last 5 years requiring radiation therapy to the upper abdomen or chemotherapy;
  • Symptomatic heart failure or coronary artery disease;
  • Pregnant or lactating women;
  • Impaired mental state or language problems.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: IORT group; Intraoperative administration of 10 to 20 Gy after surgery or as an "in situ" treatment in case resection will not be performed	Radiation: Intraoperative radiotherapy; IORT will be delivered as follows: Radical resection --> delivery of 10-15 Gy to the tumor bed; Non radical resection --> delivery of 15-20 Gy to the tumor "in situ"

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Disease-specific survival	36 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Progression-free survival	36 months
Number of participants with treatment-related adverse events as assessed by CTCAE v4.0	36 months
Rate of margin-free surgery	30 days
Rate of surgical complications	Up to 90 days after surgery
Resection rate	Intraoperative

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universita di Verona

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Palta M, Willett C, Czito B. The role of intraoperative radiation therapy in patients with pancreatic cancer. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2014 Apr;24(2):126-31. doi: 10.1016/j.semradonc.2013.11.004.
• Krempien R, Roeder F. Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) in pancreatic cancer. Radiat Oncol. 2017 Jan 10;12(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s13014-016-0753-0.
• Cai S, Hong TS, Goldberg SI, Fernandez-del Castillo C, Thayer SP, Ferrone CR, Ryan DP, Blaszkowsky LS, Kwak EL, Willett CG, Lillemoe KD, Warshaw AL, Wo JY. Updated long-term outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer treated with intraoperative radiotherapy at the Massachusetts General Hospital, 1978 to 2010. Cancer. 2013 Dec 1;119(23):4196-204. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28329. Epub 2013 Sep 4.
• Murphy JE, Wo JY, Ryan DP, Jiang W, Yeap BY, Drapek LC, Blaszkowsky LS, Kwak EL, Allen JN, Clark JW, Faris JE, Zhu AX, Goyal L, Lillemoe KD, DeLaney TF, Fernandez-Del Castillo C, Ferrone CR, Hong TS. Total Neoadjuvant Therapy With FOLFIRINOX Followed by Individualized Chemoradiotherapy for Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Phase 2 Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2018 Jul 1;4(7):963-969. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.0329. Erratum In: JAMA Oncol. 2018 Oct 1;4(10):1439.
• Paiella S, Malleo G, Simoni N, Micera R, Guariglia S, Cavedon C, Marchegiani G, Esposito A, Landoni L, Casetti L, Tuveri M, Milella M, Secchettin E, Manzini G, Bovo C, De Pastena M, Fontana M, Salvia R, Mazzarotto R, Bassi C. A phase II trial proposal of total neoadjuvant treatment with primary chemotherapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, and intraoperative radiation therapy in borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. BMC Cancer. 2021 Feb 16;21(1):165. doi: 10.1186/s12885-021-07877-7.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 10, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 12, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): September 16, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 7, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Pancreatic cancer; Total neoadjuvant therapy; Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer; Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT)
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Endocrine System Diseases; Digestive System Neoplasms; Endocrine Gland Neoplasms; Pancreatic Diseases; Pancreatic Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: PancFORT

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No