Pancreatic Cancer Evolution Upon Treatment

January 14, 2026 updated by: Gabriele Capurso, IRCCS San Raffaele

This project aims at evaluating the different subtypes of pancreatic cancer on EUS-tissue acquisition of pancreatic cancer patients, and their possible modifications throughout time. The study takes advantage of a systematic evaluation of pancreatic cancers through diagnostic EUS-guided fine needle biopsy (FNB) sampling of the mass performed during a restaging EUS. FNB samples represent a valuable source of cancer cells, both for the histological diagnosis and as the source of tumor macromolecules, including DNA and RNA.

Study design This is a prospective study enrolling patients with non-metastatic pancreatic cancer who already underwent diagnostic EUS with tissue acquisition and rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) by cytologist positive for pancreatic cancer, with a first sample acquired for diagnostic purposes and a second sample stored for RNA extraction acquired with the already approved protocol BIOGASTRO.

As recommended by guidelines, patients will follow the standard pathway of treatment, being sent to chemotherapy and will then undergo restaging of the lesion and re-evaluation of vascular invasion by CT and EUS. During this second session of EUS a new specimen of the tumor will be sampled for diagnostic purposes, with a second pass undergoing for RNA extraction.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Italy
      • Milan, Italy, 20132
        • Recruiting
        • IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Willing to sign informed consent
  • Patient with CT scan or MRI or EUS defining the lesion as locally advanced
  • Patient who already underwent EUS-TA for solid lesion of the pancreas positive for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)
  • Patient undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy
  • Patient primarily followed at San Raffaele Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients not willing to sign informed consent
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding
  • Cytology positive for malignancies other than PDAC
  • Patient undergoing progression at re-staging CT scan

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Repetition of EUS-FNA or FNB for RNA extraction
Procedure: Fine Needle Biopsy or Aspiration
A new sampling of the tumor will be performed after 4-6 months of neoadjuvant chemotherapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evaluation of molecular subtype modification
Time Frame: 6 months
As all patients are having baseline (at diagnosis) molecular subtype (classical or basal-like) evaluation through RNAsequencing, patients enrolled in the PACEUT trial will undergo a new evaluation of the molecular subtype (based on RNAsequencing performed on the EUS-FNA or FNB) and evaluation of gene expression
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

IRCCS San Raffaele

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

July 14, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 28, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 29, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 4, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

January 18, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 14, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PACEUT

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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