Radiographic Response to Chemotherapy in Unresected Localized Pancreatic Cancer

February 6, 2023 updated by: Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Prediction and Evaluation of Chemotherapy Treatment Response Using Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound in Unresected Localized Pancreatic Cancer

The goal of this observational study is to explore whether contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can early predict and evaluate the treatment response of first-line chemotherapy in locally advanced and borderline resectable pancreatic cancers.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Question 1: What quantitative parameters of CEUS performed before first-line chemotherapy can predict the early treatment response of patients with locally pancreatic cancer?Question 2: Can CEUS reflect early neovascular changes after first-line chemotherapy in pancreatic tumors? Participants will receive CEUS examination carried out by experienced operators before the first cycle of chemotherapy and after 2 treatment cycles.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Pancreatic cancer is a highly fatal disease with a low 5-year survival rate of approximately 9% in the United States. Due to vague symptoms and early involvement of vessels, surgical treatment is only feasible for 20% of patients. First-line chemotherapy, which can improve the rate of R0 resection, is increasingly being used and is preferred in the ASCO guidelines for patients with locally advanced and borderline resectable pancreatic cancers. Early prediction and evaluation of the treatment response can provide prognostic information and enable oncologists to tailor therapeutic strategies.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is of interest for its ability to gain macrovascular and microvascular information about organs and to aid our understanding of the complexity of angiogenesis in different types of tumors. CEUS is a quantitative kinetic imaging modality that can assess intravascular blood flow in pancreatic tumors even at the capillary level. Our previous studies have confirmed that the enhancement patterns of CEUS in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have correlation with the overall survival time. Now we hypothesize that the enhancement patterns before first-line chemotherapy can predict the treatment response and the changes in the pharmacokinetics of contrast material after treatment would reflect early neovascular changes in pancreatic tumors.

The investigators plan to recruit patients who are about to receive first-line chemotherapy for pathologically diagnosed PDAC from the department of General Surgery and Medical Oncology of our hospital. The patients will receive CEUS examination before the first cycle of chemotherapy and after 2 treatment cycles. Quantitative perfusion analysis will be performed by experienced radiologists and artificial intelligence for all of the images. According to the published literature, clinical response in patients were evaluated based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST, version 1.1) combined with the changes of serum levels of CA 19-9. Changes of CEUS quantitative perfusion parameters will be compared to clinical measurement of response to treatment taking into consideration standard response criteria including radiological imaging, serum CA 19-9 levels and repeat pathology as applicable

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

100

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

    • Beijing
      • Beijing, Beijing, China, 100730
        • Recruiting
        • Peking Union Medical College Hospital

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

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The patients were diagnosed as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma pathologically and planned to receive first-line chemotherapy. The patients could receive regular follow up.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • The main inclusion criteria were histologically proven pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and medical fitness for first-line chemotherapy Patients were consent to receive examinations of contrast enhanced ultrasound

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with distal metastases or patients refusing chemotherapy Patients who were not suitable for contrast-enhanced ultrasound ,such as pregnant or lactating women Patients without complete clinical data

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Patients who planned to receive first-line chemotherapy for pathologically diagnosed PDAC were recruited.

Intervention:Diagnostic test:Contrast-enhanced ultrasound

CEUS is a quantitative kinetic imaging modality that can assess intravascular blood flow in pancreatic tumors, it is safe and widely used in liver and pancreatic disease.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
RECIST 1.1 Therapeutic Responses to 4 cycles
Time Frame: estimated to be 4 months
The patients underwent baseline and repeat MDCT imaging (after 4 cycle). Tumor response was determined by RECIST 1.1 and was defined as a >30% reduction in tumor size as determined by the sum of the longest diameters of each index lesion.
estimated to be 4 months
Serum CA 19-9 Responses to 4 cycles
Time Frame: estimated to be 4 months
Serum CA19-9 levels were detected before chemotherapy and at the end of Cycle 4(each cycle is 21 days). Patients with normal CA19-9(<37 U/mL) post-chemotherapy, whether normal or elevated pre-chemotherapy are defined as "Optimal CA19-9 Response".
estimated to be 4 months
Evaluate if tumor uptake of contrast agent is predictive of response to chemotherapy therapy measured by comparison of Peak Intensity (PI) at CEUS imaging prior to and after 2 cycles chemotherapy
Time Frame: Baseline and after 2 cycles of chemotherapy (estimated to be 2 months)
Before initiation of the chemotherapy and at the end of Cycle 2 (each cycle is 21 days) of chemotherapy, patients would receive CEUS examination. The dynamic CEUS images of each lesion were analysed with the aid of time-intensity curves (TICs) drawn by QLAB software (Philips Healthcare, Andover, MA) and artificial intelligence. PI measurements will be compared to clinical measurement of response to treatment taking into consideration standard response criteria including radiological imaging, serum CA 19-9 levels and repeat pathology as applicable.
Baseline and after 2 cycles of chemotherapy (estimated to be 2 months)
Evaluate if the time to peak (TP) is predictive of response to chemotherapy therapy measured by comparison of TP at CEUS imaging prior to the start of first-line chemotherapy and TP at imaging performed after 2 cycles chemotherapy
Time Frame: Baseline and after 2 cycles of chemotherapy (estimated to be 2 months)
Before initiation of the chemotherapy and at the end of Cycle 2 (each cycle is 21 days) of chemotherapy, patients would receive CEUS examination. The dynamic CEUS images of each lesion were analysed with the aid of time-intensity curves (TICs) drawn by QLAB software (Philips Healthcare, Andover, MA) and artificial intelligence. TP measurements will be compared to clinical measurement of response to treatment taking into consideration standard response criteria including radiological imaging, serum CA 19-9 levels and repeat pathology as applicable.
Baseline and after 2 cycles of chemotherapy (estimated to be 2 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Assessment of overall survival
Time Frame: From first day of protocol examination to the date of death due to any cause and will be censored at the date of last follow-up for patients still alive up to 2 years
Overall survival (OS) was measured from time of diagnosis to death from any cause.
From first day of protocol examination to the date of death due to any cause and will be censored at the date of last follow-up for patients still alive up to 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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)

January 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

October 1, 2025

Study Completion (Anticipated)

January 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 25, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

February 15, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 15, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2023

Last Verified

December 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

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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