Blasting pancreatic tumors with extra radiation may open door to surgery

NCT ID NCT03523312

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This phase 2 trial tests whether giving a higher-than-standard dose of radiation, along with chemotherapy, can shrink pancreatic tumors enough to make them removable by surgery. The study includes 47 people with locally advanced pancreatic cancer that currently cannot be surgically removed. The goal is to see if this approach increases the number of patients who can undergo surgery and potentially live longer.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
radiation therapy (hypofractionated ablative IMRT) and chemotherapy (capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil)
What this could lead to
If it works, this could help more people with locally advanced pancreatic cancer become eligible for surgery, which may improve survival.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-phase trial with only 47 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. Higher radiation doses also carry increased risks of side effects.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

47 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Apr 2018

Expected to finish

Apr 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Histologically or cytopathologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. * Locally advanced, unresectable pancreatic cancer defined on post-induction chemotherapy CT as having tumor involvement of \>180° (\> 50%) of the circumference of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) or celiac axis, unreconstructable superior mesenteric vein (SMV) or PV involvement. * No evidence of distant metastasis either prior to or after induction chemotherapy. * Completion of at least 3 months of standard induction chemotherapy for LAPC, which may include FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, within 6 weeks of enrollment. * For patients currently receiving investigational agents, a washout of at least 2 weeks or 5 half-lives of experimental agent are required prior to the start of RT. * Age ≥18 years. * KPS 70-100. * Patients must have acceptable organ and marrow function as defined below: * Leukocytes \>3,000/µL * Absolute neutrophil count \>1,500/µL * Platelets \>75,000/µL * Total bilirubin Within 2 x upper limit of normal * AST (SGOT)/ALT (SGPT) \<2.5 x institutional upper limit of normal Creatinine Within 1.5 x upper limit of normal, OR Creatinine clearance \>60 mL/min for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal * Any systemic therapy associated toxicity should be Grade 1 or less * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who have borderline resectable disease using NCCN definition. * Patients who have had prior abdominal radiotherapy. * Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, or cardiac arrhythmia. * Patients who are not surgical candidates due to medical co-morbidities. * Patients in whom iodine contrast is contraindicated. * Pregnant and breastfeeding women are excluded. Women of child-bearing potential who are unwilling or unable to use an acceptable method of birth control to avoid pregnancy for the entire study period and for up to 4 weeks after the study are excluded. This applies to any woman who has experienced menarche and who has not undergone successful surgical sterilization or is not postmenopausal (defined as amenorrhea for at least 12 consecutive months, or women on hormone replacement therapy with serum FSH levels greater than 35 mIU/mL. A negative serum pregnancy test must be obtained within 14 days prior to the start of study therapy in all women of child-bearing potential. Male subjects must also agree to use effective contraception for the same period as above.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge

    Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen

    Montvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

    New York, New York, 10065, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Commack

    Commack, New York, 11725, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth

    Middletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau

    Uniondale, New York, 11553, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Rockville Centre

    Rockville Centre, New York, 11570, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester

    Harrison, New York, 10604, United States

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