New cocktail of chemo and precision radiation aims to tame pancreatic cancer
NCT ID NCT04570943
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests a two-step approach for people with locally advanced pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. First, patients receive two powerful chemotherapy regimens in sequence (GEMBRAX then FOLFIRINOX). Then, those whose cancer does not worsen get MRI-guided stereotactic radiotherapy, which delivers high-dose radiation very precisely. The goal is to stop the cancer from growing and to see if this combined treatment is safe and feasible.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel, oxaliplatin, leucovorin, irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, and MRI-guided stereotactic radiotherapy
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a new treatment sequence to control locally advanced pancreatic cancer and potentially make it surgically removable.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage trial with only 103 participants, so results may not apply broadly. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy have significant side effects, and the cancer may still progress.
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
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 103 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2021
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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: 1. Patient aged from 18 to 75 years at the date of signature of the consent form 2. Histologically or cytologically proven pancreatic adenocarcinoma 3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤ 1 4. Non-resectable tumour according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 1.2015 recommendations after external review of imaging data by multidisciplinary experts. 5. Non-metastatic cancer confirmed by thorax-abdomen-pelvis computerized tomography (CT) scan and liver MRI 6. SMART feasibility confirmed by centralized review 7. Uracilemia \< 16 ng/ml 8. Hematological assessment within 14 days before inclusion, defined by: * Neutrophils ≥ 2 000/mm3 (2 × 109/L); * Platelets ≥ 100 000/mm3 (100 × 109/L); * Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dl 9. Liver function (within 14 days before inclusion) defined by: * ASpartate Transaminase (AST) and ALanine Transaminase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 x Upper Limit of Normal (ULN); * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x ULN. Patients with a metallic biliary prosthesis due to biliary obstruction caused by the cancer may be included, if: a CT scan with injection of contrast medium and thin pancreas sections was performed before placing the biliary prosthesis, the bilirubin level after prosthesis fitting decreased to ≤20 mg/L (≤34 μmol/L), and in the absence of cholangitis. 10. Creatininaemia within the reference limits, or calculated clearance ≥50 ml/min for patients with a serum creatinine value above or below the reference values (clearance calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease EPIdemiology collaboration (CKDEPI formula). 11. Serum calcium AND magnesium AND potassium ≥ Lower Limit Normal (LLN and ≤ 1.2 x Upper Limit Normal (ULN) 12. Cancer Antigen (CA 19.9) \<500 IU/mL (without cholestasis). Patients with CA 19.9 between 500 IU/mL and 1000 IU/mL can be included if the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan and peritoneal MRI (optional) do not detect any distant fixation, indicative of metastasis. Patients with CA 19.9 ≥ 1000 IU/mL cannot be included. 13. Sexually active patients must use a contraceptive method considered adequate and suitable by the investigator during the entire period of administration of the study treatment and up to 6 months after the treatment end, for female and male patients. 14. Signature of the consent form before any study-specific procedure. 15. Covered by the French health insurance. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Any previous treatment for pancreatic cancer (e.g. chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, targeted therapy, experimental therapy) 2. Gilbert's syndrome or homozygous Uridine DiPhosphate Glucuronosyl Transferase 1 A1 (UGT1A1 \* 28) 3. Other concomitant cancer or history of cancer, except for treated in situ cancer of the cervix , basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma, superficial bladder tumour (Ta, Tis, and T1), or good-prognosis tumour cured without chemotherapy and without signs of disease in the 3 years before inclusion 4. Prior radiotherapy likely to overlap with the planned study radiotherapy area (e.g. previous abdominal irradiation). 5. Patients with high cardiovascular risk, including, but not limited to, coronary stent or myocardial infarction in the past 6 months. 6. Peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2 7. ECG with QTcorrected (QTc) interval longer than 450 ms for men and longer than 470 ms for women 8. Contraindication to MRI and MRI-guided radiotherapy 9. History of chronic inflammatory disease of the colon or rectum 10. Any other concomitant and not controlled serious illness or disturbance that may interfere with the patient's participation in the study and safety during the study (e.g. severe liver, kidney, lung, metabolic, or psychiatric disorder) 11. Intolerance or allergy to one of the study drugs (gemcitabine, Nab-paclitaxel, oxaliplatin, irinotecan, 5-FU) or to one of their excipients (e.g. fructose) listed in the Contraindications or Warnings sections and Special precautions of the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) or prescription information 12. Legal incapacity (patient under guardianship or wardship) 13. Pregnant or breastfeeding woman. Fertile women must have a negative pregnancy test (serum β-hCG) performed 72 hours before inclusion 14. Patient using vitamin K antagonists (Coumadin…) (possible modification of the treatment before inclusion) 15. Active and uncontrolled bacterial or fungal infection that requires systemic treatment. 16. Know active HIV infection 17. History of peripheral arterial disease (e.g. lameness, Buerger's disease). 18. Patient who received a attenuated live vaccine in the 10 days before inclusion 19. Patient with history of pulmonary fibrosis or interstitial pneumonia. 20. Inability to attend the follow-up visits due to geographic, social or mental reasons. 21. Participation in another clinical study with a research product during the last 30 days before inclusion.
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
9 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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CHU Carémeau
RECRUITINGNîmes, Gard, 30029, France
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CHU Saint-Eloi
RECRUITINGMontpellier, Herault, 34295, France
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Centre Eugène Marquis
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGRennes, 35042, France
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Centre Georges-François Leclerc
RECRUITINGDijon, 21079, France
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Hopital Paul Brousse
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGVillejuif, France
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Hôpital Beaujon
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGClichy, France
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Hôpital Pitié Salpétriêre
RECRUITINGParis, 75013, France
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Institut Paoli Calmettes
RECRUITINGMarseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, 13009, France
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Institut régional du Cancer de Montpellier
RECRUITINGMontpellier, Hérault, 34298, France
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Four-Drug cocktail aims to shrink pancreatic tumors before surgery
- Immune cells armed with antibody take on pancreatic cancer
- New drug AB801 aims to boost chemo and immunotherapy in tough cancers
- New PET tracer could light up pancreatic tumors
- New drug combo aims to tackle pancreatic cancer in patients with inherited gene mutations
- Blasting pancreatic tumors with extra radiation may open door to surgery