New proton beam combo aims to shrink pancreatic tumors for surgery
NCT ID NCT02598349
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This phase 2 trial tests whether a higher dose of proton radiation combined with the oral chemotherapy drug capecitabine can help people with unresectable pancreatic cancer live longer and possibly become candidates for surgery. The study enrolls 60 patients whose tumors cannot be removed or who are not healthy enough for surgery. The goal is to see if this intense local treatment improves survival and surgical rates compared to historical outcomes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Proton radiation and capecitabine (oral chemotherapy)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could help more people with pancreatic cancer become eligible for surgery and extend survival.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial with only 60 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The treatment involves intense radiation and chemotherapy, which can cause 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
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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 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Start date
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Apr 2016
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2040
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A research network
The lead sponsor is a research network or cooperative group.
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 years and older
- 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Biopsy proven unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. * Have either unresectable, borderline resectable or medically inoperable carcinoma of the pancreas, or refusing surgery. * A biliary obstruction is able to participate as long as a drainage tube is in place prior to starting treatment with Proton radiation, * Participants of child-producing potential must be willing to use contraception while on treatment and for at least 12 months thereafter. * Required pretreatment laboratory parameters: * Absolute granulocyte count (AGC/ANC) ≥ 1.8 thou/mm3 * Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm3 * Bilirubin \< 2 mg/dl * ALT/SGPT \< 3x upper limit of normal * Creatinine \< 3 mg/dl Exclusion Criteria: * Evidence of distant metastasis. * Prior surgical resection. * Previous history of invasive malignancy (except non-melanoma skin cancer and low to intermediate risk prostate cancer) unless the participant has been disease free for 5 years prior to registration. * Active or untreated infection, * Pregnant or breastfeeding women or subjects of child producing potential not willing to use medically acceptable contraception while on treatment and for at least 12 months thereafter. * Previous Radiation to the abdomen.
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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
3 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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Inova Schar Cancer Institute
RECRUITINGFairfax, Virginia, 22031, United States
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McLaren Proton Therapy Center
RECRUITINGFlint, Michigan, 48532, United States
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Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center
RECRUITINGWarrenville, Illinois, 60555, United States
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University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGJacksonville, Florida, 32206, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a Three-Drug combo crack pancreatic Cancer's defenses?
- Can digital questionnaires improve life during pancreatic cancer therapy?
- Can MRI and computer models predict how well cancer drugs reach tumors?
- Can a blood test before pancreatic surgery predict a dangerous leak?
- New chemo cocktail targets pancreatic cancer at every stage
- Bacteria-Based immunotherapy targets pancreatic tumors in first human test