Combination Chemotherapy Plus Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Overview

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy plus radiation therapy in treating patients who have locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVES: * Determine the efficacy of gemcitabine, cisplatin, and radiotherapy, in terms of 1-year survival, in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. * Determine the toxicity of this regimen in these patients. * Determine the quality of life of patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients undergo radiotherapy once daily five days a week for 5.5 weeks. Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes followed by cisplatin IV over 1 hour twice a week for the first 3 weeks of radiotherapy. Beginning 4 weeks after the completion of radiotherapy, patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15. Treatment repeats every 28 days for a total of 3 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Quality of life is assessed at baseline, at completion of radiotherapy, at completion of chemotherapy, and 3 months after completion of therapy. Patients are followed every 3 months for 2 years and then every 6 months for 1 year. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 20-47 patients will be accrued for this study within 12-28 months.

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Locations (26)

Outcomes