The purpose of this study is to determine the maximum tolerated dose of the chemotherapy drugs nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine when combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer. You will receive proton therapy once a day (Monday - Friday) for 3 weeks. Participants will also receive chemotherapy on each Monday of those three weeks.
The investigators propose a phase I trial to determine the maximum tolerable dose (MTD) and the recommended dose for phase II (RP2D) of concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine in combination with ablative IMPT delivered as a fixed dose of 67.5 Gy in 15 fractions daily fractions with 5 fractions per week. In contrast to prior pancreatic cancer studies of chemoradiotherapy which utilized photon RT to treat gross disease and elective lymph nodes (1,2) the proposed study is hypothesized to reduce toxicity risk by limiting highly conformal IMPT to the gross tumor volume. Furthermore, to increase the margin of safety in a manner similar to published data from MDACC (3), the high dose region will be limited to areas at least 5 mm from nearby GI structures (duodenum, small bowel, stomach, etc.). Regions within this area will be treated only to 37.5 Gy in 15 fractions. This dose limitation is also important given that paclitaxel, in addition to increasing systemic efficacy, is a known radiosensitizer (1).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
24
see arm description
see arm description
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States
RECRUITINGUniversity of Maryland Medical Center/Maryland Proton Treatment Center
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
RECRUITINGMaximum Tolerated Dose of Gemcitabine and nab-Paclitaxel in LAPC patients receiving proton therapy
Maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
Time frame: Patients will be followed for 12 months after registration or until death, whichever occurs first.
Primary Tumor Response in LAPC patients receiving proton therapy with concurrent Gemcitabine and nab-Paclitaxel
Primary tumor response in patients receiving with LAPC receiving preoperative concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy evaluated by CT or MRI
Time frame: Patients will be followed for 12 months after registration or until death, whichever occurs first.
Survival status (disease-free-survival vs. overall survival)
Time to recurrence and site of recurrence in patients with LAPC receiving preoperative concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy (RECIST)
Time frame: Patients will be followed for 12 months after registration or until death, whichever occurs first.
Median Overall Survival of Patients
Median overall survival of patients with LAPC receiving preoperative concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy
Time frame: Patients will be followed for 12 months after registration or until death, whichever occurs first.
R0 Resection
R0 resection rates in patients with LAPC receiving preoperative concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy
Time frame: Patients will be followed for 12 months after registration or until death, whichever occurs first.
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Number of adverse events/toxicites reported during and following treatment of concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy
Number of toxicities participants reported by participants during and following treatment of concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy (NIH CTCAE v 4)
Time frame: Patients will be followed for 12 months after registration or until death, whichever occurs first.
Quality of life through and after treatment
Patient reported quality of life impact from receiving preoperative concurrent nab-paclitaxel + gemcitabine combined with hypofractionated ablative proton therapy using the FACT-Hep questionnaire
Time frame: Patients will be followed for 12 months after registration or until death, whichever occurs first.