"HEATPAC" - a phase II randomized study of concurrent thermochemoradiotherapy versus chemoradiotherapy alone in locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pancreatic cancer has a dismal prognosis with 5-year overall survival rate of around 5%. Although surgery is still the best option in operable cases, majority of the patients who present in locally advanced stages are deemed inoperable. Novel approaches are therefore needed for the management of around 80% of these inoperable locally advanced pancreatic cancers (LAPC). Hyperthermia (39-43 °C) is a potent radiosensitizer and further enhances the action of gemcitabine, also a known radiosensitizer. Thus through triple sensitization, a combination of hyperthermia, radiotherapy and gemcitabine could be expected to improve the therapeutic outcomes in LAPC.

Methods

This phase II randomized trial, HEATPAC in unresectable LAPC, explores the feasibility and efficacy of con

SUBMITTER: Datta NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5698973 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature