Phase II Gemcitabine + Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Unresectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Treatment on this protocol requires placement of 3-5 gold (99.9% pure, 1-5 mm length, or visicoils) fiducials for targeting purposes. The fiducials will be used as surrogates for targeting the daily tumor position during treatment. The fiducials will be placed directly into the tumor and/or periphery under endoscopic ultrasound or CT guidance. Gemcitabine prior to SBRT is optional. If given, up to 3 weeks in a 6-week period is allowable, and may be given prior to study enrollment. Administration should be on a 3-week on, 1-week off schedule, weekly at 1,000 mg/m2. Simulation should be done 5 days or more following placement of fiducials. For simulation patients will be positioned supine in an Alpha Cradle or equivalent immobilization device will be custom made for each patient. Standard free-breathing CT and respiratory-correlated 4-D pancreatic protocol CT will be obtained on each patient The 4D-CT scan will be used for characterizing target motion during quiet respiration. Following simulation, patients may be treated either in a respiratory gated (Trilogy, Elekta, Novalis) or a respiratory tracking (Cyberknife) manner. The selection of which radiotherapy treatment machine to use is left to each investigator. All patients will receive 5 fractions of 6.6 Gy delivered over a five-day period. Ideally all 5 fractions should be delivered Monday through Friday, however it may be delivered over 2 weeks as long as the patient receives at least 2 fractions a week. Gemcitabine, cycles should resume up to 4 weeks following SBRT on a 3-week on, 1-week off schedule, administered weekly at 1,000 mg/m2.A detailed medical history with physical examination and quality of life assessment will be performed at 4 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year. A follow-up visit at 4 weeks is optional and may be done by patient's Medical Oncologist. Scans may be done at 4-6 week visit if patient is being re-evaluated for resection. In years 2-5 the follow up interval will be every 3-6 months, as determined by the investigator at each participating institution. Follow up intervals may also be more frequent as indicated clinically. A complete blood count (CBC), comprehensive chemistry panel, tumor marker studies, and quality of life assessment will be performed at each follow-up interval until death. As permitted by each participating institution, separate samples of blood will be drawn and retained for research efforts to develop novel serum biomarkers.