Standard of care treatment for patients with non-metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) includes chemotherapy and Stereotactic Body Radiation Treatment (SBRT) followed by surgical resection of the tumor with or without Intra-Operative Radiation Therapy (IORT).
There is some evidence from other research studies suggesting that adding radiation treatment during the surgical resection may improve local control of the cancer. The use of IORT plus surgical resection can be used to treat pancreatic cancer and is done on a case by case basis at Johns Hopkins.
The department of Radiation Oncology has developed a program using a High Dose Rate-IORT (HDR-IORT). The HDR-IORT makes it possible to deliver concentrated radiation dose at the surface of the tumor.
Our team has shown in previous studies that the majority of cancer cells that remain after treatment are located around the area of the pancreas called the "Triangle Volume" (TV). This region contains blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves, and is at high risk of containing cancer cells. This region is difficult to treat with SBRT alone because of being close to normal, healthy organs. Therefore, this study involves using IORT to treat the TV to a therapeutic radiation dose.
The part of the treatment that is considered research is:
* Giving one dose of 15 Gy during the surgery using IORT to deliver radiation, and
* Targeting the larger area around the pancreas called the TV
The goal of this study is to determine safety of this added treatment which will be assessed at 3 months after the surgery is completed.
