Pemetrexed, Gemcitabine, and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

• Status: Terminated
• Trial end date: 2008-05-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

RATIONALE: Pemetrexed may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for their growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells.

PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of pemetrexed when given together with radiation therapy in treating patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

• Phase: Phase 1
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University; Wake Forest University Health Sciences
• Collaborator: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Treatments: Gemcitabine; Pemetrexed

Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed carcinoma arising from the pancreas

• Stage II or III disease, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

• Nonresectable disease

• Potentially resectable disease

• Resectable disease

• Stage IV disease with symptomatic back pain requiring palliation allowed at the discretion of the principal investigator

• Measurable, evaluable, or nonmeasurable disease

• No neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas

• No documented brain metastasis

• No clinically significant pleural or peritoneal effusions that cannot be drained

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-1

• Life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks

• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³

• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³

• Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL

• Serum bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 3 times ULN (5 times ULN if liver has tumor involvement)

• AST and ALT ≤ 3 times ULN (5 times ULN if liver has tumor involvement)

• Creatinine clearance ≥ 45 mL/min

• Not pregnant or nursing

• Negative pregnancy test

• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after completion of study treatment

• No active infection

• No serious systemic disorders that would preclude study treatment

• No significant cardiovascular disease in the form of abnormal electrocardiogram coupled with clinical features of recent or recurrent cardiac disease (including myocardial infarction, angina, or hypertension)

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• More than 4 weeks since prior investigational agents

• No prior chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer

• Must be able to discontinue aspirin, dexamethasone, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents for 2 days before, the day of, and 2 days after pemetrexed disodium dose (5 days before for long-acting agents such as piroxicam)

• Must be able and willing to take folic acid and cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12) supplementation