Standard or high dose chemoradiotherapy, with or without the protease inhibitor nelfinavir, in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer: The phase 1/randomised phase 2 SCALOP-2 trial.

Background: The multi-centre two-stage SCALOP-2 trial (ISRCTN50083238) assessed whether dose escalation of consolidative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or concurrent sensitization using the protease inhibitor nelfinavir improve outcomes in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) following four cycles of gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel.

Methods: In stage 1, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of nelfinavir concurrent with standard-dose CRT (50.4 Gy in 28 fractions) was identified from a cohort of 27 patients.

SPARC, a phase-I trial of pre-operative, margin intensified, stereotactic body radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer.

Background And Purpose: Following resection of pancreatic cancer, risk of positive margins and local recurrence remain high, especially for borderline-resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC). We aimed to establish the maximum tolerated dose of a margin-intensified five-fraction stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) regimen designed to treat the region at risk.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a prospective multicentre phase-1 rolling-six dose-escalation study.

Pre- and postoperative prognostic factors for resectable esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Prognostication for esophageal cancer has traditionally relied on postoperative tissue specimens. This study aimed to use a histologically homogenous cohort to investigate the relationship between clinical, pathological or radiological variables and overall survival in patients undergoing esophagectomy for adenocarcinoma.

Methods: A single-centre study of patients who underwent esophagectomy for adenocarcinoma over 10 years in a tertiary centre was performed.