There is no a clear consensus regarding the optimal treatment of locally advanced pancreatic disease. There is a potential role for neoadjuvant therapy to treat micrometastatic disease with chemotherapy, as well as for the treatment of local disease with radiotherapy. The investigators evaluated the safety and efficacy of induction chemotherapy with oxaliplatin and gemcitabine followed by a high weekly dose of gemcitabine concurrent to radiation therapy in patients with borderline resectable and unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Continued optimization in multimodality therapy and an accurate patient selection remain crucial points for the appropriate treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer.

In all patients an accurate pre-treatment staging was performed, including: physical examination, complete blood tests and tumor markers, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) with fine needle aspiration biopsy, multilayer CT scan, PET-CT (positron emission computed tomography) with 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) and laparoscopy with peritoneal washing. Jaundiced patients before or during treatment underwent endoscopic biliary stenting.

Patients with the evidence of metastatic disease were excluded, and thus only a small number of patients was consequently enrolled with this neoadjuvant approach.

The induction phase of the treatment plan was designed to administer gemcitabine 1000 mg/mq and oxaliplatin 100 mg/mq every 14 days for four doses.

In the combined phase of the treatment all patients underwent simulation by using a Siemens 16-CT simulator (Siemens Medical System). Radiotherapy target volumes were established by CT scan and PET-CT scan.

Four weeks after the completion of radiochemotherapy, restaging, consisting of clinical examination, laboratory test, tumor markers, CT scan and PET-CT scan, was performed. Tumor response was defined in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition through CT scan and PET-CT scan. Surgery was considered in patients whose tumors were technically resectable.

After resection, patients were evaluated every three months by means of a standard surveillance protocol that included history and physical examination, cross-sectional imaging and measurement of serum markers, and the intervals were extended to six months after two years

Inclusion Criteria:

• proven cytological or histological diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma;
• borderline resectable or unresectable pancreatic tumours;
• age between 18 and 75 years;
• no previous radiochemotherapy to abdomen;
• 0-I ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status;
• adequate cardiac, liver and kidney function and a good bone marrow reserve.

Exclusion Criteria:

• resectable and metastatic disease;
• previous or concomitant malignant disease;
• one or more of the following clinical conditions: infection, pregnancy or breast-feeding, liver failure, kidney failure, Pa O2 < 65 mmHg, Pa CO2 > 40 mmHg, mental disability.