EUS-guided Fiducial Placement Research Articles

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fiducial Placement for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer.

Accurate delivery of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to pancreatic tumors relies on successful EUS-guided placement of fiducial markers. The aim of this study is to report the technical feasibility and safety of EUS-guided fiducial placement and to evaluate the characteristics and technical benefit of SBRT in a cohort of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). A retrospective chart review was performed for all (n = 82) PC patients referred for EUS-guided fiducial placement by a single endosonographer at a tertiary cancer center. Data regarding EUS-related technical details, SBRT characteristics, adverse events, and continuous visibility of fiducials were recorded and analyzed. Most patients included in the study had either locally advanced disease (32 patients, 39%) or borderline resectable disease (29 patients, 35%). Eighty-two PC patients underwent the placement of 230 fiducial markers under EUS guidance. The technical success rate of the fiducial placement was 98%. No immediate EUS-related adverse events were reported. The average time to the simulation CT after fiducial placement was 3.1 days. Of the 216 fiducial markers used for the SBRT delivery, 202 fiducial markers were visible on both the simulation CT and the cone beam CT scan. A median dose of 40cGY was given to all the patients in five fractions. Of these, 41% of the patients reported no SBRT-related toxicities during the follow-up. Fatigue and nausea were the most reported SBRT-related toxicities, which were seen in 35% of the patients post-SBRT. Our results demonstrate that EUS-guided fiducial placement is safe and effective in target volume delineation, facilitating SBRT delivery in PC patients. Further clinical trials are needed to determine the SBRT-related survival benefits in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Top tips for successful EUS-guided fiducial placement (with video).

Top tips for successful EUS-guided fiducial placement (with video).

Current role of endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has emerged as an invaluable tool for the diagnosis, staging and treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). EUS is currently the most sensitive imaging tool for the detection of solid pancreatic tumors. Conventional EUS has evolved, and new imaging techniques, such as contrast-enhanced harmonics and elastography, have been developed to improve diagnostic accuracy during the evaluation of focal pancreatic lesions. More recently, evaluation with artificial intelligence has shown promising results to overcome operator-related flaws during EUS imaging evaluation. Currently, an appropriate diagnosis is based on a proper histological assessment, and EUS-guided tissue acquisition is the standard procedure for pancreatic sampling. Newly developed cutting needles with core tissue procurement provide the possibility of molecular evaluation for personalized oncological treatment. Interventional EUS has modified the therapeutic approach, primarily for advanced pancreatic cancer. EUS-guided fiducial placement for local targeted radiotherapy treatment or EUS-guided radiofrequency ablation has been developed for local treatment, especially for patients with pancreatic cancer not suitable for surgical resection. Additionally, EUS-guided therapeutic procedures, such as celiac plexus neurolysis for pain control and EUS-guided biliary drainage for biliary obstruction, have dramatically improved in recent years toward a more effective and less invasive procedure to palliate complications related to PDAC. All the current benefits of EUS in the diagnosis and management of PDAC will be thoroughly discussed.

EUS-guided fiducial gold marker placement in metastatic colon cancer to the spleen.

EUS-guided fiducial gold marker placement in metastatic colon cancer to the spleen.

Preloaded 22-gauge fine-needle system facilitates placement of a higher number of fiducials for image-guided radiation therapy compared with traditional backloaded 19-gauge approach

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) often relies on EUS-guided fiducial markers. Previously used manually backloaded fiducial needles have multiple potential limitations including safety and efficiency concerns. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy, feasibility, and safety of EUS-guided placement of gold fiducials using a novel preloaded 22-gauge needle compared with a traditional, backloaded 19-gauge needle. This was a single-center comparative cohort study. Patients with pancreatic and hepatobiliary malignancy who underwent EUS-guided fiducial placement (EUS-FP) between October 2014 and February 2018 were included. The main outcome was the technical success of fiducial placement. Secondary outcomes were mean procedure time, fiducial visibility during IGRT, technical success of IGRT delivery, and adverse events. One hundred fourteen patients underwent EUS-FP during the study period. Of these, 111 patients had successful placement of a minimum of 2 fiducials. Fifty-six patients underwent placement using a backloaded 19-gauge needle and 58 patients underwent placement using a 22-gauge preloaded needle. The mean number of fiducials placed successfully at the target site was significantly higher in the 22-gauge group compared with the 19-gauge group (3.53 ± .96 vs 3.11 ± .61, respectively; P= .006). In the 22-gauge group, the clinical goal of placing 4 fiducials was achieved in 78%, compared with 23% in the 19-gauge group (P< .001). In univariate analyses, gender, age, procedure time, tumor size, and location did not influence the number of successfully placed fiducials. Technical success of IGRT with fiducial tracking was high in both the 19-gauge (51/56, 91%) and the 22-gauge group (47/58, 81%; P= .12). EUS-FP using a preloaded 22-gauge needle is feasible, effective, and safe and allows for a higher number of fiducials placed when compared with the traditional backloaded 19-gauge needle.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fiducial Placement for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Pancreatic Malignancy.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an important treatment option for pancreatic cancer, which is known to be one of the malignancies with the worst prognosis. However, the high radiation doses delivered during SBRT may cause damage to adjacent radiosensitive organs. To minimize such damage, fiducial markers are used for localization during SBRT for pancreatic cancer. The development of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has enabled fiducial markers to be inserted into the pancreas using an EUS fine-needle aspiration (FNA) needle, unlike in the past when percutaneous placement was generally performed. For successful EUS-guided fiducial marker placement, it is necessary for the fiducial markers to be loaded within the EUS-FNA needles to have a low probability of complications and a low migration risk, and to be stably observed in SBRT imaging. A systematic review has shown that the technical success rate of EUS-guided fiducial marker placement is 96.27%, whereas the fiducial marker migration and adverse event rates are 4.33% and 4.85%, respectively. Nonetheless, standardized techniques for fiducial marker placement and the characteristics of optimal fiducial markers have not yet been established. This review will introduce the characteristics (e.g., materials and shapes) of fiducial markers used in fiducial marker placement for pancreatic cancer and will discuss conventional techniques along with their success rates, difficulties, and adverse events.

EUS-guided fiducial placement for intramural GI neoplasia: a facilitated technique.

Video 1EUS-guided fiducial placement for intramural gastrointestinal neoplasia: a facilitated technique.

EUS-guided placement of fiducial markers for stereotactic body radiation therapy in pancreatic cancer: feasibility, security and a new quality score

Background and study aims In borderline resectable/locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an emerging neoadjuvant treatment option. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided insertion of fiducial markers being a prerequisite, our aim was to assess its feasibility and safety and also to evaluate its success, from both the endoscopist’s and radiotherapist’s perspectives. Patients and methods We prospectively collected data concerning PDAC patients submitted to EUS-guided fiducial placement, from February 2018 to November 2019. Technical success was defined as at least one marker presumed inside the tumor. Quality success was assessed at pre-SBRT computed tomography, accordingly to the number of markers inside or < 1 cm from the tumor, number of markers at the tumor extremity, their location in different planes, the distance between them, and their distance from the biliary stent (if present). A new quality score was then proposed and high-quality success defined as at least six of 12 points. Results Thirty-seven patients were enrolled. A total of 97 fiducials were implanted, with a median of three fiducials per patient (0–4). The technical success rate was 92 %, with failure of fiducial placement in three patients. Three patients (8 %) had adverse events (fever, mild acute pancreatitis, and biliary stent migration). At pre-SBRT evaluation, two patients’ markers had migrated. The high-quality success rate was 62.5 %. Conclusions Our results contribute to demonstrating the feasibility and safety of EUS-guided fiducial placement for SBRT treatment in PDAC. It is hoped that the newly proposed quality score will pave the way for improving fiducial positioning and SBRT delivery.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fiducial marker placement in pancreatic cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUNDPancreatic cancer (PC) mortality remains high despite advances in therapy. Combination chemoradiotherapy offers modest survival benefit over monotherapy with either. Fiducial markers serve as needed landmarks for image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Traditionally, these markers were placed surgically or percutaneously with limitations of each. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided placement overcomes these limitations.AIMTo evaluate the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fiducial placement for PC undergoing IGRT.METHODSArticles were searched in MEDLINE, PubMed, and Ovid journals. Pooling was conducted by fixed and random effects models. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q test based upon inverse variance weights.RESULTSInitial search identified 1024 reference articles for EUS-guided fiducial placement in PC. Of these, 261 relevant articles were reviewed. Data was extracted from 11 studies (n = 820) meeting inclusion criteria. Pooled proportion of successful placement was 96.27% (95%CI: 95.35-97.81) with fiducial migration rates low at 4.33% (95%CI: 2.45-6.71). Adverse event rates remained low, with overall pooled proportion of 4.85% (95%CI: 3.04-7.03).CONCLUSIONEUS-guided placement of fiducial markers for IGRT of PC is safe, feasible, and efficacious. The ability to target deep structures under direct visualization while remaining minimally invasive are added benefits. Moreover, the ability to perform fine needle aspiration or celiac plexus neurolysis add value and increase patient-care efficiency. Whether EUS-guided fiducial placement improves outcomes in IGRT or offers any mortality benefits over traditional placement remains unknown and future studies are needed.

Role of endoscopic ultrasonography guided fiducial marker placement in gastrointestinal cancer.

Dose escalation radiation therapy such as those delivered by stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has shown to improve local disease control in multiple types of malignancies. This requires fiducial placement to improve accuracy of treatment and avoid adverse events to adjacent radiosensitive organs during respiration phases. The purpose of this review is to provide updates of recent high-quality articles related to endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-guided fiducial placement for gastrointestinal malignancies, particularly in pancreatic cancer, which is expected to be the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the USA within this decade. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis has shown that EUS-guided fiducial placement for gastrointestinal malignancies has excellent technical success and safety profile. Comparative studies of most commercially available fiducial types via a 22-gauge needle system showed that a 0.035 mm diameter and 10 mm long gold fiducial with coiled configuration, hollow core and external helical design might be favoured due to its most balanced performance of visibility, artifact and migration. A fine balance of performance characteristics of fiducials should be discussed with radiation oncologists to select a suitable and preferred type of fiducials. The comparative studies of other newly developed platinum fiducials and liquid fiducial are pending.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

The aim of this review is to evaluate the emerging role of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in the guidance of tumor-targeted therapies for patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). EUS-guided ablation, brachytherapy, fiducial marker placement, and antitumor agent injection have been described to date. EUS-guided fiducial placement for SBRT in pancreatic cancer has entered the clinical practice and is performed at many centers clinically without a research protocol. EUS-guided brachytherapy and RFA have been shown to be feasible and safe procedures, and potentially offer local disease control. Other potential techniques of EUS-guided treatment of pancreatic cancer are still considered experimental, with many of them appearing to be safe and reasonably well tolerated. However, their effectiveness and exact role in oncological treatment have yet to be established. Clinical trials with many of the techniques/agents described are underway and multicentric randomized trials with prospective design are eagerly awaited.

EUS-guided fiducial placement for pancreatobiliary malignancies: safety, infection risk, and use of peri-procedural antibiotics.

Background and study aims Chemoradiation with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is increasingly being used for optimal treatment of locally advanced pancreatobiliary cancers. Fiducial markers are used to track these tumors during SBRT. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is the preferred route for fiducial marker placement for ease of access to pancreatobiliary structures and accurate placement. Here we evaluate the safety and infection risk associated with EUS-guided fiducial placement for pancreatobiliary malignancies and use of peri-procedural prophylactic antibiotics. Patients and methods This was a retrospective, single-center study including consecutive patients presenting for EUS-guided fiducial placement in pancreatobiliary region by three expert interventional endoscopists for SBRT from July 2010 to February 2018 at a tertiary care center. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, EUS technique, fiducials, use of prophylactic antibiotics, adverse events (AEs) and SBRT/Cyberknife administration were reported. Results A total of 355 patients with pancreatobiliary malignancy underwent EUS-guided fiducial placement, of whom 308 patients (86.76 %) successfully underwent SBRT. Of the patients, 304 (85.63 %) received peri-procedural prophylactic antibiotic. Of 355 total patients, 5.9 % (n = 21) were noted to develop AEs (mild to severe) with no significant difference in incidence of infection with or without use of peri-procedural prophylactic antibiotic. Only three patients developed infectious AEs, none of which were definitively related to fiducial placement. Conclusion EUS-guided fiducial placement for pancreatobiliary malignancy is safe and efficacious, and risk of infection is rare, regardless of whether or not peri-procedural antibiotics are used. We favor limiting routine use of peri-procedural antibiotics for patients undergoing EUS-guided fiducial placement in pancreaticobiliary malignancy.

EUS-guided fiducial marker placement for radiotherapy in rectal cancer: feasibility of two placement strategies and four fiducial types.

Background and study aims To facilitate image guidance during radiotherapy of rectal cancer, we investigated the feasibility of fiducial marker placement. This study aimed to evaluate technical success rate and safety of two endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided placement strategies and four fiducial types for rectal cancer patients. Patients and methods This prospective multicenter study included 20 participants who were scheduled to undergo rectal cancer treatment with neoadjuvant short-course radiotherapy or chemoradiation. EUS-guided endoscopy was used for fiducial placement at the tumor site (n = 10) or in the mesorectal fat and in the tumor (n = 10). Four fiducial types were used (Visicoil 0.75 mm, Visicoil 0.50 mm, Cook, Gold Anchor). The endpoints were technical success rate and retention of fiducials, the latter of which was evaluated on cone-beam computed tomography scans during the first five radiotherapy fractions. Results A total of 64 fiducials were placed in 20 patients. For each fiducial type, at least three fiducials were successfully placed in all patients. Technical failure consisted of fiducial blockage within the needle (n = 2) and ejection of two preloaded fiducials at once (n = 4). No serious adverse events were reported. In three patients, one of the fiducials was misplaced without clinical consequences; two in the prostate and one in the intraperitoneal cavity. After a median time of 17 days after placement (range 7 – 47 days), a total of 42/64 (66 %) fiducials were still present (24/44 intratumoral vs. 18/20 mesorectal fiducials, P = 0.009). Conclusions Placement of fiducials in rectal cancer patients is feasible, however, retention rates for intratumoral fiducials were lower (55 %) than for mesorectal fiducials (90 %).

923 Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fiducial Placement for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Patients With Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

INTRODUCTION: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has emerged as a novel therapeutic option in pancreatic cancer care. In the absence of diagnostic quality CT-on-rails or on-board MRI, accurate delivery of SBRT relies on fiducial markers. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has become the preferred method for fiducial markers placement. The aim of this study is to report the technical feasibility and safety of EUS-guided fiducial placement and to evaluate the technical benefit and SBRT outcomes in a cohort of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed for all (n = 67) PC patients referred for EUS-guided fiducial placement by a single endosonographer (MSB) at a tertiary cancer center between 2016 and 2019. Data regarding EUS-related technical details and adverse events were recorded. The continuous visibility of the fiducial markers was assessed by an experienced medical physicist on simulation CT and during the final treatment fraction on cone beam CT. RESULTS: During the study period, 67 PC patients underwent placement of 174 fiducial markers under EUS guidance (Table 1). Technical success rate of fiducial placement was 97%. Technical difficulty due to intervening blood vessels was noted in 2 (3%) patients. EUS evaluation showed duodenal invasion in one case and fiducial placement was canceled. All patients received periprocedural antibiotics and no immediate or delayed adverse events were reported. The average time to simulation CT after marker placement was 4.6 days (range, 1-53). 64 (96%) patients received SBRT after fiducial placement (Table 2). Of the total 174 fiducials placed, 165 (95%) fiducial markers were clearly visible on both the CT simulation and cone beam CT scan acquired on the last day of SBRT delivery. 9 (5%) fiducial were not useful for SBRT delivery most likely due to migration or poor visibility. No major SBRT-related toxicity was reported. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that EUS-guided fiducial placement is safe and effective in target volume delineation, facilitating SBRT delivery in PC patients. Further clinical trials are needed to determine the optimal type of fiducial to place under EUS-guidance and the survival benefits in patients with pancreatic cancer.

2813 Endoscopy and Radiation Oncology Collaboration - The Evolution of Techniques and Applications of EUS-Guided Fiducials for Pancreatic Neoplasm and Beyond: A Tertiary Cancer Institute Experience

INTRODUCTION: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) offers improved tumor control, lees number of treatments, and reduced toxicity compared with conventional therapies. The role of SABR continues to expand. Fiducial markers are required to guide SABR.Traditionally CT guided or surgical placement had been used to facilitate the delivery of stereotactic radiotherapy. EUS-guided fiducial marker placement has been introduced as a safe and feasible alternate method. We share our experience with the two types of the fiducial delivery system &amp; evolution of applications &amp; technique. The back loaded fiducial needles (BLFS), which need to be inserted to the needle by hand, is cumbersome, more prone for needle stick injury to the operator, and time consuming. A novel preloaded system (PLFS) delivers 2 fiducials per needle and can be interchanged with the FNB needle enabling biopsies in the same setting. The preloaded system has an automatic safety shield enabling safety during needle exchange. With advance of Endoscopic oncology, a trained advanced endoscopist can implant fiducials in a variety of solid organ tumors accessible by EUS and needing SABR. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of our experience from 2015-2017. We started using fiducials in late half of 2015 and changed to PLFS in early 2016. We reviewed our experience on the total procedure time (TPT) with the BLFS with PLFS. The PLFS allows for ease of application. After the switch to PLFS, through conversations with radiation oncology, we reviewed the extension of the technology to additional applications outside the pancreas. RESULTS: The mean total procedure time TPT with the back loaded system was 31.68 min, while the mean TPT with the preloaded system was 22.68min, a 30% reduction in the total procedural time for pancreatic cases. (Table 1) We then evolved use of the PLFS to place fiducials in other solid tumors such as mediastinal lesions with lung CA, esophagus, cholangiocarcinoma. (Table 2). No migration of fiducials were noted during the mapping for radiotherapy in either cohort, and all patients successfully received SABR. No bleeding or other adverse events were noted. CONCLUSION: We believe that the endoscopic interventional community should adopt the use of PLS systems and work with radiation oncology to expand the use of EUS guided fiducial placement to solid malignancies that are accessible through EUS. This will reduce the number of interventions, the lag time to treatment and overall cost.

2152 A Novel Technique Using Hemostatic Spray and Endoscopic Stent-in-stent for Palliation of Hemorrhaging Esophageal Cancer

INTRODUCTION: Most esophageal cancers present at an advanced unresectable stage; thus, the main focus is on palliative treatment and symptom management to improve quality of life. Esophageal stents in combination with radiation therapy are commonly used to palliate dysphagia and bleeding in these patients. We describe a novel case of an advanced metastatic esophageal cancer presenting with a massive GI bleed, treated successfully with hemostatic spray and stent in stent technique. CASE DESCRIPTION/METHODS: A 61-year-old male with recent diagnosis of stage IV esophageal adenocarcinoma was transferred to our hospital with a massive GI bleed. He had undergone an emergent EGD at that facility with unsuccessful endoscopic hemostasis of the profusely bleeding esophagus mass. We performed a repeat EGD, that showed a 20 cm long, diffusely bleeding partially obstructing malignant esophageal tumor. We achieved successful endoscopic hemostasis with the use of the hemostatic spray, followed by EUS-guided fiducial marker placement at the proximal and distal ends of the tumor in preparation for stereotactic radiation therapy. The entire length of the tumor was then stented using the 20 mm × 15 cm and a 20 mm × 8 cm through-the-scope fully covered esophageal metal stents with a stent-in-stent technique for tamponade of bleeding and palliation of dysphagia. He did not have any further rebleed episodes and was able to successfully receive palliative radiation as outpatient with improved quality of life at 6 months follow up. DISCUSSION: Treatment of advanced esophageal cancers is mainly based on palliative management. Chemo or radiation therapy can provide palliation in patients with unresectable disease. Our case highlights the use of a novel approach with combined use of hemostatic spray and stent-in-stent technique as a bridge to radiation therapy after adequate control of tumor bleeding, facilitating palliative radiation therapy and improved quality of life and survival.

Abstract CT164: A Phase II clinical trial of GVAX pancreas vaccine (with Cyclophosphamide) in combination with Nivolumab and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) followed by definitive resection for patients with borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma (BR-PDAC)

Abstract Background: A strong rationale exists for the use of preoperative therapy in BR-PDAC, because upfront surgery in these patients results in a high probability of incomplete resection. Recently, the Alliance A021101 trial, which utilized neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX and chemoradiation, demonstrated the safety and clinical activity of neoadjuvant therapy in BR-PDAC. The present clinical trial will evaluate the safety and clinical activity of neoadjuvant Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in combination with neoadjuvant cyclophosphamide (Cy)/GVAX pancreas vaccine/nivolumab immunotherapy after completion of standard chemotherapy in patients with BR- PDAC. GVAX is an allogeneic, whole-cell, GM-CSF-secreting vaccine that induces T-cell immunity against tumor-associated antigens. GVAX has previously been studied in combination with low-dose Cy to inhibit regulatory T cells. In prior studies, neoadjuvant Cy/GVAX induced high levels of PD-L1 expression and the formation of novel vaccine-induced, immunologically active, tertiary lymphoid aggregates. Methods: In this multi-center, open label, phase II clinical trial, patients with BR-PDAC will receive a total of four 28-day cycles of FOLFIRINOX. Subsequently they will undergo EUS-guided fiducial placement along with SBRT simulation and core biopsy. Within 2-6 weeks after chemotherapy, patients will receive their first dose of combination immunotherapy, consisting of Cy 200 mg/m2 IV and nivolumab 240mg IV on day 1 followed by 5 x 108 GVAX vaccine cells, administered as six intradermal injections, on day 2. Approximately three weeks later, patients will receive their second dose of combined immunotherapy on the same day as initiation of SBRT (6.6 Gy x 5 days). Following completion of immunotherapy and SBRT, patients will undergo repeat imaging, surgical re-evaluation and if resectable, proceed to definitive surgical resection. This study will recruit 50 patients to achieve 45 evaluable patients receiving immunotherapy. The primary endpoint is pCR rate. Secondary endpoints include: rate of R0 resections, ORR, OS, distant metastasis free survival, adverse events (graded by NCI CTCAE). Additionally, exploratory objectives include evaluating: 1. intratumoral immune infiltrates in pre- and post-treatment biopsy specimens utilizing immunohistochemistry and transcriptional analysis, 2. circulating biomarkers including plasma tumor DNA and circulating tumor cells. Key inclusion criteria for this study include: having BR- PDAC, no more than 1 month or 1 cycle (28 days) of systemic therapy for PDAC, and ECOG performance status of ≤ 1. This clinical trial is open, actively recruiting and is supported by BMS and the Skip Viragh Foundation. Clinical trial information: NCT03161379. Citation Format: Arsen Osipov, Elizabeth Sugar, Anna Ferguson, Jennifer Durham, Christina Rodriguez, Rose Parkinson, Laura Sena, Lei Zheng, Christopher Wolfgang, Richard Burkhart, Jin He, Matthew Weiss, Amol Narang, Daniel Laheru, Nilofer Azad, Elizabeth Jaffee, Colin Weekes, Mark Yarchoan. A Phase II clinical trial of GVAX pancreas vaccine (with Cyclophosphamide) in combination with Nivolumab and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) followed by definitive resection for patients with borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma (BR-PDAC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT164.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fiducial placement in pancreatic tumors: safety and technical feasibility.

stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for pancreatic malignancies requires the placement of fiducials to guide treatment delivery. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and feasibility of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided fiducial placement using a 22-gauge needle, in patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing SBRT. this single-center retrospective study included 47 patients with biopsy-proven advanced pancreatic cancer who underwent EUS-guided fiducial placement between February 2014 and February 2018. Primary outcome measurements included technical success, fiducial migration rate and procedural complications. all 47 patients received a sufficient number of fiducials and could therefore undergo a successful SBRT. The mean number of fiducials inserted per case was 2 ± 1 (range 1-3) and no fiducial migration was noted. The adverse event rate was 4.2%, as one patient developed mild pancreatitis and another patient required one week of hospitalization one month after fiducial placement due to a duodenal abscess. EUS-guided fiducial placement is a safe and technically feasible procedure in centers with endosonographers that are well trained in EUS with FNA.

The Emerging Role of Endoscopists in Treating Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the eighth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide in men and ninth leading cause in women. Surgical resection offers the only chance of potential cure; however, only 9.4% of patients present at the localized, resectable stage, whereas the rest present at the locally advanced or metastatic, unresectable stages. Because of the guarded outcomes following systemic chemoradiation and the associated systemic toxicities, locoregional therapies have recently gained popularity. Various endoscopic techniques (endoscopic ultrasound [EUS]-guided ablative therapies, fine-needle instillation of antitumor agents, stereotactic body radiation therapy with EUS-guided fiducial marker placement, and EUS-guided brachytherapy) have been explored over the past several years. Endoscopic therapy plays a role in the treatment of unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Its minimal invasiveness and increased precision of delivering oncologic treatments under EUS guidance render it as a favorable option for patients who do not benefit from surgical resection. New endoscopic therapies are currently under investigation, and the emerging role of the endoscopist in the treatment of unresectable pancreatic cancer continues to grow.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Direct Intervention for Solid Pancreatic Tumors.

Development and use of linear-array echoendoscope and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) have made endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) more of an interventional procedure than a purely diagnostic procedure. This is a literature review of previously published clinical studies on EUS-guided direct intervention for solid pancreatic tumors, including EUS-guided fine needle injection (EUS-FNI) of antitumor agents, EUS-guided fiducial marker placement, EUS-guided brachytherapy and EUS-guided tumor ablation.