A chemotherapy for up to 6 months. The neoadjuvant regimen consisted of 21-day cycles of paricalcitol, albumin-bound paclitaxel, cisplatin, and gemcitabine. Albumin-bound paclitaxel was given as an IV infusion at a dose of 125 mg/m2 over 30 min on days 1 and 8 of each cycle. Cisplatin was given at a dose of 25 mg/m2 diluted in 500 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride over 60 min on days 1 and 8 of each cycle. Gemcitabine was given at a dose of 1,000 mg/m2 in 250 ml 0.9% of sodium chloride for 30 min on days 1 and 8 of each cycle.
Patients were restaged after three cycles and removed from the study if there was evidence of disease progression. Patients whose CA 19-9 levels had normalized were Spain phone number list referred for surgical evaluation, and those with resectable tumors were removed from the study to undergo standard care. Image acquisition Multiphase CT was performed for most patients on a GE scanner using a standard pancreatic protocol, including a pre-injection phase, arterial phase, and porto-venous phase. The iodinated contrast agent Isovue 370 was dosed at 150 cc + 40 cc saline and was then injected at the rate of 5 cc/s into the antecubital vein.
The areas of interest were defined as the region above the diaphragm to the inferior liver margin for arterial phase images and from above the diaphragm to the superior aspect of the iliac crest for pre-contrast and venous phase images. Scanning parameters were 120 kV with 0.5 s rotation time. Pre-contrast phase images were reconstructed into 3 mm slices, and images from arterial and venous phases were reconstructed into 2 mm slices. The images collected were reviewed by experienced radiologists. Initial images were reconstructed into 0.625 × 1.25 mm slices for 3D post-processing and were uploaded from the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) to advanced imaging software (GE Advantage Workstation 3.2) for 3D volumetric analysis.