An Imaging Pilot Study of 18F-fluoro-3'-Deoxy-3'-L-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) in Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Who Will be Treated With Gemcitabine

• compare response to chemotherapy, time to disease progression and overall survival in pancreatic cancer patients treated with gemcitabine who demonstrate 18F-FLT uptake to those patients who do not demonstrate 18F-FLT uptake [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
• correlate 18F-FLT uptake with hENT1 expression with biopsy samples where available [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]

• compare response to chemotherapy, time to disease progression and overall survival in pancreatic cancer patients treated with gemcitabine who demonstrate 18F-FLT uptake to those patients who do not demonstrate 18F-FLT uptake
• correlate 18F-FLT uptake with hENT1 expression with biopsy samples where available

• determine the presence or absence of uptake, the relative uptake score (RUS) and tumor background ratios of 18F-FLT in patients with known carcinoma of the pancreas and assess this uptake in relation to time of disease progression [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
• to demonstrate the safety of 18F-FLT manufactured at the Edmonton PET Centre [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]

• determine the presence or absence of uptake, the relative uptake score (RUS) and tumor background ratios of 18F-FLT in patients with known carcinoma of the pancreas and assess this uptake in relation to time of disease progression
• to demonstrate the safety of 18F-FLT manufactured at the Edmonton PET Centre

The objective of this pilot study are (i) to compare response to chemotherapy, time to disease progression and overall survival in patients with pancreatic cancer who will be treated with gemcitabine who demonstrate 18F-FLT uptake to those patients who do not demonstrate 18F-FLT uptake; (ii) to correlate 18F-FLT uptake with hENT1 expression with biopsy samples where available; (iii)to determine the presence or absence of uptake, the relative uptake score (RUS) and tumor to background ratios of 18F-FLT in patients with known carcinoma of the pancreas and assess this uptake in relation to time to disease progression; and (iv) to demonstrate the safety of 18F-FLT manufactured at the Edmonton PET Centre.

Inclusion Criteria:

• male or female ≥ 18 years of age. If female of child bearing potential and outside of the window of 10 days since the first day of the last menstrual period, a negative pregnancy test
• patients with known locally advanced or metastatic carcinoma of the pancreas
• planned gemcitabine treatment
• calculated creatinine clearance >50ml/min (calculated by Crockcraft and Gault equation)
• able and willing to follow instructions and comply with the protocol
• provide written consent prior to participation in this study
• Karnofsky Performance Scale Score 60-100

Exclusion Criteria:

• Bilirubin ≥200 umol/L
• AST or ALT ≥5 times the upper limits of normal
• Serious medical conditions which may prevent a patient from tolerating experimental chemotherapy such as: congestive heart failure, unstable angina, unstable ventricular arrhythmia, uncontrolled psychiatric conditions, serious infections, uncontrolled diabetes
• uncontrolled brain metastasis. Patients who have stable brain metastasis treated with radiation or surgery who are symptomatic and a stable dose of dexamethasone are eligible
• nursing females