N/A NanoKnife irreversible electroporation (cell-membrane nanopore ablation) in unresectable pancreatic cancer

Englewood Hospital and Medical Center is running this single-arm, prospective safety-and-outcomes study evaluating the NanoKnife Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) System used off-label to ablate unresectable pancreatic cancer. The intervention is IRE: short, high-voltage electrical pulses delivered via needle electrodes to create permanent nanopores in tumor cell membranes, disrupting homeostasis and causing cell death (a non-thermal ablation approach designed to spare nearby critical vessels/ducts compared with heat-based methods). The study primarily tracks short- and intermediate-term procedure safety/tolerability via adverse-event monitoring, and secondarily assesses pain relief (visual analog scale) and quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30 and PAN26) out to 24 months. Eligibility centers on adults with locally advanced unresectable disease after standard chemotherapy ± radiation, with key exclusions including distant metastases and implanted pacemakers/defibrillators. Today’s care for unresectable pancreatic cancer is systemic therapy (often FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel, then later-line regimens) with selective radiation and best supportive care; this trial tests whether adding a localized ablation step can improve pain and patient-reported outcomes when surgery is not an option.