FAP-1 Study: FAPi PET in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Prospective, Exploratory Study

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma commonly referred to as pancreatic cancer is a cancer which is known to involve the pancreas and the surrounding structures like blood vessels, which makes it an aggressive cancer. Treatment of the cancer is decided by how much the disease has spread. It has been understood from recent studies that there are some components of the tumor which are not detected by standard CT scan. The tissue in the tumor microenvironment leads to further spread of tumor. The tissue which is seen near the tumor has many attachments on the surface which are currently being studied. One of the most common attachments is Fibroblast activation protein (FAP), which is seen on the surface of tumor tissue. A radioactive tracer Gallium-68 is attached to a small protein known as 'peptide' named 'FAP inhibitor (FAPi)' which shall bind to FAP. Then a PET scan will be performed which shall help in understanding how much of the tissue is seen on the scan in addition to the pancreatic tumor. The investigators shall assess whether the radiotracer (Gallium-68 labeled FAPi) binds to other sites like liver or other organs where the cancer is likely to spread. From the study, the investigators shall study whether the new scanning technique is beneficial as compared to the standard CT scanning. Hence, the investigators would perform Gallium-68-labeled FAPi PET scan in addition to the standard CT scan and compare the results.