A phase II study of neoadjuvant gemcitabine/5-fluorouracil followed by 5-fluorouracil/oxaliplatin concurrent with radiation in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

259 Background: We designed this phase II trial to determine the efficacy and safety of a neoadjuvant regimen involving gemcitabine, infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin and radiation therapy (RT) in patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma Methods: Induction chemotherapy (CT) consisted of two 3-week cycles of weekly gemcitabine with 24-hour continuous infusion of 5 FU for 2 of 3 weeks. Chemoradiation (CRT) consisted of RT of 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions or 50 Gy in 25 fractions and weekly oxaliplatin with 24-hour continuous infusion of 5 FU throughout RT. The first 7 patients also received celecoxib 200 mg BID throughout induction CT and CRT. Upon completion of CRT, surgical candidates underwent a pancreatoduodenectomy. Response rate was assessed according to RECIST criteria 4 weeks after the end of CRT. CTC AE v3 was used to grade the acute side effects. The failure-free survival (FFS), overall survival (OS) and median survival were analyzed by the Kaplan Meier method. Results: Twenty-nine patients who had borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma at the UNMC were enrolled and received induction CT. Twenty-four patients completed CRT. Nineteen patients had surgical exploration: 4 were unresectable, 6 had intra-abdominal metastases, and 9 had resection (seven had R0 resection, 2 had R1 resection, and 6 had negative nodes). The median follow up was 27 months. There were maximum 48% acute grade 3-4 toxicities during induction CT and CRT. The median FFS and OS were 7 and 10 months and the 2-year FFS and OS were 17% and 28%. Median OS and FFS for patients with and without resection was 26 vs. 9 months, p=0.06; and 19 vs. 5 months, p=0.01. Patients with CA19-9 above 90 U/L throughout treatment had significantly shorter FFS and OS than patients with CA19-9 less than 90 throughout treatment or had a decline from baseline to less than 90 after treatment. Conclusions: Induction gemcitabine/5-FU followed by 5-FU/oxaliplatin concurrent with RT led to down staging in 31% patients with subsequent resection. Further innovative strategies are needed to improve the outcome of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. No significant financial relationships to disclose.