A retrospective analysis of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Abstract

e15616 Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a progressively fatal disease with an annual incidence of 1-2 cases per 100,000 people in the USA. Complete surgical resection is the only curative option for CCA. However, the majority of patients (pts) have advanced disease at diagnosis, and those undergoing resection often develop local or distant recurrence. Gemcitabine and Cisplatin remains the only standard chemotherapeutic regimen for advanced CCA. Alternative and improved therapies are critically needed. Gemcitabine/nab-Paclitaxel (GA) is a regimen that has become standard therapy in advanced pancreatic cancer (PDAC). Given the morphologic and histologic similarities between PDAC and CCA, this regimen has been used in advanced CCA, but no data exists regarding its efficacy in this disease. The goal of our study is to evaluate the Mayo Clinic experience with GA for the treatment of metastatic CCA. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed records from adult pts at Mayo Clinic with metastatic cholangiocarcinoma who received at least 2 cycles of GA. Our aims were to assess the progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and disease response. Results: We analyzed 9 pts, 3 male and 6 female. The median age at diagnosis was 50 years (range 41-64). Six pts had metastatic disease at diagnosis while 3 underwent surgery with subsequent distant disease recurrence. Pts received a median of 2 lines (range 0-5) of systemic therapy prior to receiving GA, and a median of 2 cycles (range 2-15) of GA. At the time of our analysis, 4 of the 9 pts (44%) had died. The median OS from initiation of GA was 7.3 months (95% CI 1.7- 12.9) and median PFS from initiation of GA was 4.7 months (95% CI 0.48-8.9). The best overall responses using RECIST criteria were: partial response in 1 (11%), stable disease in 5 (55%) and disease progression in 3 (33%) pts. One pt remained on therapy 14.9 months after initiating GA. Conclusions: In our study, the combination of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel has demonstrated similar OS and PFS as other systemic therapies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this regimen in CCA. Ongoing, prospective trials are currently evaluating this regimen in advanced CCA.