Multicenter retrospective analysis of systemic chemotherapy in poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma of the digestive system.

Abstract

274 Background: Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma (PDNEC) is a rare and aggressive disease. No standard regimen has yet been established for advanced PDNEC, although regimens for small-cell lung carcinoma such as irinotecan + cisplatin (IP) or etoposide + cisplatin (EP), are usually adopted. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes according to the patient’s characteristics and treatment regimens for patients with PDNEC of the digestive system. Methods: Data was collected from the medical records of patients at 23 hospitals. The selection criteria were as follows: 1) histologically proven PDNEC, small cell carcinoma, mixed endocrine-exocrine carcinoma with a PDNEC component, or histologically proven neuroendocrine tumor with rapidly progressive clinical course; 2) primary tumor arising from the gastrointestinal tract (GI) or the hepato-biliary-pancreatic system (HBP); and 3) inoperable or recurrent disease treated with systemic chemotherapy between April 2000 and March 2011. Results: There were 258 patients (pts). The median age was 62.5 years (range, 26-81); male/female, 182/76 pts; the primary site was the esophagus/stomach/small bowel/colorectum/hepato-biliary system/pancreas in 85/70/6/31/31/35 pts. According to these primary sites, the median overall survival period (mOS) was 13.4/13.3/29.7/7.6/7.9/8.5 months, respectively. The most commonly used regimen was IP (160 pts, 62%), followed by EP (46 pts, 18%). For the patients treated with IP/EP, the response rates (RR) were 50%/27%, the progression free survival periods (mPFS) were 5.2/4.0 months, and mOS were 13.0/7.3 months. The subgroup outcome data for patients with HBP or GI cancers are shown in Table. A multivariate analysis demonstrated that a primary HBP cancer (HR=1.96, p=0.002), and a poor PS (HR=2.33, p=0.01) were independent unfavorable prognostic factors. Conclusions: PDNEC of the HBP has a poorer prognosis than GI. IP was the most commonly selected treatment regimen, and seemed to have a favorable treatment outcome. [Table: see text]