Outcomes of patients with borderline-resectable pancreatic cancer treated with FOLFIRINOX versus gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel.

Abstract

299 Background: Pancreatic cancer is a major cause of cancer-related death. Less than 20% of patients have resectable disease at diagnosis. Patients with borderline-resectable pancreatic cancer (BRPC) are at high risk of incomplete resection with upfront surgery. Currently there is no standard induction chemotherapy regimen exists for BRPC. Both FOLFIRINOX (5-FU, irinotecan, oxaliplatin) and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (GnP) have shown better efficacy than gemcitabine in advanced pancreatic cancer. The current study aims to assess outcomes of real-world patients with BRCP who received induction FOLFIRINOX or GnP. Methods: In this population-based multicenter retrospective cohort study patients with biopsy proven BRPC as defined by the pancreatic surgical team diagnosed from 2011-2017, in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, who received FOLFIRINOX or GnP were assessed. Kaplan Meier methods and log rank tests were performed for survival analyses. Results: Of 161 patients with pancreatic cancer who received FOLFIRINOX or GnP during the study period, 20 eligible patients with BRPC, with median age of 65 yrs (54-79) and M:F 14:6, were identified. 85% had pancreatic head tumours with a median CA19-9 of 470 u/mL. Of eligible patients, 10 each received FOLFIRINOX or GnP. No significant differences were found between the two groups, except more patients in FOLFIRINOX group had a WHO performance status of 0 (50% vs. 10%, p = 0.057) and had a higher body mass index (27.0 vs. 23.0, p = 0.027). Eleven patients showed partial response (5–FOLFIRINOX and 6–GnP), three progressed during treatment. Five patients (4–FOLFIRINOX, 1–GnP, p = NS) underwent curative surgery. Five patients (1–FOLFIRINOX, 4–Gnp) had radiation and four underwent Nanoknife procedure (3–FOLFIRINOX, 1–GnP). The median progression free survival was 17 months in FOLFIRINOX (95% CI: 5.3-28.6) versus nine months (3.0-15) in GnP group (p = 0.26). The median overall survival was 32 months in FOLFIRINOX (not reach) versus 16 months (9.3-22.7) in GnP group (p = 0.15). Conclusions: The current study suggests that patients with BRPC who received FOLFIRINOX tends to have better outcomes. Future study are warranted to establish a preferred systemic therapy for BRPC.