Objectives: The standard chemotherapy for invasive ductal carcinoma of the pancreas (IDC) is gemcitabine; however, the efficacy of gemcitabine in invasive intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with an associated invasive carcinoma of the pancreas (IPMN-IC) is still unknown.
Methods: Because it is difficult to distinguish between IPMN-IC and IDC based only on radiological findings in advanced unresectable cases, recurrent cases after surgical resection were analyzed to identify the efficacy of gemcitabine monotherapy for IPMN-IC.
Results: Between 1992 and 2010, 128 patients with IPMN-IC and 548 patients with IDC underwent pancreatic resection at the National Cancer Center Hospital. Twelve patients with IPMN-IC and 73 patients with IDC had recurred after surgery and subsequently underwent gemcitabine at the standard dosage. The disease-control rates were comparable between the IPMN-IC and IDC patients (58.3% vs 59.4%). The median progression-free survival was 2.8 and 4.1 months in the IPMN-IC and IDC patients, respectively (P = 0.46). Also, no statistically significant difference in the median survival times was observed between the 2 groups (9.3 vs 8.8 months, respectively; P = 0.09).
Conclusions: Among patients who had IPMN-IC and IDC with recurrent disease after resection, there was no significant difference in treatment outcomes after gemcitabine.