Survival with nal-IRI (liposomal irinotecan) plus 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin versus 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in per-protocol and non-per-protocol populations of NAPOLI-1: Expanded analysis of a global phase 3 trial

Abstract

Background: In the phase 3 randomised NAPOLI-1 clinical study, a 45% increase in median overall survival (OS) was shown with liposomal irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (nal-IRI+5-FU/LV) versus 5-FU/LV in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer progressing after gemcitabine-based therapy. Here, we report data from a pre-specified, expanded analysis of outcomes in the per-protocol (PP) population.

Materials and methods: The PP population comprised patients receiving ≥80% of planned treatment during the first 6 weeks, with no major protocol violations. A post-hoc analysis of the non-PP population was also performed.

Results: For PP patients, median OS was 8.9 (95% confidence interval: 6.4-10.5) months with nal-IRI+5-FU/LV (n = 66) vs 5.1 (4.0-7.2) months with 5-FU/LV (n = 71; unstratified hazard ratio [HR] 0.57, p = 0.011). For non-PP patients, it was 4.4 (3.3-5.3) months with nal-IRI+5-FU/LV (n = 51) vs 2.8 (1.7-3.2) months with 5-FU/LV (n = 48; unstratified HR 0.64, p = 0.0648).

Conclusion: A statistically significant survival advantage was observed with nal-IRI+5-FU/LV vs 5-FU/LV in the PP patient population.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01494506.

Keywords: Clinical trial, phase III; Drug combinations, Antineoplastic; Gemcitabine; Neoplasm metastasis; Pancreatic neoplasms; Sensitivity and specificity; Survival analysis.