Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare disease for which scarce evidence is available. We summarized data available on systemic treatment of advanced SBA.
Methods: Scientific literature was evaluated to find phase II or phase III clinical trials on systemic treatment for advanced SBA. MeSH terms were selected and combined for the initial search, then inclusion and exclusion criteria were set in a search protocol. Four medical oncologists looked for evidence on Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane databases. Moreover, abstracts from 2016 to June 2021 from the American Society for Clinical Oncology, European Society for Medical Oncology, Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium and World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer were browsed. The selected studies, matching the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were finally tabulated and analyzed.
Results: The trials finally selected were 18 phase II/III clinical trials. Four small phase II trials support the activity of oxaliplatin-based doublets in first-line treatment (CAPOX and mFOLFOX).
Conclusion: No good level evidence is available on the use of bevacizumab, anti-epidermal growth factor receptor, targeted agents or immunotherapy. First-line treatments are largely derived from colorectal cancer protocols, mainly oxaliplatin-based doublets.
Keywords: chemotherapy; clinical trials; immunotherapy; small bowel adenocarcinoma; systematic review; target therapy.