Background: More than half of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) are candidates for further treatment when they experience upfront treatment failure.
Patients and methods: Patients with gemcitabine-resistant PA, age <76 years and Karnofski performance status (KPS) >50 were treated with a XELIRI or FOLFIRI regimen until progressive disease or a maximum of six months. As this was an observational study, no statistical design was performed.
Results: Between July 2007 and December 2009, 34 patients (median age 60 years; median KPS 90) were treated with XELIRI (26) or FOLFIRI (8) regimen. Grade >2 toxicity consisted of neutropenia in 9% of patients, anemia and fatigue in 3% and hand-foot syndrome in 12%. Median progression-free survival was two months (range 1-4). Maximum response was stable disease in four patients (12%). Median survival was 4.2 (range 1-15) months.
Conclusion: Fluoropyrimidine and irinotecan combination does not seem to have any role in the treatment of gemcitabine-resistant PA.