Background/aim: FOLFIRINOX (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, oxaliplatin) and gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel therapy have recently been introduced for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Herein, overall treatment outcomes of metastatic pancreatic cancer after introduction of FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel therapy were evaluated, in daily practice.
Patients and methods: Metastatic pancreatic cancer patients (n=321) who started systemic chemotherapy between January 2011 and December 2016 were included and were divided into two groups: group A (2011-2013) and group B (2014-2016). Treatment outcomes were evaluated retrospectively.
Results: Patient characteristics were similar between the two groups except for the rates of distant lymph node metastasis and peritoneal metastasis. The preferred regimens in groups A and B were gemcitabine monotherapy and gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel therapy, respectively. The response rates, median progression-free survival, and median overall survival of groups A and B were 7.8% and 28.4% (p<0.01), 3.1 months and 5.4 months (p<0.01), and 6.7 months and 10.2 months (p<0.01), respectively.
Conclusion: Overall treatment outcomes for metastatic pancreatic cancer were significantly improved after introduction of FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel combination therapy in daily practice.
Keywords: FOLFIRINOX; Metastatic pancreatic cancer; chemotherapy; gemcitabine; nab-paclitaxel; real-world data.
Copyright© 2019, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.