Are We There Yet? - Alternating Chemotherapy Regimens in Pancreatic Cancer

NEJM Evid. 2024 Feb;3(2):EVIDe2300341. doi: 10.1056/EVIDe2300341. Epub 2024 Jan 23.

Abstract

In the randomized phase 2 SEQUENCE trial in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, reported in this issue of NEJM Evidence, the authors compared therapy with alternating FOLFOX and nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine chemotherapy versus standard-of-care, single-regimen nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine therapy.1 They were testing the idea that because most tumor cells express both basal and classic markers, alternating treatment would target both cell populations and thus confer a survival benefit. The trial, which enrolled 157 patients, met the primary end point of an overall survival rate at 12 months of 55.3% in the alternating treatment group compared with 35.4% in the standard-of-care group.

Publication types

  • Editorial

MeSH terms

  • Albumins / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic
  • Deoxycytidine / therapeutic use
  • Gemcitabine*
  • Humans
  • Paclitaxel / therapeutic use
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Substances

  • Albumins
  • Deoxycytidine
  • Gemcitabine
  • Paclitaxel