J Cancer 2021; 12(3):912-917. doi:10.7150/jca.50514 This issue Cite
Research Paper
1. Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang-si, Gyeongigi-do, Korea.
2. Department of Internal Medicine, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea.
3. Department of Internal Medicine, Yeungnam University Medical Center, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
4. Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
5. Department of General Surgery, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang-si, Gyeongigi-do, Korea.
6. Departement of Radiology, Hallym University Medical Center, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang-si, Gyeongigi-do, Korea.
Background: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine in combination with erlotinib and S-1 for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.
Methods: Chemotherapy-naïve patients with pathologically-proven locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma were assessed for eligibility. Gemcitabine was administered at 1,000 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1 and 8, erlotinib was administered at 100 mg/day on days 1-21, and S-1 was administered at 60 mg/m2 on days 1-14 every 21 days and continued to a maximum of 8 cycles of treatment. Dose escalation of S-1 to 80 mg/m2 was permitted from the second cycle for pre-defined tolerable patients.
Results: Thirty-seven patients (median age 61.5 years) were enrolled. A total of 140 cycles of chemotherapy were administered (median of 3.8; range 1-8 cycles). Toxicities were evaluated in 36 patients, and the responses were evaluated in 32 patients. Major grade 3/4 toxicities included neutropenia (25%), febrile neutropenia (2.8%), fatigue (22.2%), infection (8.3%), vomiting (5.6%), and mucositis (5.6%). The confirmed overall response rate was 12.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 5.1-28.9%] and the disease control rate was 71.9% (95% CI, 56.8-86.3%). The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 3.7 months (95% CI, 2.8-4.6 months) and 6.7 months (95% CI, 3.4-9.9 months), respectively.
Conclusion: The combination of gemcitabine, erlotinib, and S-1 provided an acceptable toxicity profile and modest clinical benefits in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Keywords: pancreatic neoplasms, gemcitabine, erlotinib, S-1, phase II study