Fixed-Dose-Rate Gemcitabine in Combination with Oxaliplatin in Patients with Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Refractory to Standard-Dose-Rate Gemcitabine: A Single-Institute Study

Objectives: There is a paucity of data exploring treatment options for refractory pancreatic cancer. Oxaliplatin has interesting activity in second-line therapy. Fixed-dose-rate gemcitabine (GFDR, 10 mg/m(2)/min) has shown promising results in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer over standard-dose-rate (30 min) gemcitabine (GSDR). Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the experience of our cancer center with GFDR and oxaliplatin (GEMOX) in patients who failed GSDR. GEMOX consisted of gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) over 100 min on day 1 and oxaliplatin 100 mg/m(2) over 2 h on day 2 every 2 weeks. Eligible patients were required to have measurable metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and to have failed prior GSDR. Results: Seventeen patients (median age 62 years) who were treated at the Ohio State University with GEMOX following GSDR failure between November 2003 and January 2008 were included in this study. Twenty-four percent of all patients had a partial response, 29% had stable disease and 47% had progressive disease. The median progression-free survival was 2.6 months and the median overall survival was 6.4 months.There were no unexpected toxicities. Conclusion: GEMOX shows interesting activity and acceptable tolerability in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who failed prior GSDR. Our results are consistent with previously published results. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel