A phase II study of capecitabine plus gemcitabine in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer

Hong Suk Song, Young Rok Do, Heung Moon Chang, Min Hee Ryu, Kyung Hee Lee, Yeul Hong Kim, Dae Sik Hong, Jae Yong Cho, Kyoung Eun Lee, Si Young Kim

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11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: This open-label, multicenter phase II study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of capecitabine plus gemcitabine combination chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Patients and methods: We enrolled 63 patients who received capecitabine 830 mg/m2 orally twice daily on days 1-21 plus gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 as a 30-min infusion on days 1, 8 and 15 every 4 weeks for up to six cycles. Results: A total of 14 patients had partial responses giving an overall response rate of 22% (95% confidence interval [CI] 13-34%) in the intent-to-treat population. The median time to progression and overall survival were 3.9 months (95% CI 3.5-5.7) and 7.5 months (95% CI 5.0-10.0), respectively, and 1-year survival rate was 27.1% in the intent-to-treat population. Capecitabine plus gemcitabine was well tolerated. Grade 3 hematological adverse events were neutropenia (21%) and thrombocytopenia (2%); the only grade 4 hematological events were anemia (2%) and neutropenia (6%). Non-hematological adverse events were mainly gastrointestinal events and hand-foot syndrome, which affected 16% of patients. Grade 3/4 non-hematological events were infrequent. Conclusion: The combination of capecitabine plus gemcitabine appears to be active and well tolerated as first-line treatment in patients with advanced/metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)763-768
Number of pages6
JournalCancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology
Volume62
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2008

Keywords

  • Capecitabine
  • Chemotherapy
  • Gemcitabine
  • Pancreatic cancer

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