BACKGROUND: Advanced biliary tract carcinomas (BTCs) are associated with a very poor prognosis. New therapeutic strategies therefore are needed to improve efficacy and survival, and the current study was designed with a new, effective drug combination. METHODS: Patients with recurrent or metastatic BTC received a combination of epirubicin at a dose of 50 mg/m(2), cisplatin at a dose of 60 mg/m(2) on Day 1, and capecitabine at a dose of 1000 mg/m(2) twice daily for 2 weeks. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 43 patients (22 with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, 15 with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and 6 with gallbladder carcinoma) were treated. The median age was 53 years (range, 36-69 yrs) and 5 patients had a Zubrod performance status of 2. Seventeen patients achieved a partial response (40%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 21-49%) and 10 had stable disease. With a follow-up duration of 18 months, the median survival time was 8 months (95% CI, 6-10 mos). In total, 187 chemotherapy cycles were delivered, with a median of 5 cycles per patient (range, 1-9 cycles). Toxicity was mainly myelosuppression and mucositis, but no patients died of toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: This combination chemotherapy with epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine offered promising antitumor activity in patients with advanced BTC.
BACKGROUND: Advanced biliary tract carcinomas (BTCs) are associated with a very poor prognosis. New therapeutic strategies therefore are needed to improve efficacy and survival, and the current study was designed with a new, effective drug combination. METHODS:Patients with recurrent or metastatic BTC received a combination of epirubicin at a dose of 50 mg/m(2), cisplatin at a dose of 60 mg/m(2) on Day 1, and capecitabine at a dose of 1000 mg/m(2) twice daily for 2 weeks. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 43 patients (22 with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, 15 with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and 6 with gallbladder carcinoma) were treated. The median age was 53 years (range, 36-69 yrs) and 5 patients had a Zubrod performance status of 2. Seventeen patients achieved a partial response (40%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 21-49%) and 10 had stable disease. With a follow-up duration of 18 months, the median survival time was 8 months (95% CI, 6-10 mos). In total, 187 chemotherapy cycles were delivered, with a median of 5 cycles per patient (range, 1-9 cycles). Toxicity was mainly myelosuppression and mucositis, but no patients died of toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: This combination chemotherapy with epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine offered promising antitumor activity in patients with advanced BTC.
Authors: Susanna V Ulahannan; Osama E Rahma; Austin G Duffy; Oxana V Makarova-Rusher; Metin Kurtoglu; David J Liewehr; Seth M Steinberg; Tim F Greten Journal: Hepat Oncol Date: 2015-01-01
Authors: Jennifer Yang; Matthew R Farren; Daniel Ahn; Tanios Bekaii-Saab; Gregory B Lesinski Journal: Expert Opin Ther Targets Date: 2017-03-17 Impact factor: 6.902