[FOLFIRINOX Combination Chemotherapy in Patients with Metastatic or Recurrent Pancreatic Cancer--A Single Institution Experience].

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Japan. oxaliplatin: L-OHP, irinotecan: CPT-11, fluorouracil: 5-FU, and Leucovorin: l-LV (FOLFIRINOX) combination chemotherapy provided significant improvements in overall and progression-free survival in a phase Ⅲ trial in France and in a phase Ⅱ trial in Japan. As a result, this combination therapy was approved for use in Japan. We evaluated the efficacy of FOLFIRINOX in metastatic or recurrent pancreatic cancer. Between October 2014 and July 2015, 10 patients received mFOLFIRINOX as follows: 2-hour infusion of LOHP at 85 mg/m2, 2-hour infusion of l-LV at 200 mg/m2 and infusion of CPT-11 over 90 min at 150 mg/m2, followed by continuous infusion of 5-FU over 46 hours at 2,400mg/m2. Prior to the treatment, a 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor antagonist, aprepitant, and dexamethasone were given. The treatment was repeated every 2 weeks until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, discontinuation as decided by the investigators, or patient refusal. The mean age of the patients was 65.0 years (range, 59-75 years), and 4 out of 10 patients were men. Only 2 patients had no prior therapy. Nine patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of 0. Eight patients had metastasis and 2 had locally recurrent disease. The median number of treatment cycles was 5 (range, 1-14). The relative dose intensities of 5-FU, L-OHP and CPT-11 were 93.3% (range, 58.3-100%), 84.0% (range, 63.2-100%), and 76.0% (range, 44.4-83.3%), respectively. The major Grade 3 and 4 hematological toxicities were neutropenia (40%), leucopenia (30%), and thrombocytopenia(10%). The major Grade 2 and 3 non-hematological toxicities were diarrhea (30%), nausea (60%), and vomiting (10%). Serious adverse events occurred in 2 patients. Severe biliary tract infection causing sepsis was observed in 1 patient with a biliary stent. Overwhelming post-splenectomy infection was observed in 1 patient after distal pancreatectomy. No cases of interstitial lung disease were observed. The 6-month progression-free and overall survival rates were 59.3% and 61.7%, respectively. The overall response rate was 10%, and the disease control rate was 90%(complete response [CR], n=0; partial response [PR], n=1; stable disease [SD], n=8; progressive disease [PD], n=1). Although FOLFIRINOX is associated with increased treatment efficacy and survival outcomes, because of its severe toxicity it cannot be administered to all patients. FOLFIRINOX can be used as the standard treatment for patients with a good performance status.