[Does locoregional chemotherapy improve survival in patients with non-resectable pancreatic carcinoma? Results of an open controlled study].
About 90% of patients suffering from pancreatic carcinoma are diagnosed with disease that is not amenable to surgical intervention due to local infiltration or the presence of hepatic metastases. Palliative intra-arterial chemotherapy was developed to improve the response in these patients by increasing the antiblastic dose and minimizing the side effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of this treatment comparison to a control group. From December 1994 to February 1997, 135 patients with ductal carcinoma, in whom 68 were stage III and 67 stage IV, with a median age of 63.3 years (range 38.4-79), were enrolled in an open study. Sixty four patients were subjected to a median of 3.5 cycles, according to intra-arterial FLEC protocol. Four patients had a partial response (6.3%), 27 enjoyed a stabilization of their disease (42.2%) and 13 showed disease progression (20.3%). The toxicity was mild. The overall survival was 8.3 months, better in the treated group (9.6 months) in respect to the control one (7.1 months), although this was not statistically significant. The treatment reported here, therefore, does not seem to change the prognosis of patients affected by no resectable pancreatic carcinoma, but it may demonstrate good tolerability and minimal toxicity.
Falconi
M
M
Servizio di Endocrinochirurgia, Università degli Studi di Verona.
Sartori
N
N
Cantore
M
M
Salvia
R
R
Talamini
G
G
Bassi
C
C
Smerieri
F
F
Pederzoli
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate