title: Phase III study of 5FU, etoposide and leucovorin (FELV) compared to epirubicin, cisplatin and 5FU (ECF) in previously untreated patients with advanced biliary cancer.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine whether epirubicin, cisplatin and infused 5FU (ECF) improves overall survival (OS) compared to 5FU, etoposide and leucovorin (FELV) in patients with previously untreated advanced biliary cancer in a prospective randomised study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive epirubicin, cisplatin and infused 5FU ECF or bolus 5FU etoposide and leucovorin (FELV). The primary end point was OS with secondary end points of objective response rate (ORR), failure-free survival (FFS), quality of life (QOL) and toxicity. In all, 54 patients were recruited with 27 randomly assigned to each arm. The median OS for ECF was 9.02 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 6.46-11.51) and FELV 12.03 months (95% CI: 9.3-14.7), P=0.2059. Objective response rates were similar for both arms: ECF 19.2% (95% CI: 6.55-39.3); FELV 15% (95% CI: 3.2-37.9), P=0.72. There was significantly increased grade 3/4 neutropenia with FELV vs ECF (53.8 vs 29.5%, respectively, P=0.020). Symptom resolution was impressive for both regimens. This is the largest reported randomised study to date in this setting. ECF did not improve OS compared to FELV, but was associated with less acute toxicity. These data suggest that chemotherapy can prolong OS and achieve good symptomatic relief in advanced biliary cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oates
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Norman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001661:Biliary Tract Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D002955:Leucovorin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005047:Etoposide; D002955:Leucovorin; D005472:Fluorouracil