Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology (Feb 2017)

A modified regimen of biweekly gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer is both tolerable and effective: a retrospective analysis

  • Daniel H. Ahn,
  • Kavya Krishna,
  • Marlo Blazer,
  • Joshua Reardon,
  • Lai Wei,
  • Christina Wu,
  • Kristen K. Ciombor,
  • Anne M. Noonan,
  • Sameh Mikhail,
  • Tanios Bekaii-Saab

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1758834016676011
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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Background: Treatment with nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine demonstrates a survival advantage when compared with single-agent gemcitabine. However, the combination is associated with significant toxicities, leading to a high rate of drug discontinuation. We implemented a modified regimen of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (mGNabP) in an attempt to minimize toxicities while maintaining efficacy. Methods: A total of 79 evaluable patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPC) treated with a modified regimen of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m 2 ) and nab-paclitaxel (125 mg/m 2 ) on days 1, 15 of every 28-day cycle were identified from our prospective database. A total of 57 patients received this regimen as first-line treatment and were evaluated for toxicities, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Overall, 22 patients with advanced or metastatic PC treated with the modified regimen outside the first-line setting were only evaluated for toxicities. Results: The median OS and PFS were 10 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 5.9–13 months] and 5.4 months (95% CI 4.1–7.4 months) for patients that received the modified regimen as first-line therapy. Neurotoxicity occurred in 27% with only 1.6% of patients experiencing grade ⩾3 toxicity. The incidence of grade ⩾3 neutropenia was 19%, resulting in growth factor support in 12% of patients. This rate was similar in patients who received the modified regimen for first-line treatment of mPC versus the overall group. Conclusions: A modified regimen of biweekly nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine is associated with a lower cost, acceptable toxicity profile and appears to be relatively effective in pancreatic cancer. Prospective randomized studies confirming its potential benefits compared with standard weekly mGNabP are warranted.