Cancer Management and Research (Aug 2019)

Antibiotic therapy augments the efficacy of gemcitabine-containing regimens for advanced cancer: a retrospective study

  • Imai H,
  • Saijo K,
  • Komine K,
  • Otsuki Y,
  • Ohuchi K,
  • Sato Y,
  • Okita A,
  • Takahashi M,
  • Takahashi S,
  • Shirota H,
  • Takahashi M,
  • Ishioka C

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 11
pp. 7953 – 7965

Abstract

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Hiroo Imai,1 Ken Saijo,1 Keigo Komine,1 Yasufumi Otsuki,2 Kota Ohuchi,1 Yuko Sato,1 Akira Okita,2 Masahiro Takahashi,1 Shin Takahashi,2 Hidekazu Shirota,1 Masanobu Takahashi,2 Chikashi Ishioka21Department of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Japan; 2Department of Clinical Oncology, Institute of Developing, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanCorrespondence: Chikashi IshiokaDepartment of Medical Oncology, Tohoku University Hospital, 4-1, Seiryo-machi, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8575, JapanTel +81 22 717 8543Fax +81 22 717 8548Email [email protected]: The addition of antibiotics reportedly augments the efficacy of gemcitabine (GEM) in tumor-bearing mice. However, whether this phenomenon is also observed in cancer patients remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to assess whether antibiotics for treatment or prevention of infection augments treatment efficacies of GEM-containing regimens in patients with any type of cancer.Methods: Medical records of patients diagnosed with cancer histopathologically and treated with GEM-containing regimens (n=169) were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were assigned into two groups: antibiotics-untreated group (patients who were treated with GEM-containing regimens but without antibiotics) and antibiotics-treated group (patients who were treated with GEM-containing regimens plus antibiotics). Response rates, progression-free survival (PFS) time, and overall survival (OS) time were analyzed for each group.Results: The response rates of the antibiotics-untreated and antibiotics-treated groups with GEM-containing regimens were 15.1% and 27.6%, respectively. The median PFS times of the antibiotics-untreated and antibiotics-treated groups were 2.5 (95% CI: 1.86–3.73) and 4.9 (95% CI: 3.47–6.0) months, respectively. The median OS times of the antibiotics-untreated and antibiotics-treated groups were 7.53 (95% CI: 5.63–9.57) months and 13.83 (95% CI: 10.83–16.43) months, respectively.Conclusion: The addition of antibiotics augments the treatment efficacies of GEM-containing regimens, and it may be a potential therapeutic option to improve treatment efficacies of GEM-containing regimens in patients with advanced cancer.Keywords: antibiotics, bacteria, gemcitabine, multivariate analysis, univariate analysis

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