Gemcitabine-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Objective: To explore improved treatment by retrospectively comparing survival time of gemcitabine-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (GemRT) versus chemotherapy (Gem) alone in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC).

Methods: From January 2005 to June 2010, 56 patients with LAPC from Subei People's Hospital were treated either with Gem (n=21) or GemRT (n=35). Gem consisted of 4-6 cycles gemcitabine alone (1000 mg/m2 on Days 1, 8, 15, 28-day a cycle). GemRT consisted of 50.4Gy/28F radiotherapy with concurrent 2 cycles of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2 on days of radiation 1, 8, 15, 21-day a cycle). Radiation was delivered to the gross tumor volume plus 1-1.5 cm by use of a three-dimensional conformal technique. The follow-up time was calculated from the time of diagnosis to the date of death or last contact. Kaplan-Meier methodology wes used to evaluate survival.

Results: Patient characteristics were not significantly different between treatment groups. The disease control rate and the objective response rate of GemRT versus Gem was 97.1% vs 71.4%, 74.3% vs 38.1%. The overall survival (OS) was significantly better for GemRT compared to Gem (median 13 months versus 8 months; 51.4% versus 14.3% at 1 year, respectively).

Conclusion: Radiation therapy at 50.4Gy with 2 concurrent cycles of gemcitabine results in favorable rates of OS. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy should be the first choice for patients with LAPC.