Quality of life study of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with gemcitabine+nab-paclitaxel versus gemcitabine alone: AX-PANC-SY001, a randomized phase-2 study

Gemcitabine + Nab-paclitaxel or Gemcitabine alone after FOLFIRINOX failure in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a real-world AGEO study

BACKGROUND

Gemcitabine (Gem) alone or with Nab-paclitaxel (Gem-Nab) is used as second-line treatment for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPA) after FOLFIRINOX (FFX) failure; however, no comparative data exist. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of adding Nab-paclitaxel to Gem for mPA after FFX failure.

METHODS

In this retrospective real-world multicenter study, from 2011 to 2019, patients with mPA receiving Gem-Nab (Gem 1000 mg/m² + Nab 125 mg/m², 3 out of 4 weeks) or Gem alone were included after progression on FFX.

RESULTS

A total of 427 patients were included. Patients receiving Gem-Nab had more metastatic sites, peritoneal disease and less PS 2 (24% vs. 35%). After median follow-up of 22 months, Gem-Nab was associated with better disease control rate (DCR) (56% vs. 32%; P < 0.001), progression-free survival (PFS) (3.5 vs. 2.3 months; 95% CI: 0.43-0.65) and overall survival (OS) (7.1 vs. 4.7 months; 95% CI: 0.53-0.86). After multivariate analysis, Gem-Nab and PS 0/1 were associated with better OS and PFS. Grade 3/4 toxicity was more frequent with Gem-Nab (44% vs. 29%).

CONCLUSION

In this study, Gem-Nab was associated with better DCR, PFS and OS compared with Gem alone in patients with mPA after FFX failure, at the cost of higher toxicity.

Use of Nab-Paclitaxel Plus Gemcitabine Followed by Hypofractionated Tomotherapy With Simultaneous Integrated Boost in Patients With Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Background and Purpose

A phase 2 study LAPACT indicated nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (AG) improved outcomes of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Conventional radiotherapy failed to show benefit, indicating high dose to volume with high risk of recurrence is needed. The high dose can be delivered through hypofractionated tomotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB). However, there is a lack of such prospective trials and more data are needed to validate the role of AG plus hypofractionated tomotherapy with SIB in patients with LAPC.

Materials and Methods

Patients with LAPC receiving AG plus tomotherapy at the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital between 2018 and 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The treatment was scheduled as follows: nab-paclitaxel 125 mg/m² plus gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m² on days 1 and 8 every three weeks for at least two cycles, followed by hypofractionated tomotherapy with SIB (high dose field: 50 Gy/10 fractions, the remainder: 30 Gy/10 fractions). Then patients were given AG until intolerance or disease progression.

Results

Overall, 22 patients completing the chemoradiotherapy were included. The median follow-up was 15.2 months. After the chemoradiotherapy, 5 patients achieved a partial response (PR), 15 had a stable disease (SD), and another 2 patients were with progressive disease (PD). The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 12.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.3-21.3 months) and 16.3 months (95% CI 10.9-21.6 months), respectively. The optimal carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 response and chemotherapy cycles ≥6 were correlated with favorable PFS and OS. The most common recurrent pattern was peritoneal dissemination (22.7%) and the locoregional recurrence rate was relatively low (4.5%). Treatments were well-tolerated. The most common grade ≥3 adverse event was thrombocytopenia (13.6%).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated the feasibility of AG followed by hypofractionated tomotherapy with SIB in patients with LAPC. The hypofractionated tomotherapy with SIB was safe and showed high local control rate. Further study with a larger population to validate our data is underway.

The impact of nutritional status on pancreatic cancer therapy

INTRODUCTION

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease with poor outcomes. One of the reasons for the dismal prognosis resides in its impressive ability to alter the nutritional status of patients who develop malnutrition, cachexia, anorexia, and sarcopenia in most cases. The ideal way to measure such changes in PDAC patients, in order to readily identify them and avoid complications or discontinuations of treatment is a relatively unexplored area. In addition, most PDAC patients experience pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) that contributes to the complex puzzle of malnutrition and that can be treated with Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT).

AREAS COVERED

We review current knowledge on the impact of nutritional status on both surgical and medical treatments for PDAC, reporting available data on the causes of malnutrition, characteristics, and advantages of different tools to investigate nutritional status and possible strategies to improve patient outcomes.

EXPERT OPINION

All PDAC patients should receive a careful nutritional assessment at diagnosis, and this should be repeated alongside their treatment path. Screening tools and biochemical variables or scores are associated with prognosis, but bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA) and radiological assessment of body composition seem more accurate in predicting clinical outcomes and postoperative complications.

Beyond the Front Line: Emerging Data for Maintenance Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer

The Oncology Grand Rounds series is designed to place original reports published in the Journal into clinical context. A case presentation is followed by a description of diagnostic and management challenges, a review of the relevant literature, and a summary of the authors' suggested management approaches. The goal of this series is to help readers better understand how to apply the results of key studies, including those published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, to patients seen in their own clinical practice.

Symptom Burden of Patients with Advanced Pancreas Cancer (APC): A Provincial Cancer Institute Observational Study

Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) experience many disease-related symptoms. ESAS-r measures the severity of 9 symptom domains and has been validated for use in the ambulatory oncology setting. We aimed to describe symptom burden at baseline for patients with APC treated with modern chemotherapy (CT), and to determine whether symptom burden at baseline is prognostic. Patients diagnosed with APC between 2012-2016, treated with ≥1 cycle of CT, who completed ≥1 ESAS-r were identified. Descriptive statistics were used to report symptom burden and common moderate-to-severe symptoms. A joint model was used to describe the trajectory of ESAS-r during follow-up while controlling for death. Multivariable Cox regression was used to identify independent predictors of death. Of 123 patients identified, the median age was 65 and 61% had metastatic disease. The median baseline ESAS-r total symptom distress score (TSDS) was 24. A total of 86% of patients had at least one symptom score of ≥4 at baseline, with the most common being: fatigue, nausea, anxiety, and shortness of breath. Median overall survival was 10.2 months. Baseline TSDS was not predictive for worse survival in the era of modern CT. Patients with APC have a high burden of cancer-associated symptoms and a high prevalence of moderate-to-severe symptoms. Early intervention has the potential to improve quality of life in this group of patients and should be investigated.

Patient experience and quality of life during neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer: a systematic review and study protocol

PURPOSE

Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is increasingly being offered to patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) prior to surgical resection. However, the experience and quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing NT are poorly understood.

METHODS

A systematic review of the Cinahl, Embase, Medline, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was conducted to evaluate the available literature pertaining to the experience and QOL of patient's undergoing NT for PDAC.

RESULTS

Among 6041 articles screened, only six met criteria for full-text review including three prospective clinical trials of NT with QOL secondary endpoints. Overall, global QOL during or following NT did not significantly change from baseline. Pain scores seemed to improve during NT while the impact of NT on physical functioning varied across studies. No studies were identified evaluating other aspects of the patient experience.

CONCLUSION

Although NT appears to have a minor impact on the QOL of patients with PDAC, this systematic review identified significant evidence gaps in the literature. A protocol of a prospective observational cohort study utilizing a digital smartphone app that aims to evaluate the patient experience and longitudinal QOL of patients with PDAC undergoing NT is presented.