Efficacy of gemcitabine combined with erlotinib in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer / 中国医学科学院学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy,clinical benefits and toxicities of gemcitabine combined with erlotinib for advanced pancreatic cancer.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Clinical data of 20 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 on day 1 and day 8 (repeated every 21 days) plus erlotinib 100-150 mg/d at Peking Union Medical College Hospital was reviewed retrospectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No patient achieved complete remission or partial remission, 11 patients (55%) had stable disease, and 9 patients (45%) experienced disease progression. The disease control rate was 55%, and clinical benefit rate was 30%. The median progression free survival was 4.0 months, and the median overall survival was 8 months. The total incidence of hematologic toxicity was 70%, including 15% of grade 3-4 leucopenia and 5% of grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia. Eleven patients (55%) had rash, which were all grade 1-2. One patient had grade 2 diarrhea and five had grade 1 transaminase elevation. No chemotherapy-related death occurred.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Gemcitabine combined with erlotinib is an effective regimen for pancreatic cancer with good clinical tolerance. The most common adverse events are hematologic toxicities and rash.</p>