Pancreatic Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Pancreatic Cancer, including details on symptoms, causes, treatment, information. | ||||||||
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Prognostic factors and prognostic index for chemonaïve and gemcitabine-refractory patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.Maréchal R, Demols A, Gay F, De Maertelaere V, Arvanitaki M, Hendlisz A, Van Laethem JL Gastroenterology Department, Gastrointestinal Cancer Unit, Erasme Hospital University, Brussels, Belgium. raph_marechal@hotmail.com BACKGROUND: Gemcitabine monotherapy is the cornerstone of the treatment of patients suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer (PC). For a few years, new chemotherapeutic agents and combinations have been under validation. The use of such treatment makes it necessary to determine factors that could predict survival time. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To identify factors that predict survival time in chemonaïve patients with advanced PC and after gemcitabine failure, a retrospective analysis was performed on patients with advanced PC coming from phase II and III studies and treated with gemcitabine-based first-line chemotherapy. RESULTS: Ninety-nine patients (median age 66 years, range 27-87) suffering from pathologically proven unresectable or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were reviewed. Median overall survival time for the whole population was 251 days and progression-free survival in first- and second-line treatment was 108 and 67 days, respectively. The Cox regression analysis identified aspartate transaminase >53 IU/l, weight loss > or =10% and Karnofsky performance status <90 as significant independent negative prognostic factors in first-line and CA 19-9 >400 IU/ml and albumin < or =3.5 mg/dl in second-line chemotherapy. A prognostic index was calculated from the regression coefficients for each independent prognostic factor and used to classify the patients in 3 different groups with good, intermediate and poor prognosis. The prognosis index in chemonaïve and gemcitabine-refractory patients was (Karnofsky performance status x 0.52) + (weight loss x 1.10) + (aspartate transaminase x 0.82) and (albumin x 1.40) + (CA 19-9 x 0.74), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Predictive factors could be identified in first- and second-line treatments, although they require prospective validation before they could be used in the design and analysis of future clinical trials. Published 31 March 2008 in Oncology, 73(1): 41-51.
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