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Weekly paclitaxel, gemcitabine, and external irradiation followed by randomized farnesyl transferase inhibitor R115777 for locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Authors Rich T, Winter K, Safran, Hoffman, Erickson B, Anne R, Myerson R, Cline-Burkhardt M, Perez K, Willett C

Received 4 May 2012

Accepted for publication 17 May 2012

Published 23 August 2012 Volume 2012:5 Pages 161—170

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S33560

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Tyvin A Rich,1 Kathryn Winter,2 Howard Safran,3 John P Hoffman,4 Beth Erickson,5 Pramila R Anne,6 Robert J Myerson,7 Vivian JM Cline-Burkhardt,8 Kimberly Perez,3 Christopher Willett9

1The Cancer Center, University of Virginia Health System West, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; 2RTOG Statistical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 3Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; 4Foxchase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 5Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 6Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 7Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA; 8Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA; 9Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

Purpose: The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) multi-institutional Phase II study 98-12, evaluating paclitaxel and concurrent radiation (RT) for locally advanced pancreatic cancer, demonstrated a median survival of 11.3 months and a 1-year survival of 43%. The purpose of the randomized Phase II study by RTOG 0020 was to evaluate the addition of weekly low-dose gemcitabine with concurrent paclitaxel/RT and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the farnesyl transferase inhibitor R115777 following chemoradiation.
Patients and methods: Patients with unresectable, nonmetastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were eligible. Patients in Arm 1 received gemcitabine, 75 mg/m2/week, and paclitaxel, 40 mg/m2/week, for 6 weeks, with 50.4 Gy radiation (CXRT). Patients in Arm 2 received an identical chemoradiation regimen but then received maintenance R115777, 300 mg twice a day for 21 days every 28 days (CXRT+R115777), until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Results: One hundred ninety-five patients were entered into this study, and 184 were analyzable. Grade 4 nonhematologic toxicities occurred in less than 5% of CXRT patients. The most common grade 3/4 toxicity from R115777 was myelosuppression; however, grade 3/4 hepatic, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and neurologic toxicities were also reported. The median survival time was 11.5 months and 8.9 months for the CXRT and CXRT+R115777 arms, respectively.
Conclusions: The CXRT arm achieved a median survival of almost 1-year, supporting chemoradiation as an important therapeutic modality for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Maintenance R115777 is not effective and is associated with a broad range of toxicities. These findings provide clinical evidence that inhibition of farnesylation affects many metabolic pathways, underscoring the challenge of developing an effective K-ras inhibitor.

Keywords: pancreas cancer, paclitaxel, gemcitabine, irradiation

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