Improved Patients Outcomes by Chemotherapy mainly with Gemcitabine for Resected and Unresected Pancreatic Cancer

Jiro Ohuchida, Kazuo Chijiiwa, Naoya Imamura, Motoaki Nagano, Masahide Hiyoshi, Kazuhiro Ohtani, Masahiro Kai and Kazuhiro Kondo

Department of Surgical Oncology and Regulation of Organ Function, Miyazaki University School of Medicine

Chemotherapy with gemcitabine (GEM) has improved the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. We studied the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, mainly with GEM, in those with resected and unresected pancreatic cancer. Of 140 patients with pancreatic cancer from January 1992 to December 2006, 41 underwent surgical resection and 99 did not. Of the 41 undergoing resection, 8 with distant organ metastasis or macroscopic residual tumor and one with carcinoma in situ were excluded, giving us 32 resected and 99 non resected subjects for this study. These two groups were subdivided based on adjuvant therapy and overall and disease-free survival were compared between groups. In the resected group, the overall and disease-free survival rates 3 years after surgical resection were significantly better in patients undergoing postoperative adjuvant therapy than in these who did not (47% vs. 19% and 48% vs. 20%). Overall survival at one year in unresected cases with adjuvant therapy was significantly better than without adjuvant therapy (26% vs. 6%). No significant difference in survival was observed between chemotherapy alone and chemoradiotherapy in the non resected group. These results suggest that adjuvant therapy after complete resection for pancreatic cancer and for unresected advanced pancreatic cancer is useful in improving the outcome.

Key words
adjuvant therapy, chemotherapy, pancreatic cancer

Reprint requests
Kazuo Chijiiwa Department of Surgical Oncology and Regulation of Organ Function, Miyazaki University School of Medicine
5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki, 889-1692 JAPAN

Accepted
November 28, 2007

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