Neoadjuvant radio-chemotherapy in advanced primarilynon-resectable carcinomas of the pancreas

Dynamic observation of 5-fluorouracil-induced myocardial injury and mitochondrial autophagy in aging rats

Patients treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) can develop rare but potentially severe cardiac effects, including cardiomyopathy, angina pectoris, heart failure and cardiogenic shock. The specific pathologies and underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. The results of previous studies have indicated that mitochondrial autophagy is widely detected in many angiocardiopathies. In the present study, the dynamic changes in the homeostasis of mitochondrial injury and autophagy were observed in rats treated with 5-FU for different durations. A corresponding control group and a 5-FU model group were established in groups of Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2 and 18 months, and the myocardial enzyme levels were determined at different time points. At 2 weeks post-model establishment, cardiac ultrasound and myocardial histological staining were performed, cardiomyocyte apoptosis and myocardial mitochondrial function were assessed, and mitochondrial ultrastructure was examined. In addition, the expression levels of autophagy-related proteins were evaluated in the 18-month-old rats on days 7 and 14 of 5-FU administration. The experimental results demonstrated that 5-FU induced an elevation in the levels of myocardial enzymes, as well as changes in the cardiac structure and function, and that these changes were more prominent over longer drug durations. In addition, 5-FU decreased the levels of myocardial mitochondrial ATP and mitochondrial membrane potential, and aggravated myocardial fibrosis and cardiomyocyte apoptosis compared with those observed in the untreated control group, treated with the same volume of saline as 5-FU in the 5-FU group. These injuries were particularly evident in aging rats. Notably, 5-FU increased the expression levels of myocardial mitochondrial autophagy-related proteins, and electron microscopy revealed a more severe autophagic state in the model groups compared with that in the control groups. In conclusion, 5-FU induced myocardial mitochondrial damage, the degree of which was more severe in aging rats compared with that in young rats. The mitochondrial autophagy induced by 5-FU was excessive, and the degree of autophagy was aggravated with increased 5-FU administration time.

Neoadjuvant Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer: Systematic Review of Postoperative Morbidity, Mortality, and Complications

The purpose of this review was to assess whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) result in differential postoperative morbidity and mortality as compared with pancreatic tumor resection surgery alone. Using PRISMA guidelines and the PubMed search engine, we reviewed all prospective phase II trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and CRT for pancreatic cancer that examined postoperative morbidities and mortalities. A total of 30 articles were identified, collated, and analyzed. Risks of postoperative complications vary based on trial. With surgery alone, the most common postoperative complications included delayed gastric emptying (DGE) (17% to 24%), pancreatic fistula (10% to 20%), anastomotic leaks (0% to 15%), postoperative bleeding (2% to 13%), and infections/sepsis (17% to 20%). With surgery alone, the mortality was <5%. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy showed comparable fistula rates (3% to 4%), leaks (3% to 11%), infection (3% to 7%), with mortality 0% to 4% in all but 1 study. CRT for resectable/borderline resectable patients also showed comparable complication rates: DGE (6% to 15%), fistulas (2% to 3%), leaks (3% to 7%), bleeding/hemorrhage (2% to 13%), infections/sepsis (3% to 19%), with 9/13 studies showing a mortality of ≤4%. As compared with initially borderline/resectable tumors, CRT for initially unresectable tumors (despite less data) showed higher complication rates: DGE (13% to 33%), fistulas (3% to 25%), infections/sepsis (3% to 16%). However, the confounding factor of the potentially higher tumor burden as an associative agent remains. The only parameters slightly higher than historical surgery-only complication rates were leaks and bleeding/hemorrhage (13% to 20%). Mortality rates in these patients were consistently 0%, with 2 outliers. Hence, neoadjuvant chemotherapy/CRT is safe from a postoperative complication standpoint, without significant increases in complication rates compared with surgery alone. Resectable and borderline resectable patients have fewer complications as compared with unresectable patients, although data for the latter are lacking.

Advanced-stage pancreatic cancer: therapy options

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive cancers, and surgical resection is a requirement for a potential cure. However, the majority of patients are diagnosed with advanced-stage disease, either metastatic (50%) or locally advanced cancer (30%). Although palliative chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients with metastatic disease, management of locally advanced adenocarcinoma is controversial. Several treatment options, including extended surgical resections, neoadjuvant therapy with subsequent resections, as well as palliative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, should be considered. However, there is little evidence available to support treatment options for locally advanced disease. As valid predictive biomarkers for stratification of therapy are not available today, future trials need to define the role of the different treatment options. This Review summarizes the current evidence and discusses available treatment options for both locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

NeoGemTax: gemcitabine and docetaxel as neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced nonmetastasized pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND

About 30% of patients with pancreatic cancer suffer from locally advanced nonmetastatic carcinoma at the time of diagnosis. We conducted a prospective phase II clinical trial using neoadjuvant chemotherapy, consisting of gemcitabine and docetaxel, to assess the rate of complete radical resection and overall survival.

METHODS

Gemcitabine (900 mg/m2) and docetaxel (35 mg/m2) were given on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle. Two cycles were administered for a preoperative treatment duration of 8 weeks. Patients experiencing tumor regression or stable disease and improved performance status subsequently underwent surgical exploration and pancreatic resection, if feasible. All patients were followed postoperatively to assess long-term survival.

RESULTS

A total of 25 patients were eligible and included in the intent-to-treat and evaluable population. Thirteen patients had unresectable disease at inclusion and 12 patients had borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. Finally, 8 of 25 (32%) patients underwent resection after neoadjuvant chemotherapy; 7 (87%) of these patients had R0 resection. The median overall survival of patients who underwent resection was 16 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8-24 months) compared to 12 months (95% CI, 8-16 months) for those without resection (p=0.276). The median recurrence-free survival rate after resection was 12 months (95% CI, 2-21 months).

CONCLUSIONS

NeoGemTax was safe and resection was feasible in a number of patients after systemic neoadjuvant treatment. Further randomized clinical trials are needed to identify novel multimodal regimens that would be able to increase the percentage of patients undergoing curative pancreatic cancer surgery despite advanced tumor stage at the time of diagnosis.

Neoadjuvant therapy in patients with pancreatic cancer: a disappointing therapeutic approach?

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in Germany. The incidence in 2003/2004 was 16 cases per 100.000 inhabitants. Of all carcinomas, pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate, with one- and five-year survival rates of 25% and less than 5%, respectively, regardless of the stage at diagnosis. These low survival rates demonstrate the poor prognosis of this carcinoma. Previous therapeutic approaches including surgical resection combined with adjuvant therapy or palliative chemoradiation have not achieved satisfactory results with respect to overall survival. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate new therapeutic approaches. Neoadjuvant therapy is an interesting therapeutic option for patients with pancreatic cancer. For selected patients with borderline or unresectable disease, neoadjuvant therapy offers the potential for tumor downstaging, increasing the probability of a margin-negative resection and decreasing the occurrence of lymph node metastasis. Currently, there is no universally accepted approach for treating patients with pancreatic cancer in the neoadjuvant setting. In this review, the most common neoadjuvant strategies will be described, compared and discussed.

Pancreatic cancer within a UK cancer network with special emphasis on locally advanced non-metastatic pancreatic cancer

AIMS

The outcome of patients with pancreatic cancer from an unselected population within a UK region has not previously been reported. We undertook a review of pancreatic cancer in southeast Wales, with an emphasis on locally advanced non-metastatic pancreatic cancer (LANPC) in an attempt to define a subgroup of patients who would probably benefit from multi-modality treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Case notes of patients referred to Velindre Hospital between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2005 were reviewed. Data on patient demographics, tumour characteristics, treatment, treatment response and overall survival were collected. The Log-rank test was used to compare survival between groups and Cox regression was used to evaluate whether age, gender, tumour site and treatment response correlated with overall survival in LANPC.

RESULTS

Of the 354 referrals (complete data on 315 patients), 93% were inoperable and 51% of inoperable patients received active treatment (149/294). One hundred and fourteen patients out of 315 (36%) had LANPC and 72/114 (64%) were fit for active treatment, including chemotherapy (n=66) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) (n=6). The median survival of patients with LANPC was 7.4 months (95% confidence interval 6.4-8.5). Survival for patients receiving chemotherapy, CRT and no treatment was 9.2 (7.5-10.7), 12.6 (6.1-19.1) and 4.5 (3.7-5.3) months, respectively. Overall survival of patients who had non-progressive disease after initial chemotherapy was significantly better than those who progressed (11.8 vs 6.6 months, P=0.01). Of the 180/315 (57%) patients presenting with metastatic disease, 43% received active treatment. Overall survival of metastatic patients was 2.8 months (2.3-3.2 months); for those receiving active treatment, this was 5.6 months (5.1-6.1 months) and for those receiving active supportive care 1.8 months (1.6-2.0 months).

CONCLUSIONS

In this UK network, about half of the patients received active treatment. Although the overall outcome was poor, that of treated patients was comparable with published studies. For patients with LANPC, the initial response or disease stabilisation on chemotherapy defined a subset of patients who had better outcome. The role of CRT over and above chemotherapy needs to be defined through trials that should include a neoadjuvant 'chemotherapy-only' phase to select out patients who benefit from multi-modality treatment.

Medical treatment of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic carcinoma is a devastating disease with the worst prognosis of all solid tumors; the only cure is surgery. The vast majority of patients are inoperable at the time of diagnosis and require palliative treatment. With a median survival time oscillating around 6 months, indicating an almost complete resistance to conventional cytotoxic and radiation therapy, there is ample room for improvement. Therefore, pancreatic carcinoma has been used to trial many new substances and novel concepts. All aspects of palliative antitumor treatment will be presented in detail and discussed. Finally, some outlooks are given into the future of pancreatic cancer treatment.

Neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer

No good evidence of benefit—trials needed

[The role of neoadjuvant chemoradiation in pancreatic cancer]

Although complete surgical resection, when possible, leads to prolonged survival in pancreatic cancer, if used alone, its results remain sub-optimal. Neoadjuvant strategies are recent in pancreatic cancer: in primary resectable tumors, they ensure that all patients obtain additional treatment to complete surgery; in locally advanced tumors, they allow a better selection of candidates for curative resection. By delaying surgery, neoadjuvant strategies modify the initial diagnostic process and the symptomatic treatment of pancreatic cancer. Several recent phase I-II studies have confirmed the feasibility and efficacy of the association of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which is well-tolerated and is associated with better local control and survival. Due to the aggressiveness of pancreatic cancers, most recent cytotoxic agents should be associated with modern radiation techniques. Neoadjuvant chemoradiation is under evaluation in pancreatic cancers, and no randomized phase III trials comparing neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapeutic sequences has been reported. Moreover, radiological and pathological evaluations, not only at diagnosis, but also after preoperative chemoradiation, must be standardized to improve the selection of patients who will benefit from this multi-modal treatment.

Adjuvant and neoadjuvant approaches to treat surgically resectable pancreatic cancer

Adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer is currently a controversial topic. Very little is known about the potential components of adjuvant therapy. All published randomized trials evaluating adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer have limitations that prevent the establishment of an absolute "standard of care." However, with the recent report of Charite Onkologie Clinical Studies in Gastrointestinal Cancer in abstract form and European Study Group for Pancreatic Cancer-1, it is clear that chemotherapy has an effect as adjuvant therapy. The role of radiation remains unclear. The future of adjuvant therapy is dependent on the investigators designing better trials that answer the important remaining questions: the role of radiation therapy, the integration of newer agents, and the best regimen of those currently available.

Adénocarcinomes pancréatiques localement évolués. Chimioradiothérapie, réévaluation et résection secondaire ?

Induction chemoradiotherapy (CRT) may downstage locally advanced pancreatic tumors but secondary resections are unfrequent. However some responders' patients may benefit of a R0 resection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We report 18 resections among 29 locally advanced pancreatic cancers; 15 patients were treated with neoadjuvant 5-FU-cisplatin based (13) or taxotere based (2 patients) chemoradiotherapy (45 Gy), and 3 patients without histologically proven adenocarcinoma were resected without any preoperative treatment.

RESULTS

The morbidity rate was 28% and the mortality rate was 7%; one patient died after resection (5.5%) and one died after exploration (9%). The R0 resection rate was 50%. The median survival for the resected patients was not reached and the actuarial survival at 3 years was 59%. Two specimens showed no residual tumor and the two patients were alive at 15 and 46 months without recurrence; one specimen showed less than 10% viable tumoral cells and the patient was alive at 36 months without recurrence. A mesenteric infarction was the cause of a late death at 3 years in a disease free patient (radiation induced injury of the superior mesenteric artery). The median survival of the 11 non-resected patients was 21 months and the actuarial survival at 2 years was 0%. When the number of the resected patients (18) was reported to the entire cohort of the patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer treated during the same period in our institution, the secondary resectability rate was 9%.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy identifies poor surgical candidates through observation and may enhance the margin status of patients undergoing secondary resection for locally advanced tumors. However it remains difficult to evaluate the results in the literature because of the variations in the definitions of resectability. The best therapeutic strategy remains to be defined, because the majority of patients ultimately succumb with distant metastatic disease.

Neoadjuvant therapy for resectable pancreatic cancer

The length and quality of life of patients with localized pancreatic cancer will be maximized by accurate preoperative assessment of resectability, a standardized technique of tumor resection, and the routine use of protocol-based adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy. Continued efforts to enroll patients with localized and advanced pancreatic cancer into well-designed clinical trials should remain a high priority for oncologists across all disciplines. At present, preoperative therapy remains investigational but has a sound clinical basis and remains a reasonable alternative to up front surgery. Future clinical trials for resectable pancreatic cancer will lead to progress only if the principles of multidisciplinary cancer care and quality assurance are incorporated into their design and conduct.

Unexpectedly frequent hepatitis B reactivation by chemoradiation in postgastrectomy patients

BACKGROUND

Postgastrectomy patients undergoing chemoradiation risk chemoradiation-induced liver disease (CRILD). The objectives of this study were to investigate dosimetric implications and assess biologic susceptibility to CRILD in these patients.

METHODS

Sixty-two patients with Stage IB-IV gastric/gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma without metastases underwent radical total/subtotal gastrectomy; regional lymph node dissection; and postoperative, adjuvant, concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Among these, 8 patients developed CRILD (defined as Grade 3-4 liver toxicity), and 11 patients were chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers (HBV+). Chemotherapy consisted of 1 cycle of etoposide, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil (ELF); followed by 5 weekly high doses of 5-fluorouracil (2000-2600 mg/m2) and leucovorin concurrent with radiotherapy (median dose, 45 grays [Gy] to the tumor bed/regional lymphatics); followed by 3 cycles of ELF separated by a 21-day interval. Patients were followed for > or = 4 months after CCRT. Patient-related and dosimetric factors were correlated with CRILD.

RESULTS

HBV+ status was the only independent factor associated with CRILD. HBV+ patients had a higher CRILD incidence (6 of 11 patients vs. 2 of 51 patients; P < 0.001). HBV-negative patients with CRILD were recipients of a higher mean liver dose (MLD) (23.8 Gy vs. 15.2 Gy; P = 0.009) and a higher volume fraction of liver that received > 30 Gy (36.5% vs. 19.7%; P = 0.009) compared with noncarriers without CRILD, but no MLD difference was found between HBV+ patients with or without CRILD. Moreover, in four of six carriers with CRILD, HBV infection was reactivated during CRILD. Two of the toxicities were fatal.

CONCLUSIONS

HBV carriers had a higher incidence of CRILD after postgastrectomy CCRT, probably related to HBV reactivation. Dosimetric parameters modulated the risk of CRILD in noncarriers, but not in carriers. These factors deserve attention in CRILD/HBV+ patients, and the underlying pathogenesis warrants investigation.

Locally advanced pancreatic cancer treated with radiation and 5-fluorouracil

A retrospective analysis was performed, in a single institution, of patients with locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma without evidence of distant metastases, who were treated with chemoradiation. Between 1994 and 2000, 24 patients were treated with radiation and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The standard dose of radiation prescribed was 45 Gy to the 95% isodose in 25 fractions over 5 weeks. 5-FU was given as a 60 min infusion on days 1-5 and 29-33 at 350 mg/m2, following low dose folinic acid. Actuarial survival, local control and toxicity rates were assessed for the group. The median survival was 12 months, with a 48% 1-year survival and a 29% 2-year survival. The median time to progression was 8 months. The treatment was well tolerated and all patients achieved 100% compliance. In terms of radiological tumour response, five patients (22%) had a complete response, 10 patients (45%) demonstrated partial tumour shrinkage and a further three additional patients had radiological stable disease. The majority of patients experienced a symptomatic improvement. Chemoradiation can produce effective local control with symptomatic improvement in patients with localised carcinoma of the pancreas. Further studies are needed to determine the most effective combination of chemotherapy agents, combined with radiotherapy in the management of this disease.