Irinotecan as Salvage Chemotherapy for Advanced Small Bowel Adenocarcinoma: A Series of Three Patients

Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a relatively rare disease. Because of its rarity the role of chemotherapy either as adjuvant or for advanced disease has not been clearly defined. Therefore any information, including case reports, is warranted. We report on three patients with adenocarcinoma of the jejunum and ileum. Two patients with positive lymph nodes received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil-folinic acid (5FU-FA) for 12 months but they developed metastatic disease 3 and 8 months later, respectively. The third patient was initially treated with the same agents but for metastatic disease. All patients were subsequently treated for tumor recurrence with irinotecan 350 mg/m2 i.v. every 3 weeks as salvage chemotherapy supported by Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (GCSF) for 5 days. Two patients achieved a minor response and had a dramatic improvement of their symptoms. Their survival times after irinotecan administration were 14 and 6 months with an overall survival after primary diagnosis of 29 and 27 months, respectively. The third patient who had a tumor refractory to 5FU-FA progressed also on irinotecan and had an 8-month overall survival. Although conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in SBA, it seems reasonable to extrapolate from large bowel carcinoma experience. Irinotecan seems to have some degree of activity in the treatment of SBA but further studies are warranted.

Combination chemotherapy in advanced small bowel adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and either platinum compounds or irinotecan in patients with advanced small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA), for whom data on the efficacy of chemotherapy are scarce.

METHODS

We reviewed data on all patients with advanced SBA who received chemotherapy over a 9-year period at our institution.

RESULTS

Twenty patients with advanced SBA received a median of 6 cycles (range 2-15) of chemotherapy with 5-FU and either cisplatin (n=15), carboplatin (n=2), or oxaliplatin (n=3). The overall response rate was 21%, and median progression-free and overall survival 8 and 14 months, respectively. Toxicity was moderate. Second-line chemotherapy with 5-FU and irinotecan resulted in disease stabilization in 4 (50%) of 8 patients (median progression-free survival: 5 months), and in a biological complete response in another patient with non-measurable peritoneal carcinomatosis, allowing surgical cytoreduction surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. No tumor response or disease stabilization was seen among the patients who received protracted venous infusion of 5-FU (n=4) or infusional 5-FU and cisplatin (n=1) as second-line chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Chemotherapy with 5-FU and platinum compounds seems effective and well-tolerated in patients with advanced SBA. 5-FU-irinotecan combination chemotherapy deserves further investigation in the first-line setting.