Length and quality of survival after external-beam radiotherapy with concurrent continuous 5-fluorouracil infusion for locally unresectable pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with concurrent continuous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) infusion affects the length and quality of survival in patients with locally unresectable pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

Thirty-one patients with histologically proven locally advanced and unresectable pancreatic cancer without distant metastases were evaluated in this prospective randomized trial. Sixteen patients received EBRT (50.4 Gy/28 fractions) with concurrent continuous infusion of 5-FU (200 mg/m(2)/day), whereas 15 patients received no chemoradiation. The length and quality of survival was analyzed and compared for the two groups.

RESULTS

The median survival of 13.2 months and the 1-year survival rate of 53.3% in the chemoradiation group were significantly better than the respective 6.4 months and 0% in the group without chemoradiotherapy (p = 0.0009). The average monthly Karnofsky score, a quality of life indicator, was 77.1 in the chemoradiation group, which was significantly higher than the 65.5 in the group without chemoradiotherapy (p < 0.0001). The number of hospital days per month of survival was significantly less in the chemoradiation than in the no-therapy group (12.3 vs. 19.0 days, p < 0.05). In the chemoradiation group, 5 patients (31%) had a partial response, and 9 (56%) had radiologically stable disease at a median duration of 6.1 months. The patients who had chemoradiation had a lower rate of liver and peritoneal metastases than patients without chemoradiotherapy (31% vs. 64%). Of 10 patients who experienced pain before chemoradiation, 8 (80%) received pain relief that lasted a median of 5.2 months.

CONCLUSIONS

EBRT with concurrent continuous 5-FU infusion increased the length and quality of survival as compared to no chemoradiotherapy and provided a definite palliative benefit for patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.