van Herpen C M L, Locati L D, Buter J, Thomas J, Bogaerts J, Lacombe D, de Mulder P, Awada A, Licitra L, Bernier J, Vermorken J B
Department of Medical Oncology (452), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Eur J Cancer. 2008 Nov;44(17):2542-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2008.08.014. Epub 2008 Sep 24.
This phase II study was conducted to determine the antitumour activity of gemcitabine in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC).
Patients with progressive and/or symptomatic, recurrent and/or metastatic ACC were treated with gemcitabine 1250 mg/m(2) intravenous (i.v.) on days 1 and 8 of each 21-day cycle. Each cycle was repeated every 3 weeks in the absence of disease progression for a minimum of four cycles and a maximum of 12 cycles.
Among 21 ACC patients, there were no objective responses. Eleven patients had a stable disease, of which ten patients for more than 6 months, and eight had a progressive disease after 4 cycles. Gemcitabine was well tolerated by most patients.
We conclude that gemcitabine is not an active drug in ACC.
