Objective: To determine the response rate, duration of response and survival with weekly gemcitabine plus docetaxel in metastatic or unresectable pancreatic cancer. Methods: Forty patients were enrolled, and 38 patients were evaluable for survival and toxicity. Thirty-seven patients were evaluable for response. Nine patients (24%) had locally advanced disease and 29 (76%) had metastatic disease at the time of enrollment. Median Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was 1. Patients received gemcitabine 750 mg/m2 i.v. and docetaxel 35 mg/m2 i.v. weekly for 3 out of 4 weeks for a maximum of 6 cycles. Results: Patients received a median of 4 cycles (range 1–6) of chemotherapy. An objective response was obtained in 10 patients (27%) with a median duration of 17 weeks. Median survival was 7 months, and 1-year survival was 19.3%. Eight patients experienced at least one form of grade 4 toxicity and 27 patients experienced at least one type of grade 3 toxicity. Conclusions: The combination of gemcitabine and docetaxel is a well-tolerated regimen with clinical efficacy. The ultimate role of this combination versus single-agent gemcitabine can only be determined by a randomized phase III trial.

Keywords:
Pancreatic cancer, Docetaxel, Gemcitabine
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© 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel
2003
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