Treatment of locally unresectable carcinoma of the pancreas: comparison of combined-modality therapy (chemotherapy plus radiotherapy) to chemotherapy alone. Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group

J Natl Cancer Inst. 1988 Jul 20;80(10):751-5.

Abstract

Randomized trials of the Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group have previously demonstrated enhanced survival of patients with locally unresectable pancreatic cancer treated with 5-fluorouracil in combination with radiation therapy compared with that of patients treated with radiation therapy alone. The present study compared the survival of patients treated with multidrug chemotherapy [streptozocin, mitomycin, and 5-fluorouracil (SMF)] versus radiation combined with 5-fluorouracil followed by the same three-drug SMF combination. In 43 patients randomly allocated between these two arms, an improved median survival for the combined-modality therapy (42 weeks) compared with chemotherapy alone (32 weeks) was demonstrated. Overall survival following this combined-modality treatment program (41% at 1 year) was significantly superior to that following SMF chemotherapy alone (19% at 1 year), by a two-tailed log rank test (P less than .02). Serial studies of the Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group with patients with locally unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma have shown that combined-modality therapy is superior to either optimal radiotherapy or chemotherapy alone.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / drug therapy*
  • Adenocarcinoma / mortality
  • Adenocarcinoma / radiotherapy
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / adverse effects
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Female
  • Fluorouracil / administration & dosage
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mitomycins / administration & dosage
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / mortality
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Random Allocation
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Streptozocin / administration & dosage

Substances

  • Mitomycins
  • Streptozocin
  • Fluorouracil