Correlation of skin rash and overall survival in patients with pancreatic cancer treated with gemcitabine and erlotinib - results from a non-interventional multi-center study.
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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Gemcitabine/erlotinib treatment offers limited benefit in unselected patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Development of skin rash has been associated with favorable outcomes in patients treated with gemcitabine/erlotinib. This study aimed to extend knowledge on the effectiveness of gemcitabine/erlotinib in metastatic PDAC in the context of clinical practice and with focus on skin rash. METHODS:This multicenter, non-interventional study enrolled 376 patients with metastatic PDAC receiving gemcitabine/erlotinib. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) in patients with skin rash versus no skin rash. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), treatment satisfaction and safety. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Survival time and time to disease progression were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Effectiveness endpoints were analyzed for subgroups by skin rash grade (no rash, rash grade 1, rash grade???2), duration of erlotinib treatment (?8?weeks, >?8?weeks), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status at baseline (0-1, 2) and age (?65?years, >?65?years). RESULTS:Within the full analysis set (FAS; N?=?270), 48 patients (17.8%) developed grade 1 rash, 51 patients (18.9%) grade???2 rash, while 171 patients (63.3%) did not develop a rash. Median OS of all patients was 9.11?months with an OS of 9.93?months in rash-positive and 8.68?months in rash-negative patients. Median PFS was 5.06?months for rash-positive and 4.11?months for rash-negative patients. PFS was longer in patients with rash grade???2 and in older patients (>?65?years). Examination using a multivariate Cox proportional model revealed that an age?>?65?years was associated with longer OS (hazard ratio 0.640; p?=?0.0327) and PFS (hazard ratio 0.642; p?=?0.0026). Out of the 338 patients in the SAF, 310 patients (91.7%) experienced at least one AE, and 176 patients (52.1%) experienced skin-related side effects, all of which were CTC grade 1 to 3. CONCLUSIONS:Comparing rash-positive with rash-negative patients showed no significant difference in survival. While patients with rash grade???2 and older patients (independent of skin reactions) showed longer PFS, this did not translate into prolonged OS. The study did not reveal new safety signals. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01782690, retrospectively registered on 4 February 2013.
SUBMITTER: Westphalen CB
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7041266 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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