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Multicenter Randomized Phase III Trial Comparing Protracted Venous Infusion (PVI) Fluorouracil (5-FU) With PVI 5-FU Plus Mitomycin in Inoperable Pancreatic Cancer

From the Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey; Cookridge Hospital, Leeds; Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth; Salisbury General Hospital, Salisbury; and Maidstone General Hospital, Maidstone, United Kingdom.

Address reprint requests to D. Cunningham, MD, Department of Medicine, Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Rd, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT United Kingdom; email: dcunn{at}icr.ac.uk

PURPOSE: To compare protracted venous infusion (PVI) fluorouracil (5-FU) with PVI 5-FU plus mitomycin (MMC) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in a multicenter, prospectively randomized study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred eight patients were randomized to PVI 5-FU (300 mg/m²/d for a maximum of 24 weeks) or PVI 5-FU plus MMC (7 mg/m² every 6 weeks for four courses). The major end points were tumor response, survival, toxicity, and quality of life (QOL).

RESULTS: The two treatment groups were balanced for baseline demographic factors, and 62% had metastatic disease. The overall response rate was 8.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]) 3.2% to 13.7% for patients treated with PVI 5-FU alone compared with 17.6%; 95% CI 10.3% to 25.1% for PVI 5-FU plus MMC (P = .04). Median failure-free survival was 2.8 months for PVI 5-FU and 3.8 months for PVI 5-FU plus MMC (P = .14). Median survival was 5.1 months for PVI 5-FU and 6.5 months for PVI 5-FU plus MMC (P = .34). Toxicities in both arms were mild. There was an increased incidence of neutropenia in the 5-FU plus MMC arm (P < .01), although no differences in infection were seen. No patients developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. Global QOL improved significantly after 24 weeks of treatment compared with baseline for patients receiving 5-FU plus MMC, although there was no statistically significant difference in QOL between arms.

CONCLUSION: PVI 5-FU plus MMC resulted in a superior response rate in comparison with PVI 5-FU alone in advanced pancreatic cancer, but this did not translate into a survival advantage. These results emphasize the importance of chemotherapy in this setting and the continuing value of the fluoropyrimidines in pancreatic cancer.

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