Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun 19:12:1769-1775.
doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S165851. eCollection 2018.

Clinical efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer

Rossella De Luca  1 , Livio Blasi  2 , Massimiliano Alù  2 , Valerio Gristina  1 , Giuseppe Cicero  1
Affiliations

Clinical efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer

Rossella De Luca et al. Drug Des Devel Ther. .

Abstract

Purpose: Pancreatic carcinoma is the neoplasia with the major mortality, and main standard treatments in this cancer increase survival but do not lead to complete recovery of the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Abraxane® (nab-paclitaxel) in Italian patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC).

Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 80 patients. Overall survival (OS) was the primary end point for evaluating the efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in combination with gemcitabine treatment, while carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) reduction, safety, progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate and reduction in pain were secondary end points.

Results: The median OS was 8 months, and the median PFS was 5 months. A considerable difference in CA 19-9 before and after treatment was observed. Descriptive and correlation analyses were done to examine the relationship between CA 19-9 response and OS. Linear regression analysis between OS and CA 19-9 response revealed that CA 19-9 is an important predictor of OS, showing a positive correlation.

Conclusion: Nab-paclitaxel is a well-tolerated and effective treatment for patients affected by MPC. The drug showed an improved tolerability profile, significant pain relief and an increase in survival rate.

Keywords: Abraxane; CA 19-9; chemotherapy; metastasis; overall survival; pain; pancreatic carcinoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regression analysis between CA 19-9 response and OS of patients (N = 80). Abbreviations: CA 19-9, carbohydrate antigen 19-9; OS, overall survival.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier plot of mOS (interim analysis; N = 80). Abbreviations: mOS, median overall survival; OS, overall survival.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier plot of mPFS (interim analysis; N = 80). Abbreviations: mPFS, median progression-free survival; PFS, progression-free survival.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Kamisawa T, Wood LD, Itoi T, Takaori K. Pancreatic cancer. Lancet. 2016;388(10039):73–85. - PubMed
    1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics. CA Cancer J Clin. 2015;65:5–29. - PubMed
    1. Sohal DP, Mangu PB, Khorana AA, et al. Metastatic pancreatic cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34(23):2784–2796. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balaban EP, Mangu PB, Khorana AA, et al. Locally advanced, unresectable pancreatic cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34(22):2654–2668. - PubMed
    1. Louvet C, Labianca R, Hammel P, et al. GERCOR, GISCAD Gemcitabine in combination with oxaliplatin compared with gemcitabine alone in locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer: results of a GERCOR and GISCAD phase III trial. J Clin Oncol. 2005;23(15):3509–3516. - PubMed

MeSH terms