Treatment of pancreatic cancer with a combination of docetaxel, gemcitabine and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor: A phase II study of the Greek Cooperative Group for Pancreatic Cancer

Purpose To evaluate the tolerance and efficacy of front-line docetaxel plus gemcitabine treatment in patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer Patients and methods Fifty-four patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer were enrolled. Gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) was administered on days 1 and 8 and docetaxel (100 mg/m2) on day 8, every three weeks; rh-G-CSF (150 ig/m2 s c) was given prophylactically on days 9–15 Results Seven (13%) patients achieved partial response and 18 (33%) stable disease (intent-to-treat) The median duration of response was 24 weeks, time to tumour progression 32weeks, and overall survival 26 weeks Performance status was improved in 33% of patients, pain in 43%, asthenia in 16%, weight gain in 28% and appetite in 27% Grade 3–4 neutropenia occurred in 17(31%) patients and grade 3–4 thrombocytopenia in four (4%). Six (11%) patients developed febrile neutropenia and one of them died from sepsis Conclusions This combination is a relatively well-tolerated out-patient regimen for patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer