Treatment outcomes of chemotherapy between unresectable and recurrent biliary tract cancer

AIM:To evaluate the differences in the treatment outcomes between the unresectable and recurrent biliary tract cancer patients who received chemotherapy.METHODS:Patients who were treated with gemcitabine and S-1 combination therapy in the previous prospective studies were divided into groups of unresectable and recurrent cases.The tumor response,time-toprogression,overall survival,toxicity,and dose intensity were compared between these two groups.RESULTS:Response rate of the recurrent group was higher than that of the unresectable group(40.0%vs25.5%;P=0.34).Median time-to-progression of the recurrent and unresectable groups were 8.7 mo(95%CI),1.2 mo,not reached)and 5.7 mo(95%CI:4.0-7.0 mo),respectively(P=0.14).Median overall survival of the recurrent and the unresectable groups were 16.1 mo(95%CI:2.0 mo-not reached)and 9.6 mo(95%CI:7.1-11.7 mo),respectively(P=0.10).Dose intensities were significantly lower in the recurrent groups(gemcitabine:recurrent group 83.5%vs unresectable group 96.8%;P<0.01,S-1:Recurrent group 75.9%vs unresectable group 91.8%;P<0.01).Neutropenia occurred more frequently in recurrent group(recurrent group 90%vs unresectable group 55%;P=0.04).CONCLUSION:Not only the efficacy but also the toxicity and dose intensity were significantly different between unresectable and recurrent biliary tract cancer.