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Title: Impact of Gemcitabine Chemotherapy and 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy/5-Fluorouracil on Quality of Life of Patients Managed for Pancreatic Cancer

Journal Article · · International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8]
  1. Discipline of Medical Radiation Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)
  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)
  3. Western Australia Centre for Cancer and Palliative Care/Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia (Australia)
  4. Covance Asia Pacific, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)
  5. Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre, Adelaide, South Australia (Australia)
  6. Department of Radiation Oncology, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia (Australia)
  7. Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)
  8. Department of Radiation Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia (Australia)

Purpose: To report quality of life (QOL) results for patients receiving chemoradiation therapy for pancreatic cancer. Methods and Materials: Eligible patients (n=41 locally advanced, n=22 postsurgery) entered the B9E-AY-S168 study and received 1 cycle of induction gemcitabine (1000 mg/m{sup 2} weekly Multiplication-Sign 3 with 1-week break) followed by 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (RT) (54 Gy locally advanced and 45 Gy postsurgery) and concomitant continuous-infusion 5-fluorouracil (5FU) (200 mg/m{sup 2}/d throughout RT). After 4 weeks, patients received an additional 3 cycles of consolidation gemcitabine chemotherapy. Patients completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-PAN26 questionnaires at baseline, before RT/5FU, at end of RT/5FU, before consolidation gemcitabine, and at treatment completion. Results: The patterns of change in global QOL scores differed between groups. In the locally advanced group global QOL scores were +13, +8, +3, and +1 compared with baseline before RT/5FU (P=.008), at end of RT/5FU, before consolidation gemcitabine, and at treatment completion, respectively. In the postsurgery group, global QOL scores were -3, +4, +15, and +17 compared with baseline at the same time points, with a significant improvement in global QOL before consolidation gemcitabine (P=.03). No significant declines in global QOL were reported by either cohort. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that global QOL and associated function and symptom profiles for pancreatic chemoradiation therapy differ between locally advanced and postsurgery patients, likely owing to differences in underlying disease status. For both groups, the treatment protocol was well tolerated and did not have a negative impact on patients' global QOL.

OSTI ID:
22149724
Journal Information:
International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Vol. 85, Issue 1; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0360-3016
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English