Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), global health status (GHS), and deterioration-free survival of an elderly population (> 70 years) with unresectable locally advanced (LAPC) or metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPC) treated with nab-paclitaxel in combination with gemcitabine.
Methods
In this open-label, single-arm, multicenter, phase II trial, patients received 4-week cycles of intravenous (i.v.) nab-paclitaxel at a dose of 125 mg/m2, followed by i.v. injections of gemcitabine at a dose of 1000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8 and 15 until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity was observed. The primary outcome was the HRQoL (deterioration-free rate at 3 months as evaluated with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30.
Results
Eighty patients (median age: 74.6 years) were enrolled (56 with mPC, 24 with LAPC). The percentage of patients who had not experienced deterioration at 3 months was 54.3% (95% CI 41.6–67.0%). The median (interquartile range) time until definite deterioration was 1.6 (1.1–3.7) months. The objective response rate and clinical benefit rate were achieved by 11 (13.8%, 95% CI 6.2–21.3%) and 54 patients (67.5%, 95% CI 57.2–77.8%), respectively. The median overall survival was 9.2 months (95% CI 6.9–11.5), and the median progression-free survival was 7.2 months (95% CI 5.8–8.5). Only fatigue and neutropenia demonstrated a grade 3–4 toxicity incidence > 20%.
Conclusions
Our study confirms the clinical benefit of the combination of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in an elderly population with pancreatic cancer in terms of improved survival and clinical response. However, we were unable to confirm a benefit in terms of quality-of-life.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.


References
Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A (2018) Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 68:394–424. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21492
WHO Pancreatic Cancer Working Group http://epic.iarc.fr/research/cancerworkinggroups/pancreaticcancer.php. Accessed 20 Jan 2020
Ilic M, Ilic I (2016) Epidemiology of pancreatic cancer. World J Gastroenterol 22(44):9694–9705. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v22.i44.9694
McGuigan A, Kelly P, Turkington RC, Jones C, Coleman HG, McCain RS (2018) Pancreatic cancer: a review of clinical diagnosis, epidemiology, treatment and outcomes. World J Gastroenterol 24:4846–4861. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v24.i43.4846
Jemal A, Bray F, Center MM, Ferlay J, Ward E, Forman D (2011) Global cancer statistics. CA Cancer J Clin 61:69–90. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.20107
SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2013 http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2013/. Accessed 20 Jan 2020
Ducreux M, Cuhna AS, Caramella C, Hollebecque A, Burtin P, Goere D, Seufferlein T, Haustermans K, Van Laethem JL, Conroy T, Arnold D, Committee EG (2015) Cancer of the pancreas: ESMO clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol 26(Suppl 5):v56-68. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdv295
Tempero MA, Malafa MP, Al-Hawary M, Asbun H, Bain A, Behrman SW, Benson AB 3rd, Binder E, Cardin DB, Cha C, Chiorean EG, Chung V, Czito B, Dillhoff M, Dotan E, Ferrone CR, Hardacre J, Hawkins WG, Herman J, Ko AH, Komanduri S, Koong A, LoConte N, Lowy AM, Moravek C, Nakakura EK, O’Reilly EM, Obando J, Reddy S, Scaife C, Thayer S, Weekes CD, Wolff RA, Wolpin BM, Burns J, Darlow S (2017) Pancreatic adenocarcinoma, version 2.2017, NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 15:1028–1061. https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2017.0131
Conroy T, Desseigne F, Ychou M, Bouche O, Guimbaud R, Becouarn Y, Adenis A, Raoul JL, Gourgou-Bourgade S, de la Fouchardiere C, Bennouna J, Bachet JB, Khemissa-Akouz F, Pere-Verge D, Delbaldo C, Assenat E, Chauffert B, Michel P, Montoto-Grillot C, Ducreux M, Groupe Tumeurs Digestives of U, Intergroup P (2011) FOLFIRINOX versus gemcitabine for metastatic pancreatic cancer. N Engl J Med 364:1817–1825. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1011923
Yardley DA (2013) nab-Paclitaxel mechanisms of action and delivery. J Control Release 170:365–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2013.05.041
Von Hoff DD, Ervin T, Arena FP, Chiorean EG, Infante J, Moore M, Seay T, Tjulandin SA, Ma WW, Saleh MN, Harris M, Reni M, Dowden S, Laheru D, Bahary N, Ramanathan RK, Tabernero J, Hidalgo M, Goldstein D, Van Cutsem E, Wei X, Iglesias J, Renschler MF (2013) Increased survival in pancreatic cancer with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine. N Engl J Med 369:1691–1703. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1304369
Rawla P, Sunkara T, Gaduputi V (2019) Epidemiology of pancreatic cancer: global trends, etiology and risk factors. World J Oncol 10:10–27. https://doi.org/10.14740/wjon1166
Giordano G, Melisi D, Milella M, Zaniboni A, Vasile E, Zagonel V, Giommoni E, Maiorino L, Santoni M, Vaccaro V, Bertocchi P, Bergamo F, Musettini G, Lucchini E, Cascinu S, Febbraro A (2014) 713pactivity, efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel (nab-p) and gemcitabine (G) in advanced pancreatic cancer (apdac) elderly patients. Ann Oncol 25(Suppl_4):iv242–iv242. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdu334.98%JAnnalsofOncology
De Vita F, Ventriglia J, Febbraro A, Laterza MM, Fabozzi A, Savastano B, Petrillo A, Diana A, Giordano G, Troiani T, Conzo G, Galizia G, Ciardiello F, Orditura M (2016) NAB-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC): from clinical trials to clinical practice. BMC cancer 16:709. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-016-2671-9
Lanese A, Bittoni A, Santoni M, Andrikou K, Pellei C, Conti A, Bertocchi P, Brunetti A, Russano M, Vaccaro V, Silvestris N, Milella M, Santini D, Zaniboni A, Cascinu S (2014) 710P: clinical outcome of elderly (>70y) advanced pancreatic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Ann Oncol 25(Suppl_4):iv241–iv241. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdu334.95
Ventriglia J, Laterza MM, Savastano B, Petrillo A, Tirino G, Pompella L, Pappalardo A, Orditura M, Ciardiello F, De Vita F (2017) 757PSafety and efficacy of gemcitabine/nabpaclitaxel in elderly patients with metastatic or locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a retrospective analysis. Ann Oncol 28:Suppl_5. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdx369.139
Hasegawa R, Okuwaki K, Kida M, Yamauchi H, Kawaguchi Y, Matsumoto T, Kaneko T, Miyata E, Uehara K, Iwai T, Watanabe M, Kurosu T, Imaizumi H, Ohno T, Koizumi W (2019) A clinical trial to assess the feasibility and efficacy of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine for elderly patients with unresectable advanced pancreatic cancer. Int J Clin Oncol 24:1574–1581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-019-01511-0
Ishimoto U, Kinoshita A, Hirose Y, Shibata K, Ishii A, Shoji R, Yokota T, Iwaku A, Mizuno Y, Koike K, Saruta M (2019) The efficacy and safety of nab paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in elderly patients over 75 years with unresectable pancreatic cancer compared with younger patients. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 84:647–654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-019-03895-2
Kristensen A, Vagnildhaug OM, Gronberg BH, Kaasa S, Laird B, Solheim TS (2016) Does chemotherapy improve health-related quality of life in advanced pancreatic cancer? A systematic review. Crit Rev Oncol/Hematol 99:286–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.critrevonc.2016.01.006
Picozzi V, Narayanan S, Henry HuX, Vacirca J (2017) Health-related quality of life in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. J Gastrointest Cancer 48:103–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-016-9902-9
Eisenhauer EA, Therasse P, Bogaerts J, Schwartz LH, Sargent D, Ford R, Dancey J, Arbuck S, Gwyther S, Mooney M, Rubinstein L, Shankar L, Dodd L, Kaplan R, Lacombe D, Verweij J (2009) New response evaluation criteria in solid tumours: revised RECIST guideline (version 1.1). Eur J Cancer 45:228–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2008.10.026
Anota A, Hamidou Z, Paget-Bailly S, Chibaudel B, Bascoul-Mollevi C, Auquier P, Westeel V, Fiteni F, Borg C, Bonnetain F (2015) Time to health-related quality of life score deterioration as a modality of longitudinal analysis for health-related quality of life studies in oncology: do we need RECIST for quality of life to achieve standardization? Qual Life Res 24:5–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-013-0583-6
Aaronson NK, Ahmedzai S, Bergman B, Bullinger M, Cull A, Duez NJ, Filiberti A, Flechtner H, Fleishman SB, de Haes JC et al (1993) The European organization for research and treatment of cancer QLQ-C30: a quality-of-life instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology. J Natl Cancer Inst 85:365–376. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/85.5.365
Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 4.0 https://www.eortc.be/services/doc/ctc/CTCAE_4.03_2010-06-14_QuickReference_5x7.pdf. Accessed 20 Jan 2020
Gourgou-Bourgade S, Bascoul-Mollevi C, Desseigne F, Ychou M, Bouche O, Guimbaud R, Becouarn Y, Adenis A, Raoul JL, Boige V, Berille J, Conroy T (2013) Impact of FOLFIRINOX compared with gemcitabine on quality of life in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer: results from the PRODIGE 4/ACCORD 11 randomized trial. J Clin Oncol 31:23–29. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2012.44.4869
Chiritescu G, Dumon K, Verslype C, Prenen H, Houbiers G, Peeters M, Janssens J, Van Daele D, Laurent S, Arts J, Hendrickx K, Borbath I, Ferrante M, Bastin F, Goeminne J, Van Laethem J, Vanderstraeten E, Decaestecker J, Van Vaerenbergh W, Delhougne B, Van Cutsem E (2018) O-003Gemcitabine with nab-paclitaxel in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC): a quality of life randomized cross-over study (QOLINPAC). Ann Oncol 29:Suppl_5. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdy149.002
Charton E, Bachet JB, Hammel P, Desrame J, Chibaudel B, Cohen R, Debourdeau P, Dauba J, Lecomte T, Seitz JF, Tournigand C, Aparicio T, Guerin-Meyer V, Taieb J, Volet J, Louvet C, Anota A, Bonnetain F (2019) Impact on health-related quality of life deterioration-free survival of a first-line therapy combining nab-paclitaxel plus either gemcitabine or simplified leucovorin and fluorouracil for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer: results of the randomized phase II AFUGEM GERCOR clinical trial. Cancer Med 8:5079–5088. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.2311
Chiorean EG, Cheung WY, Giordano G, Kim G, Al-Batran SE (2019) Real-world comparative effectiveness of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine versus FOLFIRINOX in advanced pancreatic cancer: a systematic review. Ther Adv Med Oncol 11:1758835919850367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1758835919850367
Petrillo A, Pappalardo A, Calabrese F, Tirino G, Pompella L, Ventriglia J, Laterza MM, Caterino M, Sforza V, Iranzo V, Biglietto M, Orditura M, Ciardiello F, Conzo G, Molino C, De Vita F (2019) First line nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in elderly metastatic pancreatic patients: a good choice beyond age. J Gastrointest Oncol 10:910–917
Petrioli R, Torre P, Pesola G, Paganini G, Paolelli L, Miano ST, Martellucci I, Francini G (2020) Francini E (2019) Gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel followed by maintenance treatment with gemcitabine alone as first-line treatment for older adults with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. J Geriatr Oncol 11:647–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgo.2019.08.008
Di Marco M, Rubbi I, Baldi A, Di Lorenzo R, Magnani D, Cremonini V, Sarli L, Artioli G, Ferri P (2018) Evaluation of fatigue in patients with pancreatic cancer receiving chemotherapy treatment: a cross-sectional observational study. Acta bio-medica Atenei Parmensis 89(4-s):18–27
Butt Z, Rosenbloom SK, Abernethy AP, Beaumont JL, Paul D, Hampton D, Jacobsen PB, Syrjala KL, Von Roenn JH, Cella D (2008) Fatigue is the most important symptom for advanced cancer patients who have had chemotherapy. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 6:448–455. https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2008.0036
Hubner RA, Cubillo A, Blanc JF, Melisi D, Von Hoff DD, Wang-Gillam A, Chen LT, Becker C, Mamlouk K, Belanger B, Yang Y, De Jong FA, Siveke JT (2019) Quality of life in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients receiving liposomal irinotecan plus 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin. Eur J Cancer 106(24):33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2018.09.029 (Epub 2018 Nov 17. PMID: 30458340)
Crippa S, Domínguez I, Rodríguez JR, Razo O, Thayer SP, Ryan DP, Warshaw AL, Fernández-del Castillo C (2008) Quality of life in pancreatic cancer: analysis by stage and treatment. J Gastrointest Surg 12(5):783–793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-007-0391-9 (discussion 793-4, Epub 2008 Mar 4. PMID: 18317851; PMCID: PMC3806099)
Zabernigg A, Giesinger JM, Pall G, Gamper EM, Gattringer K, Wintner LM, Sztankay MJ, Holzner B (2012) Quality of life across chemotherapy lines in patients with cancers of the pancreas and biliary tract. BMC Cancer 6(12):390. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-12-390.PMID:22950826;PMCID:PMC3488526
Picozzi V, Narayanan S, Henry Hu X et al (2017) Health-related quality of life in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. J Gastrointest Canc 48:103–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-016-9902-9
Gourgou-Bourgade S, Bascoul-Mollevi C, Desseigne F, Ychou M, Bouché O, Guimbaud R, Bécouarn Y, Adenis A, Raoul JL, Boige V, Bérille J, Conroy T (2013) Impact of FOLFIRINOX compared with gemcitabine on quality of life in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer: results from the PRODIGE 4/ACCORD 11 randomized trial. J Clin Oncol 31(1):23–29. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2012.44.4869 (Epub 2012 Dec 3 PMID: 23213101)
Laquente B, Macarulla T, Bugés C, Martín M, García C, Pericay C, Merino S, Visa L, Martín T, Pedraza M, Carnero B, Guardeño R, Verdaguer H, Mut A, Vilanova D, García A (2020) Quality of life of patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma initiating first-line chemotherapy in routine practice. BMC Palliat Care 19(1):103. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-020-00610-4.PMID:32650765;PMCID:PMC7350578
Lee V, Cheng H, Li G, Saif MW (2012) Quality of life in patients with pancreatic cancer. JOP 13(2):182–184 (PMID: 22406597)
Scotte F, Bossi P, Carola E, Cudennec T, Dielenseger P, Gomes F, Knox S, Strasser F (2018) Addressing the quality of life needs of older patients with cancer: a SIOG consensus paper and practical guide. Ann Oncol 29:1718–1726. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdy228
Kang J, Hwang I, Yoo C, Kim KP, Jeong JH, Chang HM, Lee SS, Park DH, Song TJ, Seo DW, Lee SK, Kim MH, Hong SM, Shin SH, Hwang DW, Song KB, Lee JH, Kim SC, Ryoo BY (2018) Nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine versus FOLFIRINOX as the first-line chemotherapy for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer: retrospective analysis. Invest New Drugs 36:732–741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10637-018-0598-5
Kordes M, Yu J, Malgerud O, Gustafsson Liljefors M, Lohr J (2019) Survival benefits of chemotherapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in a clinical real-world cohort. Cancers (Basel) 11:1326. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers11091326
Lee K, Bang K, Yoo C, Hwang I, Jeong JH, Chang HM, Oh D, Song TJ, Park DH, Lee SS, Lee SK, Kim MH, Park JH, Kim KP, Ryoo BY (2020) Clinical outcomes of second-line chemotherapy after progression on nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res Treat 52:254–262. https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2019.190
Park SJ, Kim H, Shin K, Lee MA, Hong TH (2019) Oral chemotherapy for second-line treatment in patients with gemcitabine-refractory advanced pancreatic cancer. World J Gastrointest Oncol 11:1021–1030. https://doi.org/10.4251/wjgo.v11.i11.1021
Taieb J, Prager GW, Melisi D, Westphalen CB, D’Esquermes N, Ferreras A, Carrato A (2020) Macarulla T (2020) First-line and second-line treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma in routine clinical practice across Europe: a retrospective, observational chart review study. ESMO Open 5:e000587. https://doi.org/10.1136/esmoopen-2019-000587
Merz V, Cavaliere A, Messina C, Salati M, Zecchetto C, Casalino S, Milella M, Caffo O, Melisi D (2020) Multicenter retrospective analysis of second-line therapy after gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel in advanced pancreatic cancer patients. Cancers (Basel) 12:1131. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12051131
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Juan Luis Sanz and Susana Vara (Apices, Madrid; Spain) for their support with study design, setup, coordination and project management, monitoring, statistical analysis and medical writing.
Funding
The BIBABRAX study was funded by Celgene. Medical writing assistance in the preparation of this paper was provided by Apices with financial support from Celgene.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
J. Feliu has received consulting and has had an advisory role in Amgen, Ipsen, Eisai, Merck, Roche and Novartis, has received research funding from Merck and Amgen; he has received travel and accommodation expenses from Amgen and Servier. M. Jorge Fernández has been member of the advisory boards from Amgen and Celgene; she has received speaker honorarium from Merck, Roche and Servier; she has received consulting honorarium from Lilly, she has received travel grants from Merck. T. Macarulla has played a consultant or advisory role with Amgen, Baxter, Celgene, Incyte, Q&D Therapeutics, Servier and Shire; she has received research funding from AstraZeneca, BeiGEne and Celgene. B. Massuti has been member of the advisory boards for Roche, MSD and BMS; he has received speaker honorarium from AstraZeneca, Servier, BMS and Roche; he has received research grants to institution from ISCIII; he has received travel grants from AstraZeneca and MSD. A. Albero reports no conflict of interest. J. F. González González reports no conflict of interest. G. Quintero-Aldana reports no conflict of interest. J.I. Delgado-Mingorance reports no conflict of interest. A. Fernández Montes reports no conflict of interest. C. García Piernavieja reports no conflict of interest. M. Valladares-Ayerbes has been member of the advisory boards for Merck, Amgen and Sanofi; he has received research grants to institution from Roche; he has received personal fees from Merck, Amgen and personal fees from Sanofi during the conduct of the study; he has received personal fees from Servier, personal fees from Bayer, personal fees from Celgene, outside the submitted work. A.M. López Muñoz reports no conflict of interest. R. Móndejar Solís has been member of the advisory boards for Amgen, Merck, Roche, Pfizer, Servier and Celgene; she has received speaker honorarium from Amgen, Merck, Roche, Pfizer, Servier and Celgene. P. Vicente reports no conflict of interest. E. Casado González reports no conflict of interest. I. González Cebrián has been member of the advisory board for Celgene. G. López-Vivanco reports no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
The study protocol was approved by the independent ethics committee of the Ethical Research Committee of the Puerta de Hierro-Majadahonda University Hospital, and the study was conducted in compliance with the Good Clinical Practice Guidelines and in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients before they entered the study. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under number NCT02391662.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
280_2020_4214_MOESM1_ESM.docx
Supplementary file1 (DOCX 114 KB) Fig. S1 Kaplan-Meier curve of overall survival. Fig. S2 Kaplan-Meier curve of progression-free survival.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Feliu, J., Jorge Fernández, M., Macarulla, T. et al. Phase II clinical trial of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in elderly patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: the BIBABRAX study. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 87, 543–553 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-020-04214-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-020-04214-w