Notice: Users may be experiencing issues with displaying some pages on stanfordhealthcare.org. We are working closely with our technical teams to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
 

Learn about the flu shot, COVID-19 vaccine, and our masking policy »

Stanford Health Care

Patient-reported outcomes of a multicenter phase 2 study investigating gemcitabine and stereotactic body radiation therapy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Practical radiation oncology Rao, A. D., Sugar, E. A., Chang, D. T., Goodman, K. A., Hacker-Prietz, A., Rosati, L. M., Columbo, L., O'Reilly, E., Fisher, G. A., Zheng, L., Pai, J. S., Griffith, M. E., Laheru, D. A., Iacobuzio-Donahue, C. A., Wolfgang, C. L., Koong, A., Herman, J. M. 2016; 6 (6): 417-424

Abstract

We previously reported clinical outcomes and physician-reported toxicity of gemcitabine and hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). Here we prospectively investigate the impact of gemcitabine and SBRT on patient-reported quality of life (QoL).Forty-nine LAPC patients received 33 Gy SBRT (6.6 Gy daily fractions) upfront or after =3 doses of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m(2)) followed by gemcitabine until progression. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL core cancer (QLQ-C30) and pancreatic cancer-specific (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-PAN26) questionnaires were administered to patients pre-SBRT and at 4 to 6 weeks (first follow-up [1FUP]) and 4 months (2FUP) post-SBRT. Changes in QoL scores were deemed clinically relevant if median changes were at least 5 points in magnitude.Forty-three (88%) patients completed pre-SBRT questionnaires. Of these, 88% and 51% completed questionnaires at 1FUP and 2FUP, respectively. There was no change in global QoL from pre-SBRT to 1FUP (P = .17) or 2FUP (P > .99). Statistical and clinical improvements in pancreatic pain (P = .001) and body image (P = .007) were observed from pre-SBRT to 1FUP. Patients with 1FUP and 2FUP questionnaires reported statistically and clinically improved body image (P = .016) by 4 months. Although pancreatic pain initially demonstrated statistical and clinical improvement (P = .020), scores returned to enrollment levels by 2FUP (P = .486). A statistical and clinical decline in role functioning (P = .002) was observed in patients at 2FUP.Global QoL scores are not reduced with gemcitabine and SBRT. In this exploratory analysis, patients experience clinically relevant short-term improvements in pancreatic cancer-specific symptoms. Previously demonstrated acceptable clinical outcomes combined with these favorable QoL data indicate that SBRT can be easily integrated with other systemic therapies and may be a potential standard of care option in patients with LAPC.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.prro.2016.05.005

View details for PubMedID 27552809