Abstract:
Objective This study aims to determine the efficacy of chemotherapy and to identify potential chemotherapy agents for advanced primary duodenal carcinoma (PDC).
Methods Fifty-six patients with advanced PDC, who did and did not receive chemotherapy, were involved in this study. Response rates (RR), disease control rates (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were analyzed.
Results The overall RR and DCR of 43 patients were 19.04% and 71.42%, respectively. The patients who received chemotherapy agents fluorourzcil and oxaliplatin exhibited higher RR compared with patients who received other chemotherapy combinations (35.29% vs. 7.69%, P=0.010 9). Palliative chemotherapy improved the OS of patients with advanced PDC compared with patients who did not receive chemotherapy (13.35 months vs. 5.65 months, HR=0.203, 95% CI: 0.083 to 0.497, P=0.000 5). Compared with the use of other chemotherapy regimens, treatment with a fluorourzcil-based chemotherapy agent resulted in a longer PFS (5.08 months vs. 1.08 months, HR=0.004, 95% CI:0.000 to 0.315, P=0.013 2). Multivariate analysis indicated mucinous histology and lymph mode metastasis as factors predictive of poor prognosis in patients with advanced PDC.
Conclusion Palliative chemotherapy may improve the OS of patients with advanced PDC.