Herceptin and Gemcitabine for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancers That Overexpress HER-2/neu 1
Authors:
Howard Safran ab;
David Iannitti ac;
Ramesh Ramanathan de;
Jonathan D. Schwartz f;
Margaret Steinhoff ag;
Chris Nauman h;
Paul Hesketh h;
Ritesh Rathore ai;
Robert Wolff j;
Umadevi Tantravahi ak;
Marilyn Hughes ab;
Chris Maia ac;
Terry Pasquariello ag;
Lisa Goldstein ab;
Thomas King ab;
James Y. Tsai ab;
Teresa Kennedy al
| Affiliations: | a The Brown University Oncology Group, Providence, Rhode Island, USA |
| b Department of Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA | |
| c Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA | |
| d The University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA | |
| e UPMC Cancer Pavilion, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA | |
| f Medical Oncology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA | |
| g Department of Pathology, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA | |
| h Division of Hematology/Oncology, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA | |
| i Division of Hematology/Oncology, Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA | |
| j The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA | |
| k Genetics Department, Women's and Infants Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA | |
| l Brown University Cancer Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA |
DOI:
10.1081/CNV-200032974
Publication Frequency:
10 issues per year
Subject:
Oncology;
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Abstract
Purpose: To determine the response rate and toxicities of Herceptin and gemcitabine for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinomas that overexpress HER-2/neu. Methods and Materials: Patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer with 2 +/3 + HER-2/neu expression by immunohistochemistry were eligible. Patients received gemcitabine, 1 g/m2/week, for 7 of 8 weeks followed by 3 of every 4 weeks, and Herceptin, 4 mg/kg loading dose, followed by 2 mg/kg/week. Results: Screening logs demonstrated the rate of HER-2/neu overexpression was 16%. Thirty-four patients were enrolled. Thirty patients (88%) had pancreatic cancers with 2 + overexpression and 4 patients (12%) had 3 + overexpression. Toxicity was similar to gemcitabine alone. Confirmed partial responses were observed in 2 of 32 patients (6%). Thirteen of 32 patients (41%) had either a partial response or a > 50% reduction in CA 19-9. The median survival for all 34 patients was 7 months, and the 1-year survival was 19%. Conclusion: The response rate of Herceptin and gemcitabine is similar to gemcitabine alone. The 7-month median survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer suggests there may be a modest benefit for some patients. Infrequent HER-2/neu overexpression limits the role of targeting the HER-2/neu gene and prevents definitive conclusions on the addition of Herceptin to gemcibine for patients with pancreatic cancer.
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#Presented in part at the thirty-seventh annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, San Francisco, May 12–15, 2001.
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| Keywords: Herceptin; HER-2/neu; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma |
| view references (17) |


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