A Real-World Comparison of FOLFIRINOX, Gemcitabine Plus nab-Paclitaxel, and Gemcitabine in Advanced Pancreatic Cancers

FOLFIRINOX (FFN), nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (GN), and gemcitabine are three systemic therapies that provide clinically meaningful benefit to patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer (UPC). There are no clinical trials that directly compare the efficacy of all three regimens. In this study, we aim to examine and compare the real-world effectiveness of these treatments.

Patients diagnosed with UPC who initiated palliative chemotherapy from August 2014 to January 2016 at any one of six cancer centers in British Columbia were identified from the provincial pharmacy. Clinical, pathological, treatment, and outcome characteristics were compared.

Two hundred twenty-five patients were included: 55% men, 68% Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 0/1, 58% metastatic disease. Patients who received FFN were younger (p < 0.001) and in better performance status (p < 0.001). Patients treated with FFN or GN experienced significantly longer median overall survival (OS) when compared to those treated with gemcitabine (14.1 vs 10.5 vs 4.2 months, respectively, p < 0.001). Progression-free survival (PFS) was also longer among patients on FFN or GN in comparison to gemcitabine (FFN, HR 0.44, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.814, p = 0.008; GN, HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.47, p < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of patients require two or more dose modifications on FFN (40%) compared to GN (14%) or gemcitabine (9%) (p < 0.001).

Receipt of modified FFN and GN portends a better prognosis than gemcitabine alone. In the absence of a randomized comparison of all three regimens, our population-based study reveals that the introduction of modified FFN and GN confers real-world effectiveness for UPC patients.