A phase II trial of irinotecan (CPT-11) for unresectable biliary tree carcinoma

Unresectable adenocarcinomas of the biliary tree have a very poor prognosis. No good chemotherapeutic regimen is available. Irinotecan has not yet been fully tested in this disease. We evaluated its activity in unresectable bile duct cancers.

Twenty-five consecutive eligible patients at our two institutions were treated with irinotecan at a starting dose of 125 mg/m2. A cycle consisted of once-a-week treatments for four consecutive weeks, followed by two weeks of rest. All patients were required to have histologically confirmed diagnosis, clinically documented metastatic or unresectable carcinoma and measurable disease. Patients were evaluated for response, toxicity, and survival.

A total of 83 cycles of therapy were delivered. Two patients had a partial response (8%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0%-18%) and ten additional patients had stable disease for at least two months (40%; 95% CI: 20.8%-59.2%). The therapy was well tolerated, with moderate myelosuppression and diarrhea as the main toxicities. The overall median survival was 10 months.

Irinotecan has minimal activity in biliary tree carcinomas, but is well tolerated with appropriate supportive care, and produces occasional objective responses.