Prognostic factors in patients with unresectable locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with...

Although patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) have an extremely poor prognosis, they are a heterogeneous group. Prognostic factors are inadequately defined for disease-free survival and overall survival in patients with LAPC who are receiving chemoradiation, so more definitive prognostic factors would be very useful for designing clinical trials.

Between December 1993 and July 2005, 247 patients with nonmetastatic LAPC were treated at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Tex) with concurrent chemoradiation (CRT). Median radiation dose was 30 Gy (range, 15-52.2 Gy). Radiosensitizers included 5-fluorouracil (54%), gemcitabine (33%), and capecitabine (13%). Actuarial univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used to determine significant prognostic factors for disease-free survival and overall survival.

Median follow-up was 4.3 months (range, 1-63 months). Median disease-free survival and overall survival were 4.2 months and 8.5 months, respectively. On univariate analysis, prognostic factors for improved disease-free survival were a Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) status of >80 (P < .01) and a hemoglobin (Hgb)level at presentation of >/=12 (P = .03). On multivariate analysis, KPS was the only independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival. Median disease-free survival was 4.9 months among patients with a KPS score of >80 and was 3.9 months among those with a KPS score of /=12 (P = .02), KPS>80 (P < .001), and <5% weight loss (P = .03). On multivariate analysis, Hgb and KPS were independent prognostic factors for overall survival.

In the current study, KPS score was an independent prognostic factor for disease-free and overall survival among patients treated with chemoradiation for LAPC. The pretreatment Hgb level was an additional independent prognostic factor for overall survival.