© 2004 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
Gemcitabine and Cisplatin Combination Chemotherapy in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma as Second-line Treatment: Report of Four Cases
Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Medical College, Seoul, Korea
For reprints and all correspondence: Kyung Shik Lee, Department of Internal Medicine, St Kangnam Mary's Hospital, Banpo-dong 505, Seocho-gu, 137-040, Seoul, Korea. E-mail: angelamd{at}catholic.ac.kr
Received April 1, 2004; accepted June 1, 2004
Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is a chemoresistant cancer for which effective chemotherapy is not yet available. We investigated the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin as second-line chemotherapy in four patients with advanced, progressive intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
Methods: Four patients were enrolled who had previous chemotherapy with epirubicin, cisplatin and protracted infusion of 5-FU. All these patients treated with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 intravenously (i.v.) on days 1 and 8 for 30 min, cisplatin 75 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1 for 90 min, given every 21 days.
Results: Two patients had partial response (PR), and two had stable disease (SD), with one of the latter showing a decrease in tumor size of 35%. Median time to progression was 5 months (range, 3–9 months) and median survival was 9 months (range, 8–16 months). Toxicity was mild and tolerable.
Conclusions: Gemcitabine and cisplatin combination chemotherapy may be an effective regimen for advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Further study is warranted to determine the efficacy of this combination regimen.
Key Words: refractory cholangiocarcinoma • gemcitabine • cisplatin