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Pancreatic cancer remains a highly lethal disease with a 5-year survival proportion of <10%. Chemoradiotherapy is a treatment option for unresectable locally advanced (UR-LA) or borderline resectable (BR) pancreatic cancer, but its efficacy is not sufficient. Induction of the synergistic effect of irradiation and immune checkpoint inhibitors can be an attractive strategy. An open-label randomized phase III trial has been conducted since October 2020 to confirm the superiority of nivolumab plus S-1-based chemoradiotherapy over S-1-based chemoradiotherapy alone in patients with UR-LA or BR pancreatic cancer. A total of 216 patients will be enrolled in 14 institutions within 3.5 years. The primary endpoint of the safety run-in part is dose-limiting toxicity, and that of the phase III part is overall survival. This trial was registered at the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials as jRCT2080225361 (https://jrct.niph.go.jp/latest-detail/jRCT2080225361)., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Somatostatin analogs, molecular-targeted agents and cytotoxic anticancer agents are available as therapeutic agents for the systemic treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and we have developed a first-line treatment selection MAP to enable selection of the optimal treatment strategy for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The purpose of this study was to validate the usefulness of the treatment selection MAP., Methods: Patients who had received systemic therapy for a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor between January 2017 and December 2020 were compared according to whether they had been treated as recommended by the MAP (matched patients) or not (unmatched patients) to determine whether better outcomes were achieved by the matched patients. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival of the matched group and unmatched groups in the somatostatin analog, molecular-targeted agent and cytotoxic anticancer agents areas of the MAP., Results: There were 41 (55%) MAP-matched patients in all areas among the 74 patients registered at seven hospitals. The MAP-matched rates were 100, 77 and 38% in the somatostatin analog area, molecular-targeted agent area and cytotoxic anticancer agents area, respectively. All of the unmatched patients had been selected for less intensive treatment. The median progression-free survival in the matched group and unmatched group in the molecular-targeted agent area of the MAP were 46.6 and 15.4 months, respectively, and a multivariate analysis identified MAP-matched (hazard ratio 0.18 [95% confidence interval: 0.04-0.87], P = 0.032) as the only significant independent favorable predictive factor., Conclusion: The usefulness of the MAP for treatment selection was validated in the molecular-targeted agent area of the MAP., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Undifferentiated carcinoma (UC) of the pancreas is a rare subtype of pancreatic cancer displaying no definitive direction of differentiation. UC has been reported as a highly aggressive malignant neoplasm, with a median overall survival of <1 year, except for several surgical series. On the other hand, UC tissue sometimes contains non-neoplastic osteoclast-like giant cells (OGCs), and such cases have been reported to have relatively longer survival. Thus, the World Health Organization (WHO) classification histologically distinguishes UC with OGCs (UCOGCs) from UC, and UCs were subclassified into three subtypes: anaplastic UC, sarcomatoid UC and carcinosarcoma. However, still less is known about UC due to its rarity, and such situations lead to further difficulties in treatment for UC. To date, only surgical resection can offer curative treatment for patients with UC, and no clear evidence for chemotherapy exists for them. However, a retrospective cohort study and case reports showed that relatively promising results paclitaxel-containing regimens for treatment of patients with unresectable UC. Furthermore, high programmed cell death protein 1 expression has been reported in sarcomatoid UCs and UCOGCs, and promising responses to anti-programmed death-ligand 1 therapy have been described in case reports of UCOGCs. Recent advances in chemotherapeutic agents and molecular technologies are opening up the possibilities for expanded treatments., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Objective: JCOG1106, a randomized phase II trial conducted to compare chemoradiotherapy (S-1 concurrent radiotherapy) with (Arm B) or without (Arm A) induction chemotherapy using gemcitabine in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, showed a more favorable long-term survival in Arm A. This study was aimed at exploring whether some subgroups classified by the systemic inflammatory response might derive greater benefit from either treatment., Methods: All subjects eligible for JCOG1106 were included in this analysis (n = 51/49 in Arm A/B). This exploratory subgroup analysis was performed by Cox regression analysis to investigate the impact of the systemic inflammatory response, as assessed based on the serum C-reactive protein, serum albumin (albumin), Glasgow Prognostic Score and derived neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, at the baseline on overall survival. P values <0.1 for the interaction were regarded as denoting significant association., Results: Glasgow prognostic score showed significant treatment interactions for overall survival. Hazard ratios of Arm B to Arm A were 1.35 (95% confidence interval, 0.82-2.23) in the Glasgow Prognostic Score 0 (C-reactive protein ≤10 mg/L and albumin ≥35 g/L) (n = 44/34 in Arm A/B) and 0.59 (95% confidence interval, 0.24-1.50) in the Glasgow Prognostic Score 1/2 (C-reactive protein >10 mg/L and/or albumin <35 g/L) (n = 7/15) (P-interaction = 0.06). C-reactive protein alone and albumin alone also showed significant treatment interactions for overall survival., Conclusions: Survival benefits of induction chemotherapy in chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer were observed in patients with elevated Glasgow Prognostic Score, high C-reactive protein and low albumin. These results suggest that systemic inflammatory response might be considered to apply induction chemotherapy preceding chemoradiotherapy., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Background: Nanoliposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) was recently authorized in Japan for unresectable pancreatic cancer after disease progression following chemotherapy. Physicians now consider certain aspects of nal-IRI safety profile as slightly different from conventional irinotecan. This report aims to explore additional aspects of the nal-IRI safety in Japanese phase 2 study., Methods: We analyzed the incidence, time to first onset, and time to resolution for adverse events that require special attention and other selected toxicities in the nal-IRI combination group (n = 46)., Results: Leukopenia/neutropenia (76.1%/71.7%), diarrhea (58.7%) and hepatic dysfunction (41.3%) were the most commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse events, with a median time to onset of 21.0 days (range: 8, 97), 9.0 days (1, 61) and 22.0 days (2, 325), respectively, and a median time to resolution of 8.0 days (95% confidence intervals: 8, 9), 4.0 days (4, 8) and 40.0 days (9, -), respectively. Eight patients experienced Grade ≥ 3 diarrhea and their symptoms were well controlled by dose modification except one patient who had drug withdrawal. The median time to resolution for Grade ≥ 3 and Grade ≤ 2 diarrhea was 17.5 days (95% confidence intervals: 1, 31) and 4 days (3, 7), respectively. Anorexia occurred in 28/46 patients (60.9%) with a median time to onset of 4.0 days (range: 2, 132) and a median time to resolution of 12.0 days (95% confidence intervals: 6, 26)., Conclusions: We explored safety profile of nal-IRI combination regimen recognized as effective and tolerable treatment for Japanese unresectable pancreatic cancer patients. Although the treatment-emergent adverse events occurred were controllable, patients with prolonged toxicities should be closely managed., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Background: Our phase II trial (FABRIC study) failed to verify the efficacy of gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin (GEMOX) in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with a familial or personal history of pancreatic, breast, ovarian or prostate cancer, which suggested that a family and personal history may be insufficient to determine response to platinum-based chemotherapy., Methods: This ancillary analysis aimed to investigate the prevalence of germline variants of homologous recombination repair (HRR)-related genes and clarify the association of germline variants with the efficacy of GEMOX and patient outcome in PDAC patients. Of 45 patients enrolled in FABRIC study, 27 patients were registered in this ancillary analysis., Results: Of the identified variants in HRR-related genes, one variant was considered pathogenic and eight variants in six patients (22%) were variants of unknown significance (VUS). Objective response to GEMOX was achieved by 43% of the seven patients and tended to be higher than that of patients without such variants (25%). Pathogenic/VUS variant in HRR-related genes was an independent favorable factor for progression-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.322; P = 0.047) and overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.195; P = 0.023) in multivariable analysis., Conclusions: The prevalence of germline variants in PDAC patients was very low even among patients with a familial/personal history of pancreatic, breast, ovarian or prostate cancer. Patients with one or more germline variants in HRR-related genes classified as pathogenic or VUS may have the potential to obtain better response to GEMOX and have better outcomes., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Systemic chemotherapy plays important role in pancreatic cancer not only for palliative treatment of unresectable disease, but also for neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment of resectable disease. Most clinical trials of systemic chemotherapy have been conducted in non-elderly patients, and the results cannot always be extrapolated to elderly patients because of the uniqueness of this population. The number of elderly patients with pancreatic cancer has increased in an aging society; therefore, there is an urgent need to develop specific treatments for elderly patients with pancreatic cancer. Gemcitabine or S-1 monotherapy is generally considered appropriate even for vulnerable elderly patients. FOLFIRINOX is considered inapplicable based on its safety profile. Gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel and nanoliposomal irinotecan with fluorouracil plus folinic acid can be administered to elderly patients, because the phase III trials have shown the efficacy and safety for patients including those who were 75 years or older. However, the feasibility of these therapies for elderly patients is still under debate since the number of elderly populations was relatively small in these studies. To determine the indication for these regimens in the elderly, the background of each patient should be considered. Geriatric assessment such as the Geriatric 8 and the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index can identify vulnerabilities and are therefore recommended in daily clinical practice as well as in clinical studies of elderly patients. It is expected that geriatric assessment will elucidate the eligibility criteria for those regimens in elderly individuals. Randomized clinical trials are ongoing to establish a standard treatment in the vulnerable elderly with advanced pancreatic cancer, who cannot tolerate the same regimen as in the non-elderly patients., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Background: Endoscopic duodenal stent placement is an alternative technique to gastrojejunostomy for gastric outlet obstruction due to pancreatic cancer. We compared the efficacy of endoscopic duodenal stent placement with that of gastrojejunostomy for treating patients with pancreatic cancer who are candidates for intensive combination chemotherapies as the first line of treatment., Methods: This retrospective observational study included 100 patients from 18 institutions in Japan. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) cytologically or histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, (2) good performance status, (3) gastric outlet obstruction scoring system score of 0-1 and (4) no history of treatment for pancreatic cancer., Results: There was no significant difference in the background characteristics of patients in the endoscopic duodenal stent placement (n = 57) and gastrojejunostomy (n = 43) groups. The median overall survival in the endoscopic duodenal stent placement and gastrojejunostomy groups was 5.9 and 6.0 months, respectively. Clinical success was achieved in 93 cases; the median time to food intake resumption was significantly shorter in the endoscopic duodenal stent placement group (median: 3 days, n = 54) than in the gastrojejunostomy group (median: 5 days, n = 43). Chemotherapy was introduced in 63% of the patients in both groups after endoscopic duodenal stent placement or gastrojejunostomy. Chemotherapy was started earlier in the endoscopic duodenal stent placement group (median: 14 days) than in the gastrojejunostomy (median: 32 days) group., Conclusions: Endoscopic duodenal stent placement showed similar or better clinical outcomes than gastrojejunostomy. Thus, it might be a promising option in patients with good performance status., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Since sorafenib was established as the standard of care for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, various tyrosine kinase inhibitors, targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and other molecular growth factors, have been developed. Lenvatinib demonstrated non-inferiority to sorafenib in terms of the overall survival, and it has also become confirmed as another standard of care for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Recently, various immune checkpoint inhibitors have been investigated, either as monotherapy or in combination with another agent, and superiority of the combination of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, in terms of the overall survival and progression-free survival, has been demonstrated over sorafenib, which is recognized as the treatment regimen of first choice for first-line systemic therapy of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Regorafenib, cabozantinib and ramucirumab have been demonstrated to show survival benefits as second-line treatment agents for progressive disease after first-line sorafenib treatment. There are still various medical requirements in systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. To date, no evidence has been established for the selection of sequential treatment after immune checkpoint inhibitor-containing treatments, especially atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. A promising treatment for Child-Pugh class B hepatocellular carcinoma patients is also an urgent medical need that has not yet been met. Although there are some difficulties in establishing the needed evidence, well-designed clinical trials are warranted., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) constitute a heterogeneous group of tumors. In this review, we summarize the results of various clinical trials that have been conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of various therapeutic options for NENs. Based on the encouraging results obtained from these trials, various therapeutic options have been established for the treatment of NENs, including somatostatin analogs (SSAs), molecularly targeted drugs and cytotoxic agents. In addition, peptide receptor radionucleotide therapy has recently been evaluated for the treatment of various NENs. We also discuss the approach for selecting the appropriate drugs and sequence of treatment with the various drug classes, as recommended by different treatment guidelines. Finally, we discuss the scope for future research in this field, especially into the merits of combination therapy with molecularly targeted drugs plus SSAs, along with ongoing studies., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Background: Chemoradiotherapy is a treatment option for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. However, the efficacy of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiotherapy is uncertain. The aim of this randomized, multicentre phase II study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of chemoradiotherapy with and without induction chemotherapy to determine the significance of induction chemotherapy., Methods: Patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer were randomly assigned to the chemoradiotherapy arm (Arm A) or induction chemotherapy followed by the chemoradiotherapy arm (Arm B). Patients in Arm A underwent radiotherapy with concurrent S-1. Patients in Arm B received induction gemcitabine for 12 weeks, and thereafter, only patients with controlled disease underwent the same chemoradiotherapy as Arm A. After chemoradiotherapy, gemcitabine was continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity in both arms. The primary endpoint was overall survival., Results: Amongst 102 patients enrolled, 100 were eligible for efficacy assessment. The probability of survival was greater in Arm B in the first 12 months, but the trend was reversed in the following periods (1-year survival 66.7 vs. 69.3%, 2-year survival 36.9 vs. 18.9%). The hazard ratio was 1.255 (95% confidence interval 0.816-1.930) in favour of Arm A. Gastrointestinal toxicity was slightly more frequent and three treatment-related deaths occurred in Arm A., Conclusions: This study suggested that the chemoradiotherapy using S-1 alone had more promising efficacy with longer-term survival, compared with induction gemcitabine followed by chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced pancreatic cancer., Clinical Trial Registration: The study was registered at the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000006811., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Cancer originating in the biliary tract can be classified as bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), gallbladder cancer, or ampullary cancer. Bile duct cancer is further divided to intrahepatic, perihilar and distal bile duct subtypes according to the anatomical location of the tumor. The biological characteristics of each tumor are heterogeneous. However, because of the rarity of each disease, the efficacy of new drugs has been tested in groups of patients with different biliary tract cancers. In patients with metastatic or recurrent biliary tract cancer, recent randomized clinical trials revealed the non-inferiority of gemcitabine + S-1 and the superiority of gemcitabine + cisplatin + S-1 compared with gemcitabine + cisplatin in terms of overall survival, thereby establishing a new standard treatment. In the field of adjuvant therapy for biliary tract cancer, the British BILCAP (capecitabine compared with observation in resected biliary tract cancer) study revealed longer median overall survival in the capecitabine group than in the observation group in the per-protocol analysis (but not in the intention-to-treat analysis), bringing a shift toward postoperative management. Several other studies of adjuvant therapy are ongoing, and they may lead to reforms in treatment strategy for resectable biliary tract cancer in the future. The use of neoadjuvant therapy for biliary tract cancer is in its infancy, but it is expected to overcome the limitations of adjuvant therapy for this malignancy. In this review, we summarized the evidence available from clinical trials of adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy for biliary tract cancer and described ongoing clinical trials., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers have poor outcomes. Clinical staging is useful for predicting survival and selecting treatment options. The 8th edition of tumor-node metastasis (TNM) was published in 2016 and came into effect from 2018. Regarding liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), tumour size and vascular invasion were more emphasized adding numbers. Tumour size was included for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. T2 for gallbladder cancer was divided into two categories based on the side of invasion, and lymph node metastasis was classified according to the number of lymph nodes, not the site. The N category for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma was changed to the same as that for gallbladder cancer (total number of regional lymph nodes). The depth of tumour invasion using cut-off values of 5 and 12 mm was adopted as the T category for distal cholangiocarcinoma. The N category was also changed (the total number of regional lymph nodes). Regarding cancer of the ampulla of Vater, the T category was classified in more detail and the N category was also changed to the total number of regional lymph nodes. T1 for pancreatic cancer was separated into T1 subcategories (T1a, T1b and T1c) based on cut-off values of 5 and 10 mm. T1-T3 were classified with cut-off values of ≤2 cm, >2 to 4 cm and >4 cm. Furthermore, the N category was changed to the total number of regional lymph nodes. Although there are limitations due to treatment decisions only being based on imaging interpretation, this classification predicts the prognosis of patients more accurately than the previous edition., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

A randomized phase III trial was initiated in May 2017 to confirm the superiority of post-operative therapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin over observation in terms of relapse-free survival in patients with curatively resected small bowel adenocarcinoma. Total 150 patients will be enrolled from 20 Japanese institutions over a period of 6.5 years. Relapse-free survival is the primary endpoint, while the secondary endpoints are overall survival, disease-free survival as defined by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG), disease-free survival as defined by the International Rare Cancer Initiative (IRCI), and adverse events. Global phase III trial of IRCI to confirm the superiority of post-operative chemotherapy for small bowel adenocarcinoma was started in the UK in August 2015 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02502370). An integrated analysis of the IRCI trial and our study are planned. Our trial has been registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000027280 (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm)., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

A randomized, controlled trial has begun to compare neoadjuvant chemotherapy using gemcitabine and S-1 with upfront surgery for patients planned resection of pancreatic cancer. Patients were enrolled after the diagnosis of resectable or borderline resectable by portal vein involvement pancreatic cancer with histological confirmation. They were randomly assigned to either neoadjuvant chemotherapy or upfront surgery. Adjuvant chemotherapy using S-1 was administered for 6 months to patients with curative resection who fully recovered within 10 weeks after surgery in both arms. The primary endpoint is overall survival; secondary endpoints include adverse events, resection rate, recurrence-free survival, residual tumor status, nodal metastases and tumor marker kinetics. The target sample size was required to be at least 163 (alpha-error 0.05; power 0.8) in both arms. A total of 360 patients were required after considering ineligible cases. This trial began in January 2013 and was registered with the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000009634).

Biliary tract cancer, carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts, carcinoma of the gall bladder, ampullary carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma are often identified at an advanced stage and have poor prognoses. Although effective chemotherapy regimens are needed, their development remains unsatisfactory. From the results of a phase III clinical trial (ABC-02 trial), gemcitabine plus cisplatin is the standard first-line chemotherapeutic regimen for advanced biliary tract cancer. A phase III trial of gemcitabine plus cisplatin vs. gemcitabine plus S-1 therapy (FUGA-BT) demonstrated the non-inferiority of gemcitabine plus S-1 to gemcitabine plus cisplatin. A phase III trial of gemcitabine plus cisplatin vs. gemcitabine plus cisplatin plus S-1 (MITSUBA) was conducted, and the report on the results of the final analysis is being awaited. A standard second-line chemotherapeutic regimen has not yet been established. Fluoropyrimidines are frequently used in clinical practice. Despite many clinical trials being conducted with molecular targeted agents including erlotinib, cetuximab, panitumumab, bevacizumab, sorafenib, cediranib, trametinib and vandetanib, no agent has shown to be effective for advanced biliary tract cancer. Next-generation sequencing shows great promise by allowing rapid mutational analysis of multiple genes in human cancers, and attractive driver genetic alterations have been reported in biliary tract cancer. FGFR2 fusion gene, mutations of IDH1/2, BRAF, BRCA1/2, ATM, PIK3CA and overexpression of c-MET and HER2/neu are reported relatively frequently and are interesting targets. Therefore, future development in precision medicine utilizing next-generation sequencing is expected. Although the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1 and anti-CTLA4 antibodies, remains unknown at present, basic data and results of ongoing clinical trials are anticipated.

Objective: To evaluate prospectively the efficacy and safety of sorafenib, which has been the first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in Japanese HCC patients (pts) with not only Child-Pugh (C-P) A class but also C-P B class., Methods: Sorafenib was administered orally at the dose of 400 mg twice daily for pts with HCC and liver function of C-P score of 5-8. Administration was continued until the detection of disease progression or appearance of unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was time to progression (TTP), and toxicity and the secondary endpoints included objective response, overall survival (OS)., Results: Forty C-P A pts and 12 C-P B pts were enrolled. The median TTP in the C-P A pts and C-P B pts was 3.3 months and 3.2 months, respectively. Among the pts with C-P A, complete response, partial response, and stable disease were achieved for 2.5%, 7.5% and 47.5%. Among the pts with C-P B, there were no treatment responses, 66.7% of pts had stable disease. The median OS in the C-P A pts and C-P B pts was 13.4 months and 7.4 months, respectively. With regard to toxicities, fewer C-P A pts experienced Grade 3/4 toxicities than C-P B pts (77.5% vs. 91.6%). There were no treatment-related deaths in either group of patients., Conclusions: This study shows sorafenib has similar effectiveness in the recent post-approval studies and is well-tolerated in Japanese pts with HCC and Child Pugh A class. Sorafenib should be used with great care for Child Pugh class B pts.

No standard adjuvant treatment has been established for patients with curatively resected biliary tract cancer. S-1 has been reported to show promising efficacy with mild toxicity profiles in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer, and adjuvant S-1 therapy has been demonstrated to provide survival benefit in patients with resected gastric cancer and pancreatic cancer. The aim of this open-label, multicenter, randomized Phase III trial is to confirm that adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 would prolong overall survival in patients with resected biliary tract cancer. This study was activated in September 2013. A total of 350 patients planned to be enrolled from 36 Japanese institutions over a period of 4 years. At July 2017, the protocol was revised to increase power from 70% to 80%. Therefore, the planned total sample size is 440. The primary endpoint is overall survival. This trial is registered with the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000011688.

Chemotherapy is one of the most important treatment modalities for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). On the basis of the results of two pivotal Phase III placebo-controlled studies, sorafenib is currently acknowledged worldwide as the standard therapeutic agent for advanced HCC. Following the introduction of sorafenib for the treatment of HCC, Phase III trials of numerous other agents as first-line or second-line chemotherapy have been conducted to determine if any of these agents might offer superior survival benefit to sorafenib. In 2016, a clear survival benefit of regorafenib over placebo was demonstrated in HCC patients showing disease progression after sorafenib treatment. A year later, in 2017, lenvatinib has been shown to be non-inferior to sorafenib, in terms of the overall survival, in chemo-naïve patients with advanced HCC. More recently, promising outcomes have also been reported with new agents, such as nivolumab and cabozantinib. At present, various novel combination regimens including these agents are currently under development. Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) is frequently adopted for the treatment of locally advanced HCC in Japan, based on reports of high response rates and favorable long-term outcomes. Although some randomized controlled trials of HAIC plus sorafenib vs. sorafenib alone as first-line therapy have been conducted in patients with advanced HCC, no firm evidence of the superiority of one over the other has been established yet. In the future, demonstration of the survival advantage of HAIC and the recognition of HAIC as one of the standard treatments for patients with advanced HCC are expected., (© The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Objective: Erlotinib plus gemcitabine is approved in Japan for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. The POLARIS surveillance study investigated safety (focusing on interstitial lung disease [ILD]) and efficacy of erlotinib plus gemcitabine in Japanese pancreatic cancer patients., Methods: Patients receiving erlotinib plus gemcitabine for pancreatic cancer in Japan between July 2011 and August 2012 were enrolled. ILD-like events were independently confirmed by a review committee. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed, and risk factors for ILD occurrence were analyzed by multivariate Cox regression analysis., Results: Safety data were available for 843 patients and efficacy data for 841. Adverse drug reactions were reported in 83.5% of patients, no new safety signals were identified. ILD events were confirmed by the review committee in 52 patients (6.2%), with two fatal cases (0.2%). Median time from initial erlotinib treatment to ILD events was 70.5 days. Of the 52 patients with ILD events, 86.5% improved or fully recovered from ILD (median time 24 days). Multivariate analysis identified previous or concurrent lung disease (hazard ratio [HR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-4.5; P = 0.0365) and ≥3 organs with metastases (HR, 4.2; 95% CI, 2.2-8.2; P < 0.0001) as potential ILD risk factors. Accumulated OS rate at 28 weeks was 68.2%, and median PFS was 92 days (95% CI, 86-101)., Conclusions: Erlotinib plus gemcitabine has an acceptable safety and efficacy profile in pancreatic cancer; however, patients should be assessed for previous/concurrent lung disease and metastatic burden, before and during treatment., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and determine the recommended doses in the Phase I part of the study, and to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity in the Phase II part, of continuous hepatic intra-arterial infusion therapy with 5-fluorouracil, mitoxantrone and cisplatin (FMP therapy) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)., Methods: Forty-five patients with advanced HCC were enrolled. The therapy consisted of continuous intra-arterial infusion of 5-fluorouracil from Day 1 through Day 5, and intra-arterial administration of mitoxantrone and cisplatin on Day 1 [5-fluorouracil/mitoxantrone/cisplatin (mg/m2): Level 1; 400/4/60, Level 2; 400/6/60, Level 3; 500/6/60]., Results: In the Phase I part of the study, one of the six patients at Level 1 developed DLTs, including Grade 3 pulmonary embolism, while none of the patients at either Level 2 or Level 3 exhibited any DLTs. In the Phase II part, at Level 3, 36 patients were enrolled. Nine patients (25%) showed partial response, representing a response rate of 25% (95% confidence interval: 12-42%). The overall median survival time, 1-year survival rate and median progression-free survival time were 11.3 months, 46.9% and 7.0 months, respectively. The main Grade 3 or 4 hematological and non-hematological toxicities were leukopenia (36%), neutropenia (39%), thrombocytopenia (19%), and elevated serum aspartate aminotransferase (22%), elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (14%) and occlusion of hepatic artery (22%), respectively., Conclusion: Hepatic intra-arterial infusion therapy of FMP could not demonstrate a favorable tumor response and overall survival in patients with advanced HCC., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com)

A Phase II selection design trial was conducted to identify the most promising regimen for comparison with standard therapy in chemo-naive patients with unresectable or recurrent biliary tract cancer (JCOG0805). Gemcitabine plus S-1 therapy showed better efficacy than S-1 monotherapy with acceptable safety in JCOG0805 study. Based on this result, a randomized Phase III trial was started in May 2013 to confirm the non-inferiority of gemcitabine plus S-1 therapy relative to gemcitabine plus cisplatin therapy, which is the current standard treatment for chemo-naive patients with unresectable or recurrent biliary tract cancer. A total of 350 patients will be accrued from 32 Japanese institutions within 4 years. The primary endpoint is overall survival, while the secondary endpoints are progression-free survival, adverse events, serious adverse events, clinically significant adverse events, response rate and %planned dose. This trial has been registered with the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm) and the registration number is UMIN000010667., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: Cholangiocarcinoma is a refractory cancer whose incidence has been increasing worldwide in recent years. Neoangiogenesis plays an important role in the growth of various solid cancers, including cholangiocarcinoma. Vascular endothelial growth factor plays an important role in tumor-induced angiogenesis and its expression is associated with the progression and prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma. This study examined whether axitinib (AG-013736, INLYTA(®)), a potent and selective second-generation inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2 and 3, could be a potentially useful therapeutic agent for cholangiocarcinoma., Methods: We performed expression profiling of angiogenesis-related molecules in eight cholangiocarcinoma cell lines and found that three of them showed high vascular endothelial growth factor expression. Among them, we examined the in vivo anti-tumor effect of axitinib on NCC-BD1 (a gemcitabine-sensitive extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma cell line) and TKKK (a gemcitabine-resistant intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma cell line) using subcutaneous xenograft models., Results: Oral administration of axitinib significantly inhibited the growth of TKKK xenografts at a dose of 6 mg kg(-1) day(-1) (P<0.05), and the growth of NCC-BD1 xenografts at 30 mg kg(-1)day(-1) (P<0.05). Treated tumors showed a significant decrease of microvessel density and the tumor cell proliferation index and a mild but significant increase of the apoptotic index in comparison with untreated tumors., Conclusions: Our results suggest that axitinib should be a promising therapy for vascular endothelial growth factor-expressing cholangiocarcinoma, irrespective of tumor origin and gemcitabine sensitivity., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology Group of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) was constituted in April 2008 to develop new standard treatments for hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer. In pancreatic cancer, the Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology Group focuses on establishing standard chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for unresectable locally advanced disease. The JCOG 0506 study was a Phase II study of gemcitabine alone to examine its efficacy and safety in patients with locally advanced disease. The results in survival significantly exceeded expectations, and gemcitabine monotherapy has come to be regarded as the provisional standard therapy by our group. Following JCOG 0506, the JCOG 1106 study, which is currently under investigation, is a randomized Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy of induction chemotherapy with gemcitabine in combination with S-1 chemoradiotherapy and select a candidate therapeutic agent in a Phase III study comparing with gemcitabine alone. The JCOG 0805 study was a randomized Phase II study comparing S-1 monotherapy with gemcitabine plus S-1 combination therapy for unresectable biliary tract cancer. As a result, gemcitabine plus S-1 combination therapy was considered the more promising candidate in comparison with the gemcitabine plus cisplatin combination therapy in a subsequent Phase III trial. The Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology Group is planning a Phase III study to compare gemcitabine plus S-1 combination therapy with gemcitabine plus cisplatin combination therapy (JCOG PC1113 study). No standard postoperative adjuvant treatment has been established. We plan to conduct a Phase III study to compare S-1 as adjuvant therapy after surgery with surgery alone in patients with biliary tract cancer (JCOG PC1202).

Objective: The aim was to determine the recommended dose of combined chemotherapy with mitoxantrone and uracil/tegafur (Phase I part) and to clarify its efficacy and safety in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma at the recommended dose (Phase II part)., Methods: Patients eligible had histologically confirmed, chemo-naive advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and were amenable to established forms of treatment. The therapy consisted of mitoxantrone administered intravenously at one of three dosages (6, 8 and 10 mg/m(2)/day) on day 1 and uracil/tegafur administered orally at 300 mg/m(2) from day 1 through day 21. The treatment was repeated every 4 weeks until evidence of tumor progression or unacceptable toxicity., Results: A total of 25 patients were enrolled. In the Phase I part, dose-limiting toxicities occurred in all three patients, given mitoxantrone at the dosage of 10 mg/m(2)/day, and the recommended mitoxantrone dosage was determined to be 8 mg/m(2)/day. Among 19 patients administered the drug at the recommended dosage, 1 patient (5.3%) showed partial response, 8 patients (42.1%) showed stable disease and 10 patients (52.6%) showed progressive disease. The median survival and median progression-free survival were 8.4 and 2.5 months, respectively. The most common toxicities were Grade 3-4 leukopenia (63.2%) and neutropenia (68.4%)., Conclusions: Mitoxantrone at 8 mg/m(2) combined with uracil/tegafur at 300 mg/m(2)/day was determined to be the recommended regimen. Although this regimen was generally well tolerated, it appeared to have little activity against advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. These findings do not support the use of this combination regimen in practice.

Objective: Chemoradiotherapy with 5-fluorouracil has been accepted as a standard care for locally advanced pancreatic cancer; however, it has not been shown to be superior to chemotherapy alone in the gemcitabine era. The present multicentre phase II study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Gem monotherapy against locally advanced pancreatic cancer in comparison with the historical data of chemoradiotherapy with 5-fluorouracil., Methods: Eligibility criteria included patients with histologically proven locally advanced pancreatic cancer, all lesions encompassed by a square of 15 cm on one side, no prior treatment, good performance status and adequate organ function. Gemcitabine was given intravenously at a dose of 1000 mg/m(2) over 30 min on days 1, 8 and 15, repeated every 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was %1-year survival. Expected and threshold %1-year survival were 40 and 25%, respectively., Results: Between January 2006 and February 2007, 50 locally advanced pancreatic cancer patients were registered. The major grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropaenia (62%), thrombocytopaenia (18%), fatigue (12%) and infection-biliary tree (12%). Haematological toxicity was mostly transient and there was no episode of infection with grade 3-4 neutropaenia. Up to the final follow-up in February 2009, the median overall survival was 15.0 months with a %1-year survival of 64.0%., Conclusions: Gemcitabine monotherapy demonstrated far better survival than historical data for chemoradiotherapy with 5-fluorouracil with mild toxicities. Gemcitabine could be consider as a standard treatment for locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify prognostic factors in patients with gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer and to determine criteria for selecting candidates for second-line treatment., Methods: The records of 74 patients who were treated with gemcitabine (GEM) and followed up until disease progression were reviewed retrospectively. Sixteen clinical variables at the time of disease progression after GEM chemotherapy were chosen for analysis in this study. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify prognostic factors associated with survival., Results: At the time of analysis, 71 patients had died because of tumor progression. The overall median survival time was 5.1 months after first-line chemotherapy with GEM was initiated. Median survival time after disease progression was 2.0 months. Three factors, performance status, peritoneal dissemination and C-reactive protein level, were identified as independent prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. Median survival time in the good prognosis group (patients with performance status 0 or 1, no peritoneal dissemination and C-reactive protein <5.0 mg/dl) was 3.4 months., Conclusions: Performance status, serum level of C-reactive protein and peritoneal dissemination were identified as important prognostic factors in patients with GEM-refractory pancreatic cancer. These factors should be considered in determining the treatment following first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Background: Standard chemotherapy for advanced biliary tract cancer has not been established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of a combination chemotherapy of uracil-tegafur (UFT) and doxorubicin in patients with unresectable advanced biliary tract cancer., Methods: Patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed, measurable biliary tract cancer, including intrahepatic or extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder cancer and ampulla of Vater cancer, which was not amenable to surgery, were eligible for the study. Patients received oral UFT 300 mg/m(2) per day divided into two doses on Days 1-14 and intravenous doxorubicin 30 mg/m(2) on Day 1. This cycle was repeated every 21 days. Additional courses of this regimen were given until a maximum of 15 courses, disease progression or the appearance of unacceptable toxicity., Results: Twenty-four patients from five institutions were enrolled between March 2004 and November 2004. Of the 24 patients, three had partial responses for an objective response rate of 12.5% (95% confidence interval, 2.7-32.4%), 13 patients had stable disease, 7 had progressive disease and the final patient was not evaluated. Grade 3 toxicity was observed in 5 of the 24 patients (20.8%), and these toxicities included anorexia, fatigue, anemia and neutropenia. None had grade 4 toxicity. The median progression-free and overall survival time was 2.5 and 7.6 months, respectively., Conclusions: Combination chemotherapy of UFT and doxorubicin was well tolerated and showed preliminary moderate activity against advanced biliary tract cancer. Further investigation in a late phase II study involving a large number of patients is recommended.

Background: In an effort to improve efficacy of single-agent gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer, several studies have examined the effects of 5-FU combined with gemcitabine. However, no studies to date have been performed in Japanese patients. We thus conducted a phase I/II study of gemcitabine and infusional 5-FU in Japanese patients to determine a recommended dosage for this combination and clarify efficacy and toxicity., Methods: Phase I evaluated the frequency of dose limiting toxicity of two 5-FU dosages (400 and 500 mg/m(2)/day) infused continuously over 5 days combined with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m(2) x 3 every 4 weeks. Results from phase I determined the recommended dosage to be examined in phase II for effect on survival period, clinical benefit response (CBR), tumor response and safety., Results: A total of 34 chemo-naive patients were entered into the study. All had a Karnofsky performance of > or =50 points and distant metastases. Dose limiting toxicities in phase I determined the recommended 5-FU dosage at 400 mg/m(2)/day. Grade 3-4 hematological toxicities (neutropenia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia) were the most common severe toxicities. For the 28 patients administered the recommended dosage, 1-year survival rate was 14.3%, median survival time 7.1 months and progression free survival 3.2 months. Seven patients achieved a 25% overall response rate and three showed 27.3% improvement in CBR., Conclusion: Although a meaningful survival benefit over single-agent gemcitabine was not demonstrated, 5-FU 400 mg/m(2)/day infused continuously over 5 days in combination with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m(2) x 3 every 4 weeks appeared to be a moderately effective palliative treatment with low toxicity in Japanese patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasible dose of gemcitabine when administered as a fixed dose rate infusion (10 mg/m(2)/min) on a weekly schedule to Japanese patients with unresectable advanced pancreatic cancer., Methods: Patients were required to have histologically or cytologically proven locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer for which they had received no previous chemotherapy. Gemcitabine was administered intravenously weekly for three consecutive weeks every 4 weeks. Patients at three dose levels were scheduled to receive escalating doses of gemcitabine: 1000 mg/m(2) over 100 min (Level 1), 1200 mg/m(2) over 120 min (Level 2) and 1500 mg/m(2) over 150 min (Level 3)., Results: A total of 16 patients were enrolled in this study between December 2003 and September 2004. Maximum-tolerated dose was not reached during the first course. Dose-limiting toxicity was Grade 4 neutropenia. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia was observed at Level 3 in all six patients in the first course, and administration of gemcitabine on Day 8 or 15 was skipped in all six patients. Non-hematologic toxicity was mild and the most common symptoms were anorexia, nausea and vomiting. Partial response was achieved in 1 of the 17 patients (7%). Median overall survival was 7.3 months., Conclusions: Gemcitabine administered at a rate of 10 mg/m(2)/min was tolerated up to 1500 mg/m(2), but 1200 mg/m(2) represented a more appropriate recommended dose in further studies owing to neutropenia in Japanese patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Background: It is unclear whether primary pancreatic cancer (PC) tumors can be accepted as measurable target lesions in chemotherapy trials. We reviewed recent PC patients to clarify the significance of their computed tomography (CT) responses of the primary tumor after chemotherapy., Methods: The patient selection criteria were (i) having been admitted between January 2002 and December 2004, (ii) diagnosed as having histologically or cytologically proven adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, (iii) treated with chemotherapy with no previous anticancer treatment and (iv) having been evaluated by follow-up CT to assess the response according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria., Results: A total of 143 patients met the selection criteria. It was possible to measure the largest diameter of the primary tumor in 119 (83%) of the 143, and primary tumor shrinkage was observed in 10 (8%) of the 119. When regarding the primary as measurable as opposed to non-measurable, the number of patients with measurable disease became 127 from 67, and the frequencies of partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) became 11, 74 and 15% of the 127 from 18, 52 and 30% of the 67, respectively. In the former situation, large primary tumor sometimes canceled the shrinkage or progression of small metastasis. In each setting, PR or SD represented a favorable prognosis compared with PD, however, there were no statistical differences between the PR and the SD., Conclusion: Measuring the primary tumor is acceptable in approximately 80% of PC patients. However, we must be aware that the frequency of SD may increase compared with the PR or PD.

Background: Recent advances in cancer chemotherapy have increased not only the survival rate but also the treatment cost, although there has been little interest in cost analyses in Japan., Method: The actual cost of pancreatic cancer treatment was surveyed especially with respect to the difference after April 2001, which was the date that gemcitabine was introduced in Japan., Results: A total of 113 patients were admitted consecutively from April 2000 to March 2002. Among the 113 patients, the total treatment cost over a lifetime was calculated in 54. In those 54 patients, the median treatment cost and survival time were $43,865 and 26.2 months for resectable disease (n = 14), $30,676 and 10.0 months for locally advanced disease (n = 21), and $29,255 and 4.8 months for metastatic disease (n = 19), respectively. Of the 54, 26 patients were admitted before April 2001 (Group A) and the remaining 28 were admitted thereafter (Group B). There were significantly more patients who received gemcitabine chemotherapy in Group B (19 of the 28) than in Group A (none of the 26). The median treatment cost and survival times were $35,744 and 7.4 months in Group A, and $35,226 and 8.8 months in Group B, respectively, whereas the total cost of anticancer agents was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A., Conclusion: Although cost of gemcitabine is about 18-fold higher than 5-fluorouracil in Japan, the total costs after gemcitabine introduction did not tend to become higher in our hospital, probably because of simplification in examinations and shorter hospitalization.