Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate S-1 and oxaliplatin combination chemotherapy (SOX) in patients with refractory pancreatic cancer (PC).
Methods: Consecutive patients with advanced PC refractory to gemcitabine who were treated with oral S-1 (80 mg/m²) on days 1-14 and intravenous oxaliplatin (100 mg/m²) on day 1 every 3 weeks were studied retrospectively. The primary end point was the objective response rate (ORR). The secondary end points were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), the disease control rate (DCR), and safety.
Results: Between March 2009 and October 2011, 30 patients were treated with SOX, with a median of two courses (range 1-8). The ORR and DCR were 10.0 and 50.0 %, respectively. Median PFS and OS were 3.4 months (95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.3-5.3) and 5.0 months (95 % CI 3.4-7.4), respectively. The median PFS and OS were 5.6 and 9.1 months in patients receiving S-1 and oxaliplatin as a second-line treatment. Major grade 3 or 4 adverse events included neutropenia (10.0 %), anemia (3.3 %), and diarrhea (6.7 %).
Conclusions: SOX was well tolerated and moderately effective in patients with refractory PC.