Preoperative Gemcitabine and Cisplatin Followed by Gemcitabine-Based Chemoradiation for Resectable Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreatic Head

Abstract

Preoperative Gem-Cis-XRT did not improve survival beyond that achieved with preoperative gemcitabine-based chemoradiation (Gem-XRT) alone. The longer preoperative interval required more durable biliary decompression (metal stents) but was not associated with local tumor progression. The gemcitabine-based chemoradiation platform is a reasonable foundation on which to build future phase II multimodality trials for stage I/II pancreatic cancer incorporating emerging systemic therapies.