Zhang X, Huang HJ, Feng D, Yang DJ, Wang CM, Cai QP. Is concomitant radiotherapy necessary with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer? World J Gastroenterol 2014; 20(46): 17648-17655 [PMID: 25516680 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i46.17648]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Qing-Ping Cai, Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, No. 415 Fengyang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai 200003, China. caiqp1969@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Meta-Analysis
Open-Access Policy of This Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 14, 2014; 20(46): 17648-17655 Published online Dec 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i46.17648
Is concomitant radiotherapy necessary with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer?
Xin Zhang, He-Jing Huang, Dan Feng, De-Jun Yang, Chang-Ming Wang, Qing-Ping Cai
Xin Zhang, De-Jun Yang, Chang-Ming Wang, Qing-Ping Cai, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003, China
He-Jing Huang, Department of Hematology, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003, China
Dan Feng, Department of Oncology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
Author contributions: Zhang X, Huang HJ and Feng D contributed equally to this work; all authors contributed to the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81402359 and No. 81372670
Correspondence to: Qing-Ping Cai, Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, No. 415 Fengyang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai 200003, China. caiqp1969@hotmail.com
Telephone: +86-21-81885601 Fax: +86-21-81885601
Received: March 25, 2014 Revised: June 5, 2014 Accepted: July 29, 2014 Published online: December 14, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: We performed this meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine plus radiotherapy compared with gemcitabine alone for pancreatic cancer (PC). A total of 336 participants from four original studies were included. Gemcitabine plus radiotherapy resulted in comparable survival results to gemcitabine alone. Moreover, concomitant radiotherapy was associated with a significantly higher incidence of severe (grade 3 or greater) toxicities, mainly anemia, leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, anorexia, nausea/vomiting, and asthenia/fatigue. Therefore, radiotherapy is not beneficial with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy for PC. Further exploration for better radiotherapy approaches and therapeutic regimens in the treatment of PC is still warranted.
