In a multicenter, randomized, phase 2/3 trial, the 4-drug combination oxaliplatin/irinotecan/fluorouracil/leucovorin (FOLFIRINOX) prolonged median overall and progression-free survival and increased the overall response rate compared with gemcitabine, the reference standard, for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma and good performance status (0-1). However, the combination regimen was associated with more adverse events, especially febrile neutropenia, and a decrease in quality of life.
Complete results of this Groupe Tumeurs Digestives of Unicancer and the PRODIGE Intergroup trial are available in the May 12 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1011923?query=TOC).