Irinotecan-induced severe neutropenia is associated with homozygosity for the UGT1A1*28 or UGT1A1*6 alleles. In this study, we determined the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of irinotecan in patients with UGT1A1 polymorphisms. Patients who had received chemotherapy other than irinotecan for metastatic gastrointestinal cancer were enrolled. Patients were divided into three groups according to UGT1A1 genotypes: wild-type (*1 ⁄ *1); heterozygous (*28 ⁄ *1, *6 ⁄ *1); or homozygous (*28 ⁄ *28, *6 ⁄ *6, *28 ⁄ *6). Irinotecan was given every 2 weeks for two cycles. The wild-type group received a fixed dose of irinotecan (150 mg ⁄ m 2 ) to serve as a reference. The MTD was guided from 75 to 150 mg ⁄ m 2 by the continual reassessment method in the heterozygous and homozygous groups. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) and pharmacokinetics were evaluated during cycle 1. Of 82 patients enrolled, DLT was assessable in 79 patients (wild-type, 40; heterozygous, 20; and homozygous, 19). Dose-limiting toxicity occurred in one patient in the wild-type group, none in the heterozygous group, and six patients (grade 4 neutropenia) in the homozygous group. In the homozygous group, the MTD was 150 mg ⁄ m 2 and the probability of DLT was 37.4%. The second cycle was delayed because of neutropenia in 56.3% of the patients given the MTD. The AUC 0-24 h of SN-38 was significantly greater (P < 0.001) and more widely distributed in the homozygous group. Patients homozygous for the UGT1A1*28 or UGT1A1*6 allele can receive irinotecan in a starting dose of 150 mg ⁄ m 2 , but many required dose reductions or delayed treatment in subsequent cycles.

BackgroundThis multicenter, randomized phase II trial was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of nimotuzumab plus irinotecan (N-IRI) versus irinotecan alone (IRI) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) showing disease progression after previous 5-fluorouracil-based therapy.MethodsIrinotecan-naive patients (n = 82) received N-IRI (nimotuzumab 400 mg weekly plus irinotecan 150 mg/m2 biweekly) or IRI (irinotecan 150 mg/m2 biweekly) until disease progression. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), response rate (RR), safety, tolerability, and the correlation between efficacy and tumor epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression.ResultsOf 83 patients, 40 and 43 patients were randomly assigned to the N-IRI and IRI groups, respectively. In the N-IRI/IRI treatment group, median PFS was 73.0/85.0 days (P = 0.5668), and median OS and RR at 18 months were 250.5/232.0 days (P = 0.9778) and 18.4/10.3 %, respectively. Median PFS and OS in the EGFR 2+/3+ subgroups were 118.5/59.0 and 358.5/229.5 days, respectively. The RR was 33.3/0.0 % in the N-IRI/IRI treatment group. The incidence of grade 3 or higher adverse events was 77.5/64.3 %. No adverse events of grade 3 or higher skin rash or grade 3 or higher infusion-related reaction were reported.ConclusionsThere was no superiority of N-IRI over IRI alone in terms of PFS in 5-fluorouracil-refractory AGC patients. However, N-IRI showed potential improvement in the EGFR 2+/3+ subgroup based on improved RR, PFS, and OS.

The aims of this phase I/II study of docetaxel and S-1 were to determine the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), and recommended dose (RD) in the phase I part and to explore the tumour response, survival and safety in the phase II part. Patients with histologically-or cytologically confirmed unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer were eligible. Treatment consisted of intravenous docetaxel on day 1 (starting dose 50 mg m À2 ) and oral S-1 at a fixed dose of 40 mg m À2 twice daily on days 1 -14, every 4 weeks up to six cycles. Nine patients took part in the phase I portion of the study. The MTD of docetaxel was determined to be 50 mg m À2 , with the DLTs of grade 3 infection associated with grade 3 neutropenia and grade 4 neutropenia during S-1 administration. The RD of docetaxel was 40 mg m À2 in combination with S-1 40 mg m À2 b.i.d. The efficacy and safety of this regimen was therefore assessed in 46 patients with at least one measurable lesion. The overall response rate and estimated median overall survival were 46% (95% CI, 31 -61%) and 14.0 months (8.3 -17.3 months), respectively. The most common grade 3/4 toxicity was neutropenia (67% of patients), which was predictable and manageable. This regimen showed promising activity with moderate toxicities in advanced gastric cancer.

Background:We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of irinotecan/S-1 (IRIS) therapy with S-1 monotherapy in patients with gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer.Methods:Patients were treated with oral S-1 (80–120 mg for 14 days every 4 weeks) plus intravenous irinotecan (100 mg m−2 on days 1 and 15 every 4 weeks; IRIS group) or oral S-1 group (80–120 mg daily for 28 days every 6 weeks). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).Results:Of 137 patients enrolled, 127 were eligible for efficacy. The median PFS in the IRIS group and S-1 monotherapy group were 3.5 and 1.9 months, respectively (hazard ratio (HR)=0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.53–1.11; P=0.18), while the median overall survival (OS) were 6.8 and 5.8 months, respectively (HR=0.75; 95% CI, 0.51–1.09; P=0.13). Response rate was significantly higher in the IRIS group than in the S-1 monotherapy group (18.3% vs 6.0%, P=0.03). Grade 3 or higher neutropenia and anorexia occurred more frequently in the IRIS group.Conclusions:There was a trend for better PFS and OS in the IRIS group that could be a treatment arm in the clinical trials for gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer.

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