Gemcitabine, Oxaliplatin and Bevacizumab in patients with biliary tract cancers

Abstract

Introduction: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are relatively rare cancers with poor prognosis. There are few effective chemotherapy regimens available for the treatment of metastatic disease and gemcitabine-based combination therapy is frequently utilized. Vascular endothelial growth factor is expressed in the BTCs and is associated with poor prognosis. Bevacizumab, an antiangiogenic antibody, may play a role in the treatment of metastatic BTCs.

Presentation: We report the outcomes in six patients with BTCs treated with the combination of gemcitabine, oxaliplatin and bevacizumab (GEMOX-B) at Thomas Jefferson University. Three patients had previously been treated with different chemotherapy regimens. Two patients achieved partial response and four patients had stable disease. One patient was able to undergo curative resection. Progression free survival ranged from 6 to 42 months.

Conclusions: GEMOX-B is an active regimen in the treatment of metastatic BTCs and needs to be investigated in a randomized clinical trial.