A phase II study of isoflavones, erlotinib, and gemcitabine in advanced pancreatic cancer.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
BACKGROUND: The EGFR/Akt/NF-κB signalling pathway is frequently deregulated in pancreatic cancer and contributes to cell growth, metastasis and chemoresistance. An isoflavone, genistein, inactivates Akt and NF-κB and enhances the anti-tumor activity of erlotinib and gemcitabine in experimental systems of pancreas cancer. This phase II study was undertaken to determine the effects of adding isoflavone to a regimen of gemcitabine and erlotinib on survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. METHODS: Eligibility included previously untreated patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Patients received gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m² on days 1, 8, and 15, and erlotinib 150 mg once daily P.O. on day 1 to day 28. Soy isoflavones (Novasoy®) were administered at a dose of 531 mg twice daily P.O. starting day -7 until the end of study participation. RESULTS: Twenty patients with advanced pancreas cancer were enrolled (median age 57.9 years). Sixteen patients had stage IV disease. The median number of cycles was 2 per patient. The median survival time was 5.2 months (95% CI, 4.6-N/A months). The probability of survival at 6 months was 50% (95% CI, 32-78%). CONCLUSIONS: The addition of soy isoflavones to gemcitabine and erlotinib did not appear to increase the survival of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- El-Rayes, BF; Philip, PA; Sarkar, FH; Shields, AF; Ferris, AM; Hess, K; Kaseb, AO; Javle, MM; Varadhachary, GR; Wolff, RA; Abbruzzese, JL
Published Date
- August 2011
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 29 / 4
Start / End Page
- 694 - 699
PubMed ID
- 20107864
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1573-0646
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1007/s10637-010-9386-6
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States