Combination Therapy with Capecitabine and Cisplatin as Second-Line Chemotherapy for Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Palliative chemotherapy is the main treatment for advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). However, there is a lack of established second-line chemotherapy to treat disease progression after first-line chemotherapy. We examined combination therapy with capecitabine and cisplatin for advanced BTC as a second-line regimen.

METHODS: We analyzed the medical records of 40 patients diagnosed with BTC who received palliative second-line chemotherapy with capecitabine and cisplatin.

RESULTS: The median overall survival from the start of second-line chemotherapy was 6.3 months. The median overall survival from diagnosis was 17.9 months. The median progression-free survival during second-line chemotherapy was 2.3 months. Nine (30%) patients experienced adverse events of grade ≥3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score was an independent predictor of adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS: Combination therapy with capecitabine and cisplatin may be an option for second-line chemotherapy in some of patients with advanced BTC.