Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Curatively Resected Gallbladder Carcinoma: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

PURPOSE: To compare overall survival (OS) between patients receiving radical resection followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (S+CCRT) and patients receiving radical resection only (S) for advanced resectable gallbladder carcinoma (GBC).

METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ninety-four GBC patients with stage pT2-4, N0-1, and M0 consented to inclusion in a clinical database from June 2003 to July 2013. Patients who received S+CCRT were matched by propensity score with those who received S through nearest-neighbor matching, with a caliper width of 0.2 to ensure similar baseline characteristics between each group. The effects of CCRT on OS and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed on the entire cohort. Adverse effects and oncologic outcomes were assessed.

RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients with GBC (39 S+CCRT; 39 S) were matched according to propensity score; the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS was 74.4%, 56.4%, and 42.4% for the S+CCRT group and 51.3%, 30.8%, and 17.9% for the S group. The median survival time was 27 months (interquartile range [IQR], 12-58 months) for the S+CCRT group versus 13 months (IQR, 5-30 months) for the S group (P=.004), with the 1-year and 3-year DFS being 59.0% versus 35.9% and 48.7% versus 13.5%, respectively, and the median DFS being 23 months (IQR, 8-57 months) versus 7 months (IQR, 4-23 months) (P=.004).

CONCLUSIONS: The OS of matched patients with stage II-IVA GBC is significantly improved by CCRT. Radiation therapy combined with single-agent or dual-agent chemotherapy was feasible and well tolerated.