Phase II trial of oxaliplatin combined with leucovorin and fluorouracil for recurrent/metastatic biliary tract carcinoma

Biliary tract carcinoma is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and there is currently no established palliative standard of care. This phase II study investigated the efficacy and safety of combination chemotherapy of oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in biliary tract carcinoma. Patients with unresectable or recurrent biliary tract carcinoma were enrolled, including pretreated and chemotherapy-naive patients. Treatment consisted of intravenous oxaliplatin (100g mg/m, day 1) followed by leucovorin (100g mg/m, day 1) and 5-FU (1000g mg/m, days 1 and 2). Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks. The efficacy and safety of the treatment were determined. Twenty-eight patients were evaluable, and a total of 166 cycles were administered (median five cycles). One complete response (3.6%) and five partial responses (17.9%) were noted, with a response rate of 21.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 6.2g-36.7], according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria. The median time to progression and overall survival was 3.5 months (95% CI: 2.7g-4.3) and 10.0 months (95% CI: 7.2g-12.8), respectively. The 1-year survival rate was 17.8%. Grade 3/4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were recorded in 18 and 4% of the patients, respectively. No treatment-related death was observed. Oxaliplatin in combination with leucovorin and 5-FU should be considered a feasible chemotherapy regimen for patients with recurrent/metastatic biliary tract carcinoma.