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Gallbladder Cancer Responds to Chemotherapy: Presented at ASCO-GI

By Roberta Friedman, PhD

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- January 26, 2004 -- Chemotherapy can extend the life of patients with inoperable or metastasized cancer of the gallbladder, according to a study reported here January 24^th at the First Annual Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, sponsored jointly by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and other societies.

Study presenter José Reyes-Vidal, MD, Clinica Las Condes, Las Condes, Chile, said Chile has appreciable rates of gallbladder cancer, which is relatively rare elsewhere. It is the main cause of cancer mortality in Chilean women, Dr. Reyes-Vidal said, and "we expect it to increase in the next 10 years."

Of 44 patients treated. 42 had at least a single course of chemotherapy, and the objective response rate was 48%. This included four patients who had a complete response.

"Gallbladder cancer is responsive to chemotherapy," said Dr. Reyes-Vidal, "we can obtain a response in this very poor prognostic cancer, in almost 50% of our patients."

Median survival was three or four times the historical rate of 73 days for untreated patients, he added. And, the patients had a "dramatic" improvement in quality of life, he said, "that was my clinical impression."

The regimen was 1200 mg/m² of gemcitabine and 35 mg/m² of cisplatin on days 1 and 8, every 21 days for a total of six courses.

Factors that put people in Chile at risk of gall bladder cancer include obesity and gallstones, especially stones bigger than 3 cm in diameter, Dr. Reyes-Vidal said. "We are studying what happens if we take these patients and perform cholecystectomy."

Researchers in Chile are also considering if screening for gallstones would be cost effective, he said.


[Study title: Gemcitabine (Gem) and cisplatin (CIS) in the treatment of patients (pts) with unresectable or metastatic gallbladder cancer. Results of the phase II GOCCHI study 2000-13. Abstract OP87]

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