The Modified Glasgow Prognostic Score in Patients with Gemcitabine-refractory Biliary Tract Cancer

Abstract

Background: No standard second-line chemotherapy has been yet established for gemcitabine-refractory biliary tract cancer (BTC).

Patients and methods: We conducted multivariable Cox regression analysis to examine the prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in patients who had received gemcitabine-based treatment.

Results: Forty-six patients received second-line chemotherapy. The median serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) value was 487 U/ml. The modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) was: 0 (n=24), 1 (n=10), or 2 (n=10). The second-line chemotherapy included: S-1 in 20 patients, gemcitabine-based in 20, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors in five. The median OS was 8.3 months, and the median progression-free survival was 3.0 months. Multivariate analysis identified serum CA 19-9 ≥500 U/ml, mGPS ≥1, and presence of liver metastasis as significant prognostic factors for OS.

Conclusion: Second-line chemotherapy for gemcitabine-refractory BTC remains inadequate. Randomized trials with appropriate stratification criteria are required.

Keywords: Biliary tract cancer; S-1; chemotherapy; gemcitabine; modified Glasgow prognostic score.