Capecitabine vs. Gemcitabine for Pancreatic Cancer

The treatment for locally advanced and inoperable pancreatic cancer is controversial, with studies indicating an inconsistent benefit for adding radiotherapy to chemotherapy. The optimal chemotherapy agent to use with concurrent radiotherapy is also not clearly established; although gemcitabine is superior to 5-fluorouracil for metastatic disease, fluorinated pyrimidine-based adjuvant chemotherapy is equivalent to gemcitabine after surgery.

Now, investigators from the U.K. report the results of a phase II, multicenter, open-label, randomized trial comparing the use of radiotherapy with either oral capecitabine to weekly gemcitabine in 114 adults with locally advanced and inoperable pancreatic cancer. Patients received induction chemotherapy …