Real life data and outcome of FOLFIRINOX use in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients in general hospitals in the Netherlands

Abstract Introduction Pancreatic cancer is one of the five most common causes of cancer mortality in developed countries. In patients with metastatic disease, the most frequent treatment used is FOLFIRINOX, which is associated with moderate toxicity which could influence quality of life. The efficacy of FOLFIRINOX in a general population in the Netherlands hasn’t been subject of research before and therefore this research has been set up in order to investigate what the real-life benefits of FOLFIRINOX are in a population with metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPC) treated in a general hospital in the Netherlands. Methods The data used in this study was collected by patient records leading to a noninterventional retrospective cohort study. Ninety-two patients, over 18 years of age, diagnosed with mPC between the years 2015 and 2022 and treated with FOLFIRINOX at Maasstad hospital in Rotterdam, Amphia hospital in Breda or Catharina hospital in Eindhoven were included in the study. Kaplan-Meier models were used in order to represent survival outcomes Results Results showed, a median overall survival of 228 days (IQR118-351) and a median progression-free survival of 122 days (IQR 72–209). Only 14.1% (n = 13) completed the full first-line treatment and 50% (n = 46) of patients stopped treatment before or during cycle 6. Toxicity is highest, grade 3, after the first cycle but remains high for grade 1 and 2 during all treatment cycles. Conclusion Survival rates for patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer treated with FOLFIRINOX were worse in our study population than in comparative studies