Comparison of adjuvant gemcitabine plus S-1 with S-1 monotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Retrospective real-world data

BACKGROUND: S-1 has been recognized as one of the standard adjuvant chemotherapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in East Asia, but the optimal adjuvant chemotherapy regimen has not been determined. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of adjuvant gemcitabine plus S-1 (GS) with S-1 monotherapy for PDAC. METHODS: Patients with resected PDAC who received adjuvant GS or S-1 chemotherapy in Peking Union Medical College Hospital between May 2014 and May 2022 were reviewed. Data retrieved from medical records were used to evaluate efficacy and toxicity. RESULTS: A total of 241 patients were included, with 167 receiving GS and 74 receiving S-1. The patients who received GS were generally younger (median [range] age: 62 [36-78] versus 64 [44-87] years, p = 0.004), but chemotherapy began later (median [range] interval between chemotherapy and surgery: 49 [17-125] versus 40 [16-100] days, p < 0.001). The median disease-free survival (DFS, 15.1 versus 15.9 months, p = 0.52) and overall survival (OS, 34.8 versus 27.1 months, p = 0.34) did not differ significantly between the GS and S-1 groups, even after adjustment for the biases. However, the chemotherapy completion rate was higher in the patients treated with S-1 (52.4% versus 75.7%, p = 0.006), while grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred more frequently in the GS group (49.5% versus 18.2%, p = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant S-1 monotherapy demonstrated noninferiority to the GS regimen in DFS and OS with better tolerability for PDAC following surgery.