Fluoropyrimidine-based doublet chemotherapy as second-line treatment for advanced biliary tract cancer: a meta-analysis of ABC-06 and NIFTY

The 2021 has seen the publication of two practice-changing trials on second-line fluoropyrimidine-based doublet chemotherapy for advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients. Herein, we conducted a meta-analysis aimed at assessing the overall survival (OS), disease control rate (DCR), and overall response rate (ORR) in ABC-06 and NIFTY trials.We retrieved all the relevant trials through PubMed/Medline, Cochrane library, and EMBASE; additionally, proceedings of the main international oncological meetings were also searched for relevant abstracts. Outcomes of interest included OS, DCR, and ORR. Hazard Ratios (HRs) and their 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) for OS, and Odds Ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for DCR and ORR, were extracted.According to our results, fluoropyrimidine-based doublet chemotherapy significantly decreased the risk of death (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.49-0.8) compared with control treatment. In addition, higher DCR and ORR were observed in BTC patients receiving fluoropyrimidine-based combinations.Although ABC-06 and NIFTY have recently established fluoropyrimidine-based doublet chemotherapy as the standard of care, the role of second-line chemotherapy remains the object of debate in the BTC medical community. Further studies are required to clarify the role of second-line fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy in some 'neglected' populations, including BTC patients with poor ECOG-PS.