Oral Adjuvant Chemotherapy with S-1 or Uracil-tegafur versus Surgery Alone in Patients with Biliary Tract Cancer

Objective: We compared the influence of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with oral anticancer drugs (S-1 or uracil-tegafur [UFT]) and the influence of surgery alone on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with biliary tract cancer. Methods: This retrospective study included 108 patients with gallbladder cancer (n=22) or bile duct cancer (n=86), who underwent curative resection. The patients were divided into surgery alone (n=58), UFT (n=39; 400 mg/m2/day), and S-1 groups (n=11; 80 mg/m2, days 1–28, twice daily), and outcomes and adverse effects were compared. Results: The 2-year DFS rate was significantly higher in the S-1 group than in the surgery alone group for all patients (72.7% vs. 32.8%, p=0.046). For the patients with gallbladder cancer, the 2-year OS and DFS rates were significantly higher in the UFT group than in the surgery alone group (36.4% vs.0%, p=0.033 and 27.4% vs. 0% p=0.032, respectively; log-rank test). For patients with lymph node metastasis, the 2-year OS and DFS rates were significantly higher in the S-1 group than in the surgery alone group (71.4% vs. 18.2%, p=0.039 and 71.4% vs. 18.2%, p=0.026, respectively) Conclusion: Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy might improve both the OS and DFS rates, particularly in patients with gallbladder cancer and those with biliary tract cancer and lymph node metastasis.