Incidence of trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity and impact of body mass index in patients with breast cancer: Results from a Saudi tertiary cancer center.

The effect of BMI as a risk factor in trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity in Saudi patients with HER2-neu positive breast cancer treated with trastuzumab and anthracyclines is not fully understood. The present study retrospectively evaluated the overall incidence of cardiotoxicity and the effect of BMI as a risk factor for cardiotoxicity. A retrospective study performed between 2011 and 2015 of patients with Her2-neu positive early breast cancer who were treated with either a combination of trastuzumab and anthracycline or a combination of trastuzumab with non-anthracycline or hormonal treatment in the adjuvant settings was carried out.

Validity and feasibility of the Arabic version of distress thermometer for Saudi cancer patients.

Background: The distress thermometer (DT) has been studied and validated as an effective screening instrument for identifying distress among cancer patients worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the validity of the Arabic version of the DT in Saudi cancer patients, to define the optimal cutoff point of the Arabic DT for detecting clinically significant distress and to determine whether there is any correlation between clinically significant distress and other demographic and Problem List variables.

Methods: The original form of the DT was translated to Arabic using a forward and backward translation method.

Rapid onset severe thrombocytopenia following reexposure to piperacillin-tazobactam: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Pipercillin-tazobactam is a frequently used antibiotic that has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. The development of severe thrombocytopenia following the use of piperacillin-tazobactam is unusual. Several mechanisms have been proposed for the pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia in this setting which include immune and non-immune causes.

Efficacy and Toxicity of Metronomic Chemotherapy in Metastatic Breast Cancer: Egyptian Experience.

Background: Metronomic chemotherapy (MC) has shown efficacy in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We therefore tested the efficacy and toxicity of MC in pretreated MBC.

Patients And Methods: This prospective phase II study included 50 patients with heavily pretreated MBC who received MC in the form of continuous oral cyclophosphamide 50 mg/day and oral methotrexate 2.

Primary chemotherapy with low-dose prolonged infusion gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with bladder cancer: a Phase II trial.

Background: Gemcitabine is an active agent in the treatment of bladder cancer. The enzyme deoxycytidine kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of gemcitabine into the active gemcitabine triphosphate. After an infusion during 30 minutes, this enzyme will be saturated, therefore, accumulation of higher intracellular concentrations of the active gemcitabine triphosphate could be achieved by prolonging the infusion time of gemcitabine.