Fanconi's anaemia and recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity: a case report.

Fanconi's anaemia is a rare genetic disorder and majority of the patients die of haematologic complications in their second or third decades of life. Others who have mild or no cytopenias survive long enough to develop malignancies. This is a report of a 44-year-old woman who presented with recurrent oral squamous cell carcinoma during her adulthood, without clinical haematological problem.

A report of infusional 5-fluorouracil and subcutaneous alpha-2A-interferon in the treatment of advanced colorectal carcinoma.

Systemic chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been the mainstay of treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma. Administering the drug in a continuous low-dose schedule has produced better result than bolus therapy. Resistance to short-pulse treatment can also be overcome by prolonged exposure.

Primary mediastinal germ cell tumour.

Testicular germ cell tumour is said to be a model for curable neoplasm. However, the prognosis of primary extragonadal germ cell tumour does not appear to be as promising. Though similar in histology, the biology of primary extragonadal germ cell tumour is different as exemplified by the patients in this review.

Role of maintenance oral dexamethasone in prophylaxis of delayed emesis caused by moderately emetogenic chemotherapy.

Background: Although usually a problem of cisplatin-based chemotherapy, delayed emesis can cause severe distress in patients treated with cyclophosphamide. Dexamethasone has been shown to be effective in the control of cisplatin-induced delayed emesis, but its role against the delayed problem in patients treated with cyclophosphamide has not been demonstrated. Our study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dexamethasone in delayed emesis induced by cyclophosphamide.

Effect of polysaccharide-peptide (PSP), an extract from yun-zhi, on chemotherapy-induced cytopenias.

Polysaccharide-peptide (PSP) is a protein-bound complex carbohydrate derived from mycelia extract of Chinese fungus coriolus versicolor, or better known as Yun-Zhi. It has been shown to inhibit growth of cultured tumour cells, and it prevents cytotoxic-induced bone marrow suppression. An animal study was conducted with 24 Wistar rats to verify the myeloprotective effect of PSP.

Immunotherapy of human cancers.

Advances in molecular biology technologies have significantly facilitated the identification of functional genes which cause, promote or control a variety of human diseases. Through recombinant DNA and polymerase chain reaction technologies, individual genes responsible for specific diseases have been identified, and consequently, the prospect that these diseases might be "cured" through replacement of the defective genes by their normal counterparts become distinct possibilities. Therefore, the goal of gene therapy is to apply this technology to the treatment of human diseases.

Primary cerebral lymphoma--a case report and review of the management.

The brain is an uncommon extranodal site for the development of malignant lymphoma. There is an increased risk among immunocompromised patients. While the overall outcome is poor, innovative approaches with combination chemotherapy and radiotherapy can sometimes produce durable remissions.

Resolution of superior vena cava obstruction in small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy.

Small cell lung cancer is a highly chemo-sensitive malignancy. As it often presents with a central lesion, superior vena cava obstruction (SVCO) is not an uncommon manifestation. From January 1990 to December 1993, 161 patients with small cell lung carcinoma were seen at our institution.

Extract of astragalus membranaceus and ligustrum lucidum does not prevent cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression.

There is increasing evidence that many Chinese medicinal herbs are promising biological response modifiers in cancer treatment. The extract of some Chinese herbs have shown ability in stimulating the bone marrow and improving the peripheral white cell counts in rats. We studied the effect of a dried extract of two commonly used Chinese herbs, Astragalus membranaceus (AM) and Ligustrum lucidum (LL) on cytotoxic-induced myelosuppression.

Randomised study comparing imipenem/cilastatin to ceftriaxone plus gentamicin in cancer chemotherapy-induced neutropenic fever.

Prompt initiation of empiric antibiotic therapy is the cornerstone in the therapy of chemotherapy-induced neutropenic sepsis in cancer patients. Ceftriaxone plus gentamicin (ceftriaxone/gentamicin) is the most widely used combination of empiric antibiotics in the Department of Medical Oncology, Singapore General Hospital. However, imipenem/cilastatin has been shown to be a practical alternative.

Dementia in elderly patients: can the 3R mental stimulation programme improve mental status?

The aim of this study was to determine whether the 3R mental stimulation programme can improve the mental status score (MSS) of a group of patients with dementia attending a day care centre. Fifteen patients with dementia attending a day care centre were exposed to the 3R stimulation programme over eight weeks while 15 controls were not. All patients from both groups were subjected to pre- and post-exposure questionnaires modified from the Mental Status Questionnaire of Kahn et al.

Control of emesis by intravenous granisetron in breast cancer patients treated with 5-FU, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide.

Granisetron, a potent and selective 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (5-HT3) antagonist was reported to be an effective antiemetic agent both in animal studies and in patients given highly emetogenic chemotherapy. A sample of 43 patients with breast cancer was accrued from September to November 1992 in a phase II study to assess the efficacy of granisetron in patients receiving FEC (5-FU, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide). Each patient received 3 mg intravenous granisetron as a single dose just prior to chemotherapy.

A phase II trial of 5-fluorouracil and cisplatinum in recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: A phase II clinical trial of the combination of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatinum (CDDP) was conducted in 24 patients (pts) with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. None of the patients had prior chemotherapy and all but 4 had prior radiotherapy.

Patients And Methods: 5-FU was administered by intravenous (i.

Use of oral and intravenous ondansetron in patients treated with cisplatin.

Ondansetron, a selective 5-HT3 antagonist, has been shown to be effective in preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. From July and August 1991, 25 patients were accrued in a phase II study to assess the efficacy of ondansetron in patients receiving cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. Patients received intravenous cisplatin 100 mg/m2, given either as a 24-hour infusion on day 1 or in divided doses as eight-hour infusions daily on days 1 to 3.

Common toxicities of cancer chemotherapy.

Sixty cancer patients who were receiving chemotherapy at an outpatient Oncology Centre were surveyed for their views on a list of treatment-related toxicities. The severity of each toxicity was assessed using a visual analogue scale. Sixty percent of patients felt that the overall toxicity was acceptable.

MACOP-B in advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Between May 1986 and March 1991, 38 patients with previously untreated advanced intermediate and high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were treated with methotrexate, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and bleomycin (MACOP-B): 73% of the patients had stages III and IV disease, 55% had "B" symptoms, and 55% had bulky disease (nodal masses > 10 cm). Histologic subtypes included diffuse large-cell and immunoblastic lymphoma. In 96% of patients clinical response was achieved (69% complete response and 27% partial response).

Physical fitness, age, and injury incidence in infantry soldiers.

Injuries are a common occurrence in young, active civilian and military populations. This study examined injury incidence and the association of musculoskeletal injuries with age and physical fitness in soldiers. Subjects were a cohort of 298 male soldiers assigned to an infantry battalion in Alaska.

Management of chemotherapy-induced neutropenic sepsis--combination of cephalosporin and aminoglycoside.

In cancer patients undergoing combination chemotherapy, neutropenic febrile episode (NFE) is a life-threatening condition. Prompt initiation of empirical antibiotics is essential to limit morbidity and mortality. To understand the effectiveness of combination antibiotics consisting of a third-generation cephalosporin and an aminoglycoside, a retrospective review of all patients admitted for NFEs was conducted.

Implantable subcutaneous infusion ports.

Limited vascular access hinders administration of chemotherapy, blood products and antibiotics in cancer patients. Repeated venous cannulation is often psychologically traumatic to patients. The use of a subcutaneous infusion port allows convenient vascular access.

The Stanford experience with combined procarbazine, Alkeran and vinblastine (PAVe) and radiotherapy for locally extensive and advanced stage Hodgkin's disease.

This report describes the efficacy and toxicity of PAVe (procarbazine, Alkeran, vinblastine) and irradiation (RT) in the management of 159 patients with locally extensive or advanced stage Hodgkin's disease (HD) at Stanford University. Patients received six courses of chemotherapy alternating with RT. The extent of RT and the schedule of treatment varied according to the stage of disease.

Adult parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma--a case report and literature review.

Although rhabdomyosarcoma is predominantly a malignant disease of children, it is also seen in adults. Since adults account for only 15% of rhabdomyosarcomas, the experience gathered for the treatment of the malignancy has been derived from treating children. The treatment of a case of adult extensive parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma with CyVADlC chemotherapy and radiotherapy is described, together with a review of the literature.

Combined chemotherapy using cisplatin, ifosfamide and bleomycin (PIB) in the treatment of advanced and recurrent cervical carcinoma.

Combined cisplatin, ifosfamide and bleomycin (PIB) chemotherapy was given to 14 (11 recurrent and 3 advanced and metastatic) cervical carcinoma patients. At least 2 cycles of chemotherapy were given before assessment of tumour response. The overall response rate was 28.

Embryonal carcinoma arising in Turner's syndrome.

Risk of malignant transformation in a dysgenetic gonad is high. This is a report of a 23 year-old female who presented with symptoms and signs of ovarian neoplasm which was histologically confirmed as embryonal carcinoma. She had features of Turner's syndrome and was found to have XO chromosomal constitution.