Low testing rates and high prevalence: Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor use in Middle East /homologous recombination deficiency-positive cancer patients.

Background: Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) are approved as first-line therapies for breast cancer gene ()-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. They are also effective for new and recurrent ovarian cancers that are - or homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)-positive. However, data on these mutations and PARPi use in the Middle East are limited.

Docetaxel and irinotecan as first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a pilot study.

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the activity and toxicity of the combination docetaxel and irinotecan as first-line therapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials & Methods: Twenty-two chemotherapy-naive patients with stage IIIB with pleural effusion or stage IV NSCLC received irinotecan 50 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, and 15, and docetaxel 50 mg/m2 on day 2, every 28 days until disease progression.

Results: Median follow-up was 10 months (range: 2-28 months).

A clinical phase II study of a non-anthracycline sequential combination of cisplatin-vinorelbine followed by docetaxel as first-line treatment in metastatic breast cancer.

Background: We tested a sequential combination regimen using cisplatin and vinorelbine (PVn) followed by docetaxel as first-line chemotherapy in a phase II clinical trial in metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Patients And Methods: Thirty-five patients were enrolled. Cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) was given on day 1 and vinorelbine 30 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks for 4 cycles.

Cisplatin and vinorelbine (PVn) for the treatment of advanced breast cancer: 10 years of experience.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women throughout the world. It is the leading cause of cancer death of women aged > 50 years. Cisplatin and vinorelbine are active as single agents in advanced breast cancer but their combination was not studied before.

Comparative pharmacokinetics and metabolic pathway of gemcitabine during intravenous and intra-arterial delivery in unresectable pancreatic cancer patients.

Background: To study the pharmacokinetics and clinical outcome of gemcitabine (2'-2'-difluoro-deoxcytidine [dFdC]) during intra-arterial versus intravenous delivery in locally advanced and regionally metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Patients And Methods: Seven patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer received escalating intra-arterial doses of gemcitabine ranging from 800 to 1400 mg/m2, after selective embolisation of all pancreatic blood supply, except for the tumour-feeding arteries. Four patients received intravenous gemcitabine (control).

A clinical phase II study of cisplatinum and vinorelbine (PVn) in advanced breast carcinoma (ABC).

Objectives: The effectiveness of cisplatinum and vinorelbine (PVn) as a salvage regimen in patients with metastatic breast cancer was reported in previous studies. This report is a pilot study assessing the antitumor efficacy and safety of this regimen as first line therapy for advanced breast cancer patients.

Methods: Thirty-five patients were enrolled: 22 with metastatic breast carcinoma and 13 with locally advanced breast carcinoma (stage III).

Pamidronate in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced bone loss in premenopausal women with breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Mortality from breast cancer has decreased in large part because of adjuvant chemotherapy. Sequelae of therapy include ovarian failure and bone loss, loss that would increase these patients' risk of fracture with aging. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of pamidronate in preventing such loss.

Cisplatin plus vinorelbine (PVn) as a salvage regimen for refractory breast cancer.

Breast cancer is regarded as a systemic disease even when tumors are completely resected. In patients with advanced breast cancer the overall prognosis is poor, but the disease is not uniformly fatal. Vinorelbine has proved to be effective when given as a single agent in this setting.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and pregnancy: report of four cases and literature review.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a severe life-threatening hematological disorder affecting the microcirculation of multiple organ systems. Infection, pregnancy, cancer, drugs, and surgery are frequently associated with the initial episodes and relapses. Women who are either pregnant or in the postpartum period make up 10-25% of TTP patients, suggesting the interrelationship between TTP and pregnancy.

Successful treatment of B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia with monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody.

We report a patient with B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (PLL) who was treated successfully with the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody (rituximab). The patient had recurrent infections due to relative neutropenia, secondary to bone marrow infiltration. After treatment with monoclonal anti-CD20 antibodies (rituximab) 375 mg/m(2) weekly for 4 weeks, complete remission was obtained.

Effective treatment of hypereosinophilic syndrome with imatinib mesylate.

Imatinib mesylate treatment is highly effective in chronic myeloid leukaemia and recent data have suggested that imatinib mesylate is also effective in the treatment of idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). Six patients with HES were treated daily with 100 mg imatinib mesylate. Five patients had normal karyotype and one showed trisomy 8.

Transfusion-associated GVHD: 10 years' experience at the American University of Beirut-Medical Center.

Background: Although rare, transfusion-associated GVHD (TA-GVHD) is a fatal complication of blood transfusion in which active lymphocytes from the donor attack and destroy recipient organs and tissues.

Study Design And Methods: A search of patient records was carried out at the American University of Beirut-Medical Center, looking for patients who developed TA-GVHD over a 10-year period extending from 1991 to 2001. Relevant information was collected and analyzed.

Hypertransfusion: a successful method of treatment in thalassemia intermedia patients with spinal cord compression secondary to extramedullary hematopoiesis.

Summary Of Background Data: Extramedullary hematopoiesis is a common compensatory phenomenon to chronic hemolytic anemias including thalassemia. Several sites can be involved including the liver, the spleen, the lymph nodes, and other less common locations. Spinal cord compression may result in the rare cases wherein the hematopoietic develops intraspinally.

Sicklemia with multi-organ failure syndrome and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Acute multi-organ failure syndrome is a rare and life-threatening complication of patients with sickle cell disease. The syndrome appears to be reversed with prompt, aggressive exchange transfusion therapy. It has been attributed to widespread vascular occlusion due to micro-vascular red cell sickling.

Beta-thalassemia intermedia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The presenting symptoms of malignancies like anemia and splenomegaly in thalassemic patients can be overlooked and considered as complications of thalassemia. Our paper deals with a case of large B cell lymphoma with bone marrow involvement in an old lady with thalassemia intermedia. The patient showed complete response after the second cycle of chemotherapy that consists of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (CVP protocol).