Phase III trial of irinotecan plus infusional 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid versus irinotecan plus oxaliplatin as first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.

Purpose: To determine whether irinotecan plus oxaliplatin (mIROX) is superior to irinotecan plus infusional 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin (FUFIRI) as first-line therapy of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Patients And Methods: A phase III, randomised, open-label multicentre study compared standard treatment with FUFIRI (irinotecan 80 mg/m(2), 5-fluorouracil 2000 mg/m(2), folinic acid 500 mg/m(2) weekly times 6) to mIROX using an identical schedule of irinotecan plus oxaliplatin 85 mg/m(2) applied on days 1, 15 and 29 of a 7-week cycle. The primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS).

[Diagnostic endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography of gastrointestinal stroma tumors].

Endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) are important diagnostic tools for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), especially for small incidental GISTs of the stomach and are necessary to make a decision for further procedures. In this overview the technical aspects and the use of endoscopy and EUS in the diagnosis of GIST, including endoscopic probe sampling and resection as well as the current limitations are described. The incidence of GIST and the differential diagnosis by endosonography are also described.

Resection of a branchiomeric paraganglioma at a rare extrapulmonary location.

Thoracic paragangliomas are a rare cause of hypertension. We report the occurrence of a sporadic benign norepinephrine-producing branchiomeric paraganglioma in a 32-year-old man with paroxysms of hypertension. After localization by iodine 123-metaiodobenzyl-guanidine scintigraphy and magnetic resonance imaging, the paraganglioma was resected successfully below the right pulmonary artery through a right-sided posterolateral thoracotomy.

Urinary fibronectin excretion in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

Previous investigations performed in human diabetics demonstrate an increase in their urinary fibronectin excretion which was already present in subjects without microalbuminuria and which was elevated prior to functional restrictions. The present study was performed to examine whether in an experimental model these data obtained in men can be confirmed using an animal experimental model, and to further study pathomechanisms of diabetic nephropathy in rats. Fibronectin levels in serum and urine, and renal functional properties such as creatinine clearance, urinary albumin and protein excretion were studied in rats rendered diabetic with streptozotocin and compared with values of control and insulin treated animals for 5 months.