[Guideline 'Treatment of breast cancer 2008' (revision)].

The Dutch evidence-based guideline 'Treatment of breast cancer' has been revised, and integrated with the guideline 'Screening for and diagnosis of breast cancer'. The guideline can be found on www. oncoline.

[Revised practice guideline 'Screening and diagnosis of breast cancer'].

Revised practice guideline 'Screening and diagnosis of breast cancer' The evidence-based revision of the practice guideline 'Screening and diagnosis of breast cancer' was necessitated by new insights, for instance on the cost-effectiveness of screening modalities other than mammography. Mammography is the only screening modality that is recommended for the general population. In the Netherlands, women from 50-75 years of age are invited for screening.

The relevance of intraventricular chemotherapy for leptomeningeal metastasis in breast cancer: a randomised study.

To assess the benefit of intraventricular chemotherapy, patients with leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) from breast cancer were randomised to treatment including intraventricular (IT) chemotherapy (n=17) or to non-intrathecal (non-IT) treatment (n=18). Appropriate systemic therapy and involved field radiation therapy (RT) were given in both arms. Intention-to-treat analysis showed neurological improvement or stabilisation in 59% of the IT and in 67% of the non-IT group, with median time to progression of 23 weeks (IT) and 24 weeks (non-IT).

Prospective multicenter validation confirms the prognostic superiority of the endometrial carcinoma prognostic index in international Federation of gynecology and obstetrics stage 1 and 2 endometrial carcinoma.

Purpose: To validate the prognostic value of the endometrial carcinoma prognostic index (ECPI; combined myometrium invasion, flow cytometric DNA ploidy, and morphometric mean shortest nuclear axis [MSNA]) versus classic prognosticators.

Patients And Methods: Prospective multicenter ECPI analysis was conducted in 463 endometrial carcinomas with a median of 6.5 years (range, 1 to 10 years) follow-up, review of pathology features, and univariate (Kaplan-Meier) and multivariate (Cox) analyses.

Cyclin A is a prognostic indicator in early stage breast cancer with and without tamoxifen treatment.

Overexpression of G1-S regulators cyclin D1 or cyclin A is frequently observed in breast cancer and is also to result in ligand-independent activation of oestrogen receptor in vitro. This might therefore, provide a mechanism for failure of tamoxifen treatment. We examined by immunohistochemical staining the effect of deregulation of these, and other cell cycle regulators on tamoxifen treatment in a group of 394 patients with early stage breast cancer.

[Diagnostics and treatment of distal bile duct or pancreatic carcinoma; guidelines of the Amsterdam and Twente Comprehensive Cancer Centers].

A project on the diagnostic work-up and treatment of distal bile duct and pancreatic carcinoma was carried out in the region covered by the Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It consisted of (a) describing the diagnostic work-up in the area, (b) developing the guidelines, (c) spreading the recommendations. The implementation and application of the guidelines are currently being evaluated.

[Diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic carcinoma in the region of Amsterdam Comprehensive Cancer Care Center in 1997].

Objective: To describe the diagnostic work-up and treatment of patients with a pancreatic carcinoma in the Amsterdam area, the Netherlands, particularly in general hospitals.

Design: Retrospective, descriptive.

Method: During 1997, 286 patients with a pancreatic carcinoma were diagnosed in 20 hospitals in the Amsterdam area.

Comprehensive Cancer Centre Amsterdam Barrett Advisory Committee: first results.

Background: Treatment and follow-up policy for Barrett's oesophagus are dependent on the grade of dysplasia. However, sampling error of random biopsy protocols and subjectivity of pathological grading may hamper endoscopic surveillance.

Methods: The Amsterdam Comprehensive Cancer Center Barrett Advisory Committee (BAC) is a regional multidisciplinary consultative working-group, offering revision of pathology, revision of pathology plus additional endoscopic diagnostics, or referral for treatment.

Risk and prognosis of endometrial cancer after tamoxifen for breast cancer. Comprehensive Cancer Centres' ALERT Group. Assessment of Liver and Endometrial cancer Risk following Tamoxifen.

Background: Tamoxifen increases the risk of endometrial cancer. However, few studies have produced reliable risk estimates by duration, dose, and recency of use, or addressed the prognosis of endometrial cancers in tamoxifen-treated women.

Methods: We did a nationwide case-control study on the risk and prognosis of endometrial cancer after tamoxifen use for breast cancer.

Toxicity of high-dose radiotherapy combined with daily cisplatin in non-small cell lung cancer: results of the EORTC 08912 phase I/II study. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

The purpose of this work was to study the feasibility of concurrent chemoradiation in patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 40 patients with inoperable NSCLC were treated with escalating doses of radiotherapy and cisplatin (cDDP). The radiation dose was increased step by step from 60.

[Cancer incidence in the Schiphol area in 1988-1993].

Objective: To calculate the cancer incidence in the region surrounding Schiphol.

Design: Descriptive epidemiological study based on cancer registry data.

Setting: Comprehensive Cancer Centre Amsterdam.

Feasibility of escalating daily doses of cisplatin in combination with accelerated radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer.

The aim of this study was to determine whether it is feasible to reduce the overall treatment time from 7 to 4 weeks in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving radiotherapy with cisplatin. This follows an EORTC phase III randomised trial (08844) in which cisplatin given before each radiation dose resulted in improved local control and survival, but which had a relatively long treatment period of 7 weeks [Schaake-Koning et al., N Engl J Med 1992, 326, 524-530].

Risk of endometrial cancer after tamoxifen treatment of breast cancer.

Since large trials have been set up to assess whether tamoxifen decreases the risk of breast cancer in healthy women, it has become important to investigate the drug's potential adverse effects, including occurrence of endometrial cancer. We undertook a case-control study in the Netherlands to assess the effect of tamoxifen on the risk of endometrial cancer after breast cancer. Through the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry and two older, hospital-based, registries, we identified 98 patients who had endometrial cancer diagnosed at least 3 months after a diagnosis of primary breast cancer.