Erlotinib or Gefitinib for Treating Advanced Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation-Positive Lung Cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand: Protocol for a National Whole-of-Patient-Population Retrospective Cohort Study and Results of a Validation Substudy.

Background: Starting in 2010, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase inhibitors erlotinib and gefitinib were introduced into routine use in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) for treating advanced lung cancer, but their impact in this setting is unknown.

Objective: The study described in this protocol aims to understand the effectiveness and safety of these new personalized lung cancer treatments and the contributions made by concomitant medicines and other factors to adverse outcomes in the general NZ patient population. A substudy aimed to validate national electronic health databases as the data source and the methods for determining patient eligibility and identifying outcomes and variables.

Oral paclitaxel with encequidar compared to intravenous paclitaxel in patients with advanced cancer: A randomised crossover pharmacokinetic study.

Aims: Paclitaxel is a widely used anti-neoplastic agent but has low oral bioavailability due to gut extrusion by P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Oral paclitaxel could be more convenient, less resource intensive, and more tolerable than intravenous administration. Encequidar (HM30181A) is a novel, minimally absorbed gut-specific P-gp inhibitor.

Circuit resistance training and cardiovascular health in breast cancer survivors.

Objective: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in breast cancer survivors. While evidence shows circuit resistance training (CRT) is effective for improving muscle and cardiorespiratory fitness, whether CRT is an efficacious therapy for decreasing cardiovascular risk in cancer survivors is unclear.

Methods: Fifty-one breast cancer survivors were recruited to either 12 weeks CRT (n = 26), or a non-exercising wait-list control (n = 25).

Cardiorespiratory fitness predicts cardiovascular health in breast cancer survivors, independent of body composition, age and time post-treatment completion.

Background: Breast cancer treatment may increase non-cancer related mortality risk due to unintended cardiovascular consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the strongest correlate of cardiovascular health (CVH) in female breast cancer survivors, cardiorespiratory fitness or fatness.

Methods: Fifty-one women (59 ± 9 years, BMI 26.

An integrative Tai Chi program for patients with breast cancer undergoing cancer therapy: study protocol for a randomized controlled feasibility study.

Background: Breast cancer patients experience various side effects during cancer therapy, often resulting in reduced quality of life and poor adherence to treatment. A limited range of proven interventions has been developed to target such side effects. While Tai Chi offers benefits for the health and well-being of breast cancer survivors, the effectiveness of Tai Chi across the treatment continuum has not been evaluated.

Chemotherapy Agents Alter Plasma Lipids in Breast Cancer Patients and Show Differential Effects on Lipid Metabolism Genes in Liver Cells.

Cardiovascular complications have emerged as a major concern for cancer patients. Many chemotherapy agents are cardiotoxic and some appear to also alter lipid profiles, although the mechanism for this is unknown. We studied plasma lipid levels in 12 breast cancer patients throughout their chemotherapy.

Cardiovascular disease among breast cancer survivors: the call for a clinical vascular health toolbox.

With better detection and treatment, breast cancer is less likely to be the primary cause of death in the majority of breast cancer survivors; mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) is now more common. Given the long latency periods between cancer treatment completion and potential symptomatic CVD, there is a need to detect vascular changes before symptoms appear. This short review provides an overview of non-invasive, widely available, and relatively inexpensive techniques for assessing endothelial function, central and regional arterial stiffness, central blood pressures, and intima-media thickness.

Early-stage testicular cancer: a rare association with dermatomyositis.

Dermatomyositis has a known association with malignancy. We report a case of dermatomyositis occurring in early-stage testicular cancer where the patient was in remission. It stresses the importance of considering testicular cancer as an association with dermatomyositis, as it is a potentially curable malignancy.