Capecitabine and temozolomide (CAPTEM) is effective in metastatic well-differentiated gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes and prognostic factors of patients with metastatic gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumor (mGI-NET) who were treated with capecitabine and temozolomide (CAPTEM) and somatostatin receptor ligand (octreotide or lanreotide).

Methods: Clinicopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes of 43 patients with mGI-NET were retrospectively evaluated. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curve.

Evaluation of Prognostic Factors and Trastuzumab-based Treatments in HER2/Neu-positive Metastatic Gastric Cancer.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of trastuzumab-based treatment in patients with HER2/neu-positive metastatic gastric cancer.

Study Design: Observational study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Medical Oncology, Istanbul University, Institute of Oncology, Istanbul, Turkey, between January 2014 and December 2020.

Successful Treatment of a 92-Year-Old Classic Kaposi's Sarcoma Man With Ultra-Low Dose Oral Etoposide.

Introduction: Because classic Kaposi's sarcoma (CKS) is currently regarded as a low-grade vascular malignancy, it has been usually known as indolent clinical course. The slow-growing neoplasms are usually asymptomatic and rarely systematically progressive. Although CKS is a chronic disease which is rarely life-threatening, systemic therapy may be necessary in some patients with symptomatic skin or visceral involvement.

Serum activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in patients with gastric cancer: Can they be used as biomarkers?

Cellular adhesion molecules might be used as markers in diagnosis and prognosis in some types of malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the serum levels of activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule-1 (ALCAM) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in gastric cancer (GC) patients. Fifty-eight GC patients and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled into this study.

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after D2 resection in gastric cancer: a single-center observational study.

Purpose: Previous studies demonstrated survival benefits in association with the addition of chemoradiotherapy after surgery in gastric cancer. This study aimed to examine the efficacy in terms of loco-regional control and survival and safety of 5-FU-based adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after D2 curative surgery.

Methods: This study included 228 patients (81 female, 147 male) treated for gastric cancer with curative surgery plus adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Serum levels of LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 have prognostic roles on survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer receiving gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.

Purpose: Serum LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 levels are important tumor markers in pancreatic cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 levels in metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC) receiving gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the outcome of 196 MPC patients who are treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in our clinic.

Fourth versus eighth week surgery after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy in T3-4/N0+ rectal cancer: Istanbul R-01 study.

Background And Purpose: The optimum duration between neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy and transmesorectal excision in locally advanced rectal cancer has not been defined yet. This randomized study was designed to compare the efficacy of four-week versus eight-week delay before surgery.

Methods: One-hundred and fifty-three patients with locally advanced low- or mid-rectum rectal adenocarcinoma were included in this single center prospective randomized trial.

Effect of increased body mass index (BMI) on time to tumour progression (TTP) in unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients treated with bevacizumab-based therapy.

High BMI is a well-known risk factor for the development and recurrence of several solid tumours, including CRC. Obesity is associated with increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Bevacizumab is the main targeted therapy for inhibiting tumour angiogenesis by blocking the VEGF/VEGF receptor pathway.

A pilot study evaluating the safety and toxicity of epirubicin, cisplatin, and UFT (ECU regimen) in advanced gastric carcinoma.

Background: Best response rates have been achieved with three-drug regimens containing 5-FU in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) and oral fluoropyrimidines are the best alternatives as substitutes for infusional 5-FU. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and toxicity of epirubicin, cisplatin, and UFT (ECU regimen) regimens in AGC outpatients.

Materials And Methods: Forty-one patients with AGC received epirubicin, cisplatin, and oral UFT plus leucovorin.

A phase II study of cisplatin, ifosfamide and epirubicin combination chemotherapy in adults with nonmetastatic and extremity osteosarcomas.

Background: Osteosarcoma is a rare malignancy, and patients with this disease benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. While cisplatin, anthracyclines and ifosfamide are the most commonly used agents in the treatment of osteosarcoma, a search for the best combination with higher efficacy and minimal toxicity continues. We planned to evaluate the efficacy of epirubicin combined with cisplatin and ifosfamide in patients with localized primary osteosarcoma.

Clinical outcome of rhabdomyosarcoma in adolescent and adult patients: single center experience from Turkey.

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is rare disease in adults (age >or= 16 years). The data from randomized prospective trials are scarce; the clinical outcome of these patients seems poor with the currently available treatment strategies. In this study, we report a single institution's experience in the treatment of adult RMS.

Skull Base Plasmacytoma in a Patient with Light Chain Myeloma.

Skull base involvement of plasmacytoma is reported in a patient with light chain myeloma. A 39-year-old man was admitted after experiencing paresthesia on the left side of the face and left arm, intermittent diplopia, and hoarseness for 2 years. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large midline mass extending from the middle and posterior skull base into the upper two cervical vertebrae.

The prevalence and determinants of the use of complementary and alternative medicine in adult Turkish cancer patients.

A study was undertaken to analyze the extent of using complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and to compare sociodemographic and medical characteristics of users and non-users of CAM in Turkish oncology patients. A total of 615 patients with cancer who attended ambulatory patient care units answered the questionnaires. Medical information was reviewed from chart data.

Ewing's sarcoma of the axial system in patients older than 15 years: dismal prognosis despite intensive multiagent chemotherapy and aggressive local treatment.

Background: Older age and axial location of Ewing's sarcoma have been reported as unfavorable prognostic factors.

Methods: The records of patients older than 15 years with the Ewing's family of tumors were reviewed retrospectively. After the induction chemotherapy consisting of alternating vincristine, adriablastin, cyclophosphamide (VAC) and etoposide, ifosfamide with mesna protection (IE), a local treatment modality was chosen based on tumor and patient characteristics.

Prognostic features and survival of inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma in Turkish patients with cirrhosis.

Background: Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is common in Turkey and its prognosis is poor. In the current study the authors analyzed the prognostic factors and survival in Turkish patients with inoperable HCC with cirrhosis.

Methods: Clinical and demographic data of 91 patients consecutively admitted to the authors' institute from 1988 to 2000 were reviewed.

Colon cancer with isolated metastasis to the kidney at the time of initial diagnosis.

Blood-borne metastases to the kidneys from solid tumors have received little attention in the medical literature because they usually occur in a setting of advanced systemic disease, and renal involvement is a relatively minor cause of symptoms. Although the frequency of metastases to the kidney in cancer patients is 7-13% in large autopsy series, incidental discovery of a renal metastasis as the first manifestation of a primary tumor is a very rare event. The most common primary malignancy to involve the kidney is bronchogenic carcinoma,followed by breast and gastrointestinal cancers.

Timing of death from tumor recurrence after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

In Western literature, there are few studies investigating the predictors of early versus late recurrence after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer. The current study analyzed (1) patients who died of recurrent gastric cancer and (2) prognostic factors, which can be applied to timing of death from tumor recurrence. Of 492 patients who underwent curative resection (R0) for gastric cancer in the Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty of Istanbul between 1994 and 2000, 142 patients who died of recurrence were included into study.

Adult primary extragonadal germ cell tumors: Treatment results and long-term follow-up.

Background: Primary extragonadal germ cell tumors (PEGCT) are rare neoplasms. They have a poor prognosis, different behavior, and natural course compared to their gonadal counterparts. Both primary and salvage treatment of these tumors constitute a challenge.

Colorectal cancer in young patients: characteristics and outcome.

Colorectal cancer is predominantly a disease of the elderly population, but this disease is unusual in patients 40 years of age or under, and controversy persists as to prognosis in this subset of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the clinicopathologic features and their impact on patients survival of colorectal cancer in patients aged 40 years or younger, and to compare them with those of older patients. The records of 466 patients with non-metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma who were referred between 1991 and 1999 to the University of Istanbul, Institute of Oncology, following curative surgery were retrospectively analysed.

Tamoxifen and gallstone formation in postmenopausal breast cancer patients: retrospective cohort study.

Tamoxifen is being used successfully in breast cancer patients as adjuvant hormonal therapy. The aim of this retrospective cohort study is to evaluate the impact of tamoxifen on gallstone formation in postmenopausal breast cancer patients. A total of 3165 patients who were treated for invasive breast cancer between 1990 and 1997 were reviewed.

Adjuvant intraperitoneal chemotherapy with cisplatinum, mitoxantrone, 5-fluorouracil, and calcium folinate in patients with gastric cancer: a phase II study.

Gastric carcinoma remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in the world. Clinical studies have revealed that approximately two thirds of the patients seek treatment for early recurrence within the abdominal cavity. The aim of this phase II study was to evaluate the toxicity, feasibility, and efficacy of adjuvant intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPCT) with cisplatin, mitoxantrone, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and folinic acid in patients with stage II-III gastric cancer.

Anemia in oncology practice: relation to diseases and their therapies.

Anemia is common in patients with cancer and is a frequent complication of myelosuppressive chemotherapy. In this study, we investigated the incidence and severity of chemotherapy-induced anemia caused by the most common chemotherapy regimens, including the new generation of chemotherapeutic agents, used in the treatment of the major nonmyeloid malignancies in adults. Five hundred fifty-two patients with histologically proven carcinoma originating from breast (n = 165), lung (n = 128), colon (n = 75), ovary (n = 84), and malignant lymphoma (n = 100) were included in this study.