Everolimus for advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Background: Everolimus, an oral inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), has shown antitumor activity in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, in two phase 2 studies. We evaluated the agent in a prospective, randomized, phase 3 study.

Methods: We randomly assigned 410 patients who had advanced, low-grade or intermediate-grade pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors with radiologic progression within the previous 12 months to receive everolimus, at a dose of 10 mg once daily (207 patients), or placebo (203 patients), both in conjunction with best supportive care.

Gemcitabine and oxaliplatin combination chemotherapy for metastatic well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas: a single-center experience.

Background: Beyond the usual regimens based on streptozocin and doxorubicin or 5-fluorouracil, no second-line therapy of metastatic neuroendocrine tumor has gained wide acceptance. Gemcitabine and oxaliplatin are generally well tolerated and have shown activity against a wide range of malignancies. The authors assessed the efficacy of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin combination (GEMOX) in the treatment of patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors.

The limits of chemotherapy dose intensification using granulocyte colony stimulating factor alone in extensive small cell lung cancer.

Human Recombinant Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) allows rapid neutrophil recovery after chemotherapy-induced leukopenia. In a prospective series of 54 patients with extensive small cell lung cancer, we evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of accelerated delivery of the AVI chemotherapy regimen. Treatment consisted of Doxorubicin 50 mg/m2 day 1, Etoposide 120 mg/m2 day 1-3 and Ifosfamide 2 g/m2 (+ Mesna 4 g) day 1 and 2 given every 2 weeks and followed by G-CSF (Neupogen, Amgen Roche 5 micrograms/kg/day s.

Cisplatin and ifosfamide with various doses of vinorelbine (navelbine) in advanced non-small lung cancer.

From November 1992 to March 1994 we concluded a phase II trial of the combination of cisplatin 75 mg/m2 and ifosfamide 3 g/m2 on day 1 and increasing doses of vinorelbine (Navelbine; Burroughs Wellcome Co, Research Triangle Park, NC; Pierre Fabre Medicament, Paris, France). Group A was given vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 on day 1, group B 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, and group C 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 15 and 12.5 mg/m2 on day 8.

Unusual manifestations of giant cell arteritis: pulmonary nodules, cough, conjunctivitis and otitis with deafness.

The major manifestations of giant cell arteritis have been well described. Pulmonary manifestations, however, are rare. We report the case of a 75 year old woman with temporal arteritis, presenting with atypical manifestations, i.