Prognostic characterization in the initial assessment of patients with advanced cancer disease is an essential step to plan the most appropriate therapeutic program. Since clinical prediction of survival (CPS) may be of limited value, some authors have tried to integrate specific prognostic factors into prognostic multidimensional scores. We carried out a prospective cohort study in two palliative care units to compare the accuracy of the Palliative Prognostic (PaP) Score, the Objective Prognostic Score (OPS), and the Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is estimated that about half of cancer patients use at least one form of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in their life but there is a strong reticence of patients in talking about CAM with their oncologist. Primary aim of this study was to inform patients about CAM, focusing on their supposed benefits, toxicities and interactions with conventional therapeutic agents. The study also explored patients' perception about CAM and ascertained the level of CAM use among cancer patients of an Italian academic hospital.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExpert Opin Biol Ther
March 2017
The mechanism of action of pertuzumab, a recombinant anti-HER2 humanized monoclonal antibody, is complementary to trastuzumab's. On 8 June 2012, the Food and Drug Administration approved the combination of pertuzumab with trastuzumab and docetaxel as first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Furthermore, pertuzumab is the first drug to be approved in the neoadjuvant setting using a pathological complete response as an endpoint.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The present survey investigates the views of medical oncologists, general practitioners (GPs) and patients about the various surveillance strategies.
Methods: An online survey was conducted in Italy on a population of 329 medical oncologists, 380 GPs and 350 patients.
Results: Most of GPs (n = 291; 76%) claim that follow-up should be provided by the collaboration between GPs and medical oncologists.
The role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatments in oncology has always been heavily debated. It is estimated that about half of cancer patients experience at least one form of CAM through their life and because of the growing spread of these on the internet, the proportion is destined to grow. There is no clear distinction between alternative and complementary treatment due to the possibility to use the same remedy both alongside and instead of traditional therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality and after acute infection, HBV infection can persist in about 1-2% of immunocompetent hosts. Chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression can lead to HBV reactivation and may cause discontinuation of anticancer treatment, fulminant hepatitis with liver failure and death. During immunosuppressive treatments such as chemotherapy, reactivation of HBV infection is a life-threatening complication that can occur in HBV active or inactive carriers but also in patients with OBI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince angiogenesis plays an important role in cancer growth, infiltration and metastasis, many agents targeting this pathway have been developed over the last decade. Antiangiogenic drugs interfere with this process and may inhibit neoplastic growth or induce tumor dormancy by blocking the expanding network of newly formed capillaries. Despite the initial promise, targeting angiogenesis in breast cancer has not reached major breakthroughs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in women of reproductive age. In young women, chemotherapy may induce amenorrhea: it is still uncertain how to assess menopausal status in these patients despite the importance of its definition for choosing appropriate endocrine treatment. In the development of sensitive biomarkers for fertility and ovarian reserve, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is considered a promising marker of ovarian reserve.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWomens Health (Lond)
November 2013
Primary anticancer therapy is currently accepted as a therapeutic option for patients with early-stage breast cancer. Its objectives are to increase the chance of achieving a conservative surgery and, similar to adjuvant chemotherapy, to reduce the risk of distant recurrence. The prognostic significance of obtaining a pathological complete response has been evaluated in several randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Analysis of relative importance of side effects of anticancer therapy is extremely useful in the process of clinical decision making. There is evidence that patients' perception of the side effects of anticancer treatments changes over time.
Objectives: Aim of this study was to evaluate the cancer patients' perceptions of physical and non-physical side effects of contemporary anticancer therapy.
Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) expression has been found to be elevated in various solid tumors where it is likely involved in mechanisms that regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Based on these properties, it is tempting to hypothesize a potential prognostic role of TP, suggesting that a high TP expression could predict a poor outcome. On the other hand, TP expression has been studied for its role in predicting benefit from treatment with fluoropyrimidine-containing chemotherapy.
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