Side effects of standard adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens according to age groups in primary breast cancer.

Background: Elderly breast cancer patients are underrepresented in clinical trials and this leads to a lack of knowledge regarding the tolerance and side effects of modern chemotherapy regimens, especially in dose-dense (dd) or dose-intensified combination.

Patients And Methods: In this analysis, data from 4 German, randomized (neo-)adjuvant trials, including anthracycline-based chemotherapy, were evaluated for toxicity, compliance and feasibility. Patients were grouped according to age.

German adjuvant intergroup node-positive study: a phase III trial to compare oral ibandronate versus observation in patients with high-risk early breast cancer.

Purpose: Bisphosphonates prevent skeletal-related events in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Their effect in early breast cancer is controversial. Ibandronate is an orally and intravenously available amino-bisphosphonate with a favorable toxicity profile.

The 70-Gene Signature as Prognostic Factor for Elderly Women with Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this article was to evaluate the prognostic value of the MammaPrint(TM) signature in women $$ 60 years with invasive breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 60 female patients were included in this prospective study. Eligibility criteria included: pT1c-3, pN0-1a, grade 2/3, hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative tumor.

Influence of a dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy on sVCAM-1/sICAM-1 serum levels in breast cancer patients with 1-3 positive lymph nodes.

Background/aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of conventional and dose-dense chemotherapy on serum levels of soluble adhesion molecules sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in node-positive patients with breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were measured in the blood serum of 147 patients with breast cancer and with 1 to 3 affected lymph nodes prior to and after conventional or dose-dense chemotherapy within a randomized phase III study (NOGGO trial).

Results: The increase in sICAM-1 (p<0.

Lapatinib in the Treatment of Hormone Receptor-Positive/ErbB2-Positive Breast Cancer.

SUMMARY: In women with estrogen receptor(ER)- and ErbB2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, a vicious cycle is established between ER mechanisms of action and the growth factor receptor network, leading to enhanced cell proliferation and endocrine resistance. As such, co-targeting ErbB1 and ErbB2 with lapatinib in combination with hormonal therapy is an attractive approach to enhance the efficacy of either tamoxifen or estrogen deprivation. As demonstrated in the EGF30008 trial, a combined targeted strategy with letrozole and lapatinib significantly increased progression-free survival and clinical benefit rates in patients with metastatic breast cancer that co-expresses ER and ErbB2.

Transvaginal video-assisted cholecystectomy in clinical practice.

Background: Transvaginal video-assisted cholecystectomy with rigid instruments is a new procedure that combines natural orifice surgery (NOS) with classic laparoscopy. This hybrid technique requires conventional laparoscopy via an umbilical incision. To date it is unclear if this procedure is safe and feasible in routine practice.

Clinical feasibility of (neo)adjuvant taxane-based chemotherapy in older patients: analysis of >4,500 patients from four German randomized breast cancer trials.

Introduction: Despite the fact that people older than 65 years of age have the highest incidence of developing breast cancer, these patients are excluded from clinical trials in most cases. Furthermore, most physicians tend towards therapy regimens without the use of dose-dense, highly active taxane-based treatments because of a lack of data regarding toxicities of these compounds in older patients.

Methods: Pooled side-effect data were analyzed from four prospective, randomized clinical trials in which patients of different age groups (< 60 years, between 60 and 64 years, and > 64 years) with primary breast cancer received taxane-based chemotherapy.

Weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin (PC-W) for patients with primary advanced ovarian cancer: results of a multicenter phase-II study of the NOGGO.

Objectives: To study the toxicity and efficacy of weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin (PC-W) in women with primary ovarian cancer

Methods: This investigation extended a phase-I dose finding study and was approved by the institutional review boards of all participating institutions. Between 1999 and 2003, women with radically resected ovarian cancer of FIGO stages II B to IV were enrolled at 17 German centres. Patients received weekly paclitaxel at a dose of 100 mg/m2, followed by carboplatin AUC 2.

Changes in the circulating plasma levels of VEGF and VEGF-D after adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer and 1 to 3 positive lymph nodes.

Background: The goal of the present study was to investigate the changes in concentration of the important lymph-angiogenesis factors vascular endothelium-derived growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF-D under adjuvant chemotherapy.

Materials And Methods: The blood plasma of a total of 142 patients with breast carcinoma and with 1 to 3 affected lymph nodes was investigated, using the quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique, prior to and following chemotherapy, within the framework of a randomized phase III study: the patients received either conventional or dose-intensified chemotherapy.

Results: In general, there was a significant reduction in VEGF levels after chemotherapy only in patients with large tumors (T3) (p = 0.

Chemotherapy treatment options for elderly women with breast cancer.

Due to improved life expectancy and the increase in incidence of breast cancer in old age, ever more older women are developing this disease. Although there is only limited evidence-based data from randomized trials on the treatment, older patients are still under-represented in clinical studies, and currently there is no clear consensus on chemotherapy treatment for older women with breast cancer. Adjuvant therapy strategies, in particular, suffer from a lack of uniform standards and reflect a generally less aggressive treatment.

Dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy for node-positive breast cancer in women 60 years and older: feasibility and tolerability in a subset of patients in a randomized trial.

To evaluate the feasibility and tolerability of dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy for older patients with node-positive breast cancer, a retrospective subset analysis compared dose delays and dose reductions for women aged > or = 60 years with those of younger women. Patients were randomized to a dose-dense (DD, 14-day cycle) or conventional-schedule (CS, 21-day cycle) regimen. DD patients (n = 104; 25 aged > or = 60 years) received epirubicin 90 mg/m2 plus paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 (four cycles), then cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2, methotrexate 40 mg/m2 and fluorouracil 600 mg/m2 (CMF 600/40/600) (three cycles), plus filgrastim 5 microg/kg per day in every cycle.

Primary systemic chemotherapy with sequential, dose-dense epirubicin and docetaxel for inoperable, locally advanced inflammatory breast cancer: a phase II study.

Sequential, dose-dense epirubicin plus docetaxel was evaluated as primary systemic therapy for women with inoperable, locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) or inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Patients (LABC n=27; IBC n=7) received 3 cycles of epirubicin 120 mg/m2 every 2 weeks followed by 3 cycles of docetaxel 100 mg/m2 every 2 weeks, with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Grade 3-4 toxicities were observed in 21 of 195 cycles (10.

Primary chemotherapy with gemcitabine, liposomal doxorubicin and docetaxel in patients with locally advanced breast cancer: results of a phase I trial.

The primary objective was to determine the optimal doses for gemcitabine (prolonged infusion), liposomal doxorubicin (Myocet) and docetaxel as primary (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer. Secondary objectives included evaluation of the safety and efficacy of the regimen. Patients (n=19) with histologically confirmed stage II or III breast cancer were treated with liposomal doxorubicin (50-60 mg/m2) and docetaxel (60-75 mg/m2) on day 1, and gemcitabine as 4-h infusion (350-400 mg/m2) on day 4.

Granulosa cell tumor of the ovary: 10 years follow-up data of 65 patients.

Background: Granulosa cell tumor of the ovary is an uncommon neoplasm. The majority of patients are diagnosed in early stages of disease and overall prognosis is favorable. The stage at time of diagnosis is the only prognostic factor that is unequivocally related to survival.

First-line chemotherapy with weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin for advanced ovarian cancer: a phase I study.

Objectives: Carboplatin and paclitaxel can be applied safely and effectively as single agents for the treatment of ovarian cancer on a weekly basis. A multicenter, phase-I study was conducted to investigate the maximum tolerated dose of a weekly combination regimen.

Methods: We enrolled 21 patients with primary, surgically resected, advanced ovarian cancer (FIGO III/ IV) and a median age of 59 (range, 35 to 79) years.