Phase I study of prolonged-infusion gemcitabine combined with cyclophosphamide in patients with metastatic carcinoma of the breast: tolerability of an optimal dose schedule.

Background: A phase I study was initiated to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of prolonged-infusion gemcitabine combined with cyclophosphamide in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC).

Methods: Patients with MBC were treated with gemcitabine infusion at 10 mg/m2/min and cyclophosphamide by intravenous piggyback injection, 4 h after initiation of the infusion. We treated 3-6 patients at a particular dose level until the MTD was determined.

Immunoproliferative small intestinal disease: current concepts.

Immunoproliferative small intestinal disease is a distinctive lymphoproliferative disorder. Among these disorders, it is the only disease associated with a specific and characteristic abnormal protein, and also an identifiable, at least in some patients, early phase with a benign-looking histo-pathologic expression. Whether the disease at this stage is malignant or not is not known.