Combined chemoradiotherapy with local microwave hyperthermia for treatment of T3N0 laryngeal carcinoma: a retrospective study with long-term follow-up.

The purpose of our study was to test the efficacy and toxicity of hyperthermia in conjunction with chemoradiotherapy for T3N0 laryngeal cancer. From 1997-2006, 25 patients diagnosed with T3N0 laryngeal carcinoma who denied laryngectomy were selected for this retrospective study. Patients received a total dose of 70 Gy (2 Gy per fraction, 5 days per week) in combination with 6 weekly sessions of hyperthermia, in addition to weekly cisplatin chemotherapy.

Super-selective hepatic arterial infusions as established technique ('ARETAIEION' Protocol) of [177Lu]DOTA-TATE in inoperable neuroendocrine liver metastases of gastro-entero-pancreatic (GEP) tumors.

Aim: Aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of non-carrier added (n. c. a.

Tumour budding is a strong and independent prognostic factor in pancreatic cancer.

Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive cancer that escapes detection and resists treatment. Tumour budding, defined as the presence of de-differentiated single tumour cells or small cell clusters at the invasive front of gastrointestinal carcinomas like colorectal, oesophageal, gastric and ampullary, is linked to adverse prognosis. Tumour budding has not yet been reported in PDAC.

Proposal for a 10-high-power-fields scoring method for the assessment of tumor budding in colorectal cancer.

Although tumor budding is linked to adverse prognosis in colorectal cancer, it remains largely unreported in daily diagnostic work due to the absence of a standardized scoring method. Our aim was to assess the inter-observer agreement of a novel 10-high-power-fields method for assessment of tumor budding at the invasive front and to confirm the prognostic value of tumor budding in our setting of colorectal cancers. Whole tissue sections of 215 colorectal cancers with full clinico-pathological and follow-up information were stained with cytokeratin AE1/AE3 antibody.

Grade III Dermatitis in a Patient Treated With Paclitaxel and Radiotherapy: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Taxanes, both paclitaxel and doxetaxel are the medication of the future in the management of solid tumors. In high risk breast cancer patients, the combination of concurrent paclitaxel and docetaxel chemotherapy with adjuvant radiotherapy is an attractive option to sequential treatment, with potential for enforcing both local and systemic control. This case report examines the tolerance of such treatment.

Synchronous gastric adenocarcinoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) of the stomach: a case report.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract (1%), and stomach is the most common location involved. However, the co-existence of gastric adenocarcinoma and GIST is very rare. A case of an 80-year-old male with a simultaneous presentation of a gastric adenocarcinoma and GIST is presented.

Effect of collagen powder on lymphorrhea after modified radical mastectomy. A randomized controlled trial.

Aim: Postoperative lymphorrhea is a major complication of axillary lymphadenectomy. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of type I collagen in postoperative lymphorrhea in mastectomy patients.

Methods: Eighty patients that underwent modified radical mastectomy for breast cancer were randomized in two groups.

Biological markers in breast cancer prognosis and treatment.

In this review we will provide a synopsis of the biological markers used in the care of breast cancer patients with emphasis on clinical application. The advent of molecular technology has incorporated new biomarkers along with the older immunohistochemical and serum ones. Serum tumor markers are proteins shed from breast cancer cells.

CEA and CA-19.9 serum tumor markers as prognostic factors in patients with locally advanced (unresectable) or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a retrospective analysis.

Most pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients present with locally advanced or metastatic disease at diagnosis. in this retrospective study the authors evaluated the prognostic significance of the CEA and CA-19.9 serum tumor markers in advanced (unresectable) pancreatic cancer in correlation to other prognostic factors (demographic data, clinical parameters, treatment modality) and survival time using univariate and multivariate methods, in 215 patients with locally advanced (unresectable) or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Carcinosarcomas of the uterus and ovary: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 11 cases.

Purpose: To further study the clinicopathologic features of carcinosarcomas of the uterus and ovary.

Methods: We retrospectively studied all cases of uterine and ovarian carcinosarcomas diagnosed in our laboratory over the last 5-year period. The pathologic and immunohistochemical findings were correlated with the clinical records of the patients.

Low-dose capecitabine plus docetaxel as first-line therapy for metastatic breast cancer: phase II results.

The addition of capecitabine to docetaxel significantly improves overall survival in anthracycline-pretreated metastatic breast cancer. We evaluated a low-dose capecitabine-docetaxel regimen as first-line therapy. Patients who had received adjuvant anthracyclines received docetaxel 75 mg/m2 on day 1 and capecitabine 950 mg/m2 twice daily, days 1-14, every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Prognostic factors in patients with locally advanced (unresectable) or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Most patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma are diagnosed with locally advanced (unresectable) or metastatic disease. The aim of this study was to investigate possible prognostic factors of survival in such patients.

Patients And Methods: Two hundred and fifteen patients were studied retrospectively.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy for larynx preservation in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer.

Purpose: The efficacy and toxicity of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy and their impact on larynx preservation have been studied in patients with advanced (stage III, IVa, and IVb) squamous cell cancer of the larynx.

Patients And Methods: Fifty patients were treated with either 2-4 cycles of induction chemotherapy with cisplatin 100 mg/m(2), day 1 and infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU 1000 mg/m(2), days 1-5), followed by radiotherapy 70 Gy, 1.8-2 Gy per fraction, or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (the above-mentioned radiotherapy concurrently with carboplatin 300 mg/m(2) every 21 days or weekly paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2)).

The relationship of subjective sleep quality, pain, and quality of life in advanced cancer patients.

Study Objectives: Cancer patients have been reported to complain about poor quality of sleep. This study evaluated the quality of sleep in this group, utilizing demographic data and clinical features of the cancers as assessment criteria. A secondary aim was to evaluate the correlation between the self-rated questionnaire for the quality of sleep with other instruments used in measuring pain and quality of life.

Prognostic significance of the immunohistochemical localization and serological detection of CA19-9 tumor antigen in colon carcinoma.

Purpose: This study was carried out in order to evaluate the expression of CA19-9 antigen in serum and tissue samples of colon cancer patients in relation with other pathological prognostic factors.

Materials And Methods: 99 patients diagnosed with colon cancer entered the study. The CA19-9 antigen was measured in the serum by ELISA (cut-off value 37 IU/L) and in malignant tissue samples by immunohistochemistry using Mab 192.

A phase II study of the docetaxel-carboplatin chemotherapy regimen in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

The efficacy of the docetaxel-carboplatin combination chemotherapy was studied in various phase II studies. Based on these data we aimed to test the regimen in previously untreated patients with advanced advanced non-smoking lung cancer (NSCLC) with docetaxel 80 mg/m2 a standard dose of carboplatin at AUC = 5, in an attempt to define the efficacy and tolerability of the combination in an open-label phase II study. Patients with histologically confirmed advanced NSCLC stage IIIB and IV were candidates for the present study.

Leucovorin and fluorouracil vs levamisole and fluorouracil as adjuvant chemotherapy in rectal cancer.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 6-month therapy with leucovorin (LV) + 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) vs 12 months of therapy with levamisole (LVZ) + 5-FU, as adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with completely resected Dukes' stage B2 or C rectal cancer. One hundred and fifty patients with surgically resected rectal carcinoma, were enrolled in the present study; Dukes' stage B2 (n=70) or C (n=80), were randomly assigned to chemotherapy with 5-FU + LV x 6 months or 5-FU + LVZ x 12 months. Patient characteristics were equally balanced between the examined groups.

Weekly gemcitabine for the treatment of biliary tract and gallbladder cancer.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of weekly administration of gemcitabine treatment in chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced biliary tract and gallbladder cancer.

Patients And Methods: Gemcitabine at a dose of 800 mg/m2 was administered weekly as a 30-min infusion to patients with previously operated, histologically confirmed, metastatic, or unresectable locally advanced cholangiocarcinoma. Treatment was continued until unacceptable toxicity or disease progression.

Etoposide, leucovorin (LV) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in 5-FU+LV pre-treated patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of the weekly combination of etoposide, leucovorin (LV) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) when administered as second-line chemotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory advanced colorectal cancer (ACC), previously treated with weekly LV+5-FU. Etoposide was administered at 3 different dose levels (DLs), in 3 groups of 20 patients each (total: 60); DL-I: etoposide 80 mg/m2, DL-II: etoposide 120 mg/m2, and DL-III: etoposide 180 mg/m2, in 45 min i.v.

Etoposide added to weekly leucovorin (LV)/5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in LV/5-FU pre-treated patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Background: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of the weekly combination of etoposide, leucovorin (LV) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) when administered as second-line chemotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory advanced colorectal cancer (ACC), previously treated with weekly LV + 5-FU.

Material/methods: Etoposide was administered at 3 different dose levels (DL), in 3 groups of patients (total=60): DL-I - etoposide 80 mg/m2, 45 min i.v.

Irinotecan (CPT-11) in patients with advanced colon carcinoma relapsing after 5-fluorouracil-leucovorin combination.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between performance status (PS) and mean dose of irinotecan (CPT-11) in patients with recurrent advanced colorectal cancer relapsing after 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin chemotherapy. Patients who had completed their last chemotherapy course with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin for at least 6 weeks and progressed were included. Based on PS, we administered a starting dose of 250 mg/m(2) in patients with a PS 70-80 (group A), and 350 mg/m(2) for those with a PS > 80 (group B).

Receptor scintigraphy of non-neuroendocrine cancers with In-111 pentetreotide.

Somatostatin receptors (SR) are surface markers characterizing not only APUDomas associated with neuroendocrine identities but also malignancies without neuroendocrine expression. Recently, the somatostatin analog pentetreotide was labeled with In-111 (OctreoScan 111, Mallinckrodt Medical BV, Petten, Holland) and introduced for the in vivo visualization in man of SR-positive tissues. In the present report, SR-specific scintigraphy is evaluated as a clinical tool for tissue characterization in correlation with histological and radiological examinations.

Carboplatin alone compared with its combination with epirubicin and cyclophosphamide in untreated advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: a Hellenic co-operative oncology group study.

We compared, in a multicentric randomised prospective study, the efficacy and toxicity of carboplatin 400 mg/m2 as a single agent (CB) to a combination of carboplatin 300 mg/m2, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 (CB-EC) in advanced ovarian cancer patients. The treatment was scheduled to be administered every 3 weeks for six courses. Following initial laparotomy and cytoreductive surgery, 130 previously untreated patients entered the study.

Cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone, fluorouracil versus conventional CMF as adjuvant treatment in node-positive breast cancer patients. A Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group Study.

362 evaluable node-positive patients with stage II breast cancer were randomized, receiving either 6 cycles of conventional CMF or 6 cycles of the combination of cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m2), mitoxantrone (Novantrone 10 mg/m2), and fluorouracil (500 mg/m2; CNF). After a median follow-up of 51 months, 64 (36%) patients relapsed in the CMF group and 60 (33%) in the CNF group (p=0.8276).

Computed tomography of ovarian carcinoma.

Forty-seven patients with ovarian carcinoma were examined with computed tomography (CT). Fourteen were evaluated before laparotomy (group I), 25 following surgical treatment (group II), and 8 were followed by CT in the course, or following chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy (group III). CT provided accurate estimates of the size, shape and structure of the ovarian tumor in 8 patients in group I and contributed to diagnosis in 3 others.