Prognostic value of preoperative Ca125 and Tag72 serum levels and their correlation to disease relapse and survival in endometrial cancer.

Objective: To evaluate preoperative serum levels of Ca125 and Tag72-4 tumour markers and investigate if abnormal levels correlate to mortality and disease-free survival.

Method: Retrospective observational study of a cohort of 282 women (mean age 62.3, SD 10.

Improved survival trends in platinum-resistant patients with advanced ovarian, fallopian or peritoneal cancer treated with first-line paclitaxel/platinum chemotherapy: the impact of novel agents.

Objective: The prognosis for patients with platinum-resistant advanced ovarian cancer remains poor. The impact of approved agents on survival has not been clarified during the last decade. We studied survival trends during the last 15 years in platinum-resistant patients treated with cytoreductive surgery followed by paclitaxel/platinum chemotherapy.

A risk-adapted strategy of adjuvant paclitaxel/carboplatin in early-stage ovarian cancer: time-dependent effect of 4 versus 6 cycles on outcome.

Objective: We investigated the efficacy of risk-adapted adjuvant paclitaxel/carboplatin chemotherapy in early-stage ovarian carcinoma.

Methods: Fifty-three patients were treated according to the risk of relapse: patients with stages IA or IB or with grade 1 (low risk) received 4 cycles of paclitaxel and carboplatin; patients with IC/IIA and grade 2 or 3 (high risk) received 6 cycles of chemotherapy. The outcome was compared with that of 95 patients who were all treated with 4 cycles.

VEGF directly suppresses activation of T cells from ovarian cancer patients and healthy individuals via VEGF receptor Type 2.

The role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in tumor angiogenesis is well characterized; nevertheless, it is also a key element in promoting tumor evasion of the immune system by downregulating dendritic cell maturation and thus T cell activation. We sought to investigate the possible direct effect of VEGF on T cell activation and through which type of VEGF receptor (VEGFR) it exerts this effect. Circulating T cells from healthy donors and ovarian cancer patients were expanded in cultures with anti-CD3 and IL-2 with or without VEGF for 14 days, and the number of T cells was assessed.

Current use of impact models for agri-environment schemes and potential for improvements of policy design and assessment.

Agri-Environment Schemes (AES) to maintain or promote environmentally-friendly farming practices were implemented on about 25% of all agricultural land in the EU by 2002. This article analyses and discusses the actual and potential use of impact models in supporting the design, implementation and evaluation of AES. Impact models identify and establish the causal relationships between policy objectives and policy outcomes.

Mucinous but not clear cell histology is associated with inferior survival in patients with advanced stage ovarian carcinoma treated with platinum-paclitaxel chemotherapy.

Background: Mucinous and clear cell histology have been associated with adverse prognosis in ovarian carcinomas. The authors compared the outcome of these subtypes with that of serous tumors in patients who were treated with combination paclitaxel/platinum at their center.

Methods: Four hundred twenty patients with histologically confirmed, serous (n = 367), mucinous (n = 24), or clear cell (n = 29) ovarian carcinomas, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage III or IV disease, and who were treated with paclitaxel/platinum after cytoreductive surgery were included in this analysis.

Paclitaxel- and platinum-based postoperative chemotherapy for primary fallopian tube carcinoma: a single institution experience.

Background: Primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) is a rare gynecologic malignancy with very few data existing on the activity of the combination of paclitaxel with a platinum analogue as adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 41 consecutive patients with PFTC who were treated postoperatively with paclitaxel- and platinum-containing chemotherapy regimens.

Results: We observed 12 (63.

Advanced epithelial ovarian cancer in the elderly: chemotherapy tolerance and outcome.

Background: The prognostic significance of age in ovarian cancer has not been clarified. We investigated the characteristics of ovarian cancer presenting in ages > 70 years and assessed the prognostic significance of advanced age.

Patients And Methods: Four hundred and fifty-three patients with stage IIC-IV ovarian cancer (age>70 years n=106 [23%]), treated postoperatively with platinum-based chemotherapy were retrospectively reviewed.

Young age is associated with favorable characteristics but is not an independent prognostic factor in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer: a single institution experience.

Background: Young age has been reported to be a favorable prognostic factor in ovarian cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of ovarian cancer presenting in patients aged < or =40 and assess the prognostic significance of young age.

Methods: Data from 591 consecutive ovarian cancer patients, including 37 subjects (6.