Prevalence of emotional distress in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients.

Goals Of Work: Distress is defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network as a multifactorial unpleasant emotional experience of a psychological, social, and/or spiritual nature that may interfere with the ability to cope effectively with cancer. We investigated the prevalence and associated symptoms of distress in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: Between November 2005 and July 2007, 98 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients completed an assessment.

Prognostic value of the six-minute walk in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The 6 minute walk (6MW) is usually used to evaluate exercise capacity in a variety of patient populations. We hypothesized that the 6MW would decline after chemotherapy and assessed the prognostic value of this test.

Materials And Methods: The 6MW was conducted in newly diagnosed advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients on three different days: twice before (one initial and one prechemotherapy test) and once after two cycles of chemotherapy.

Should patient-rated performance status affect treatment decisions in advanced lung cancer?

Introduction: The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score is a well known prognostic factor and almost always used to determine eligibility for clinical trials. The patient-rated performance status score (Pt-PS), section of the patient generated subjective global assessment scale, has identical criteria to the physician-rated ECOG scale (MD-PS). We compared the Pt-PS with MD-PS in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and compared the effect of each rating on eligibility for a hypothetical clinical trial.

Randomized phase II study of gemcitabine plus cisplatin or carboplatin [corrected], with or without cetuximab, as first-line therapy for patients with advanced or metastatic non small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of cetuximab added to first-line gemcitabine/platinum in chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: In this noncomparative, randomized trial, chemotherapy-naïve patients with recurrent/metastatic NSCLC (stage IV or stage IIIB with malignant pleural effusion) were eligible. Patients received cisplatin (75 mg/m2 i.

Does granulocyte colony-stimulating factor affect survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer?

Background: Platinum-based chemotherapy is standard treatment for patients with advanced lung cancer. The common side effect of this therapy is myelosuppression, for which different stimulating factors are used. In this article, the effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration on the survival of patients with unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was evaluated.

Evaluation of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography as a rapid detection method for identification of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in nonsmall-cell lung cancer.

Background: Somatic mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may predict responsiveness to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These mutations are commonly identified using DNA sequencing methods. Although considered the gold standard, this approach is time-consuming.

Phase II multicenter study of induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent efaproxiral (RSR13) and thoracic radiotherapy for patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Efaproxiral (RSR13) reduces hemoglobin oxygen-binding affinity, facilitates oxygen release, and increases tissue pO2. We conducted a phase II multicenter study that assessed the efficacy and safety of efaproxiral when administered with thoracic radiation therapy (TRT), following induction chemotherapy, for treatment of locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Fifty-one patients with locally advanced NSCLC were enrolled at 13 sites.

Sequential therapy with Vinorelbine followed by Gemcitabine in patients with metastatic non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), performance status (PS) 2, or elderly with comorbidities--a multicenter phase II trial.

Background: High risk patients with metastatic non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) including patients with performance status (PS) 2 or elderly with comorbidities do poorly on combination chemotherapy regimens. We evaluated a sequential treatment with Vinorelbine followed by Gemcitabine to determine its effect on survival and the toxicity in this patient population.

Methods: Forty-two evaluable patients, median age 75, 21 patients with PS 2 and 21 patients with PS 0 or 1, 37 patients with stage IV and five patients with stage III B NSCLC entered the trial.