Review of testing and use of adjuvant trastuzumab across a cancer network--are we treating the right patients?

This review of practice assessed all early breast cancer patients diagnosed over 12 months to determine the frequency of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positivity and trastuzumab use. The frequency of HER2 positivity in routine practice (185/1319; 14%) was less than expected. A significant proportion of patients (56/185; 30%) did not receive trastuzumab, largely due to concerns about chemotherapy tolerability.

Adjuvant trastuzumab in routine clinical practice and the impact of cardiac monitoring guidelines on treatment delivery.

Trastuzumab delivery and changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in 110 patients receiving adjuvant trastuzumab in routine practice are investigated. The potential impact of new, less stringent UK cardiac monitoring guidelines is examined. 86 patients (78%) completed trastuzumab on schedule.

Metastatic struma ovarii: late presentation, unusual features and multiple radioactive iodine treatments.

Metastatic malignant struma ovarii is rare and there is a lack of agreement on the criteria of diagnosis and the lines of management. Here we describe a patient with struma ovarii that was initially diagnosed as benign and presented 10 years later with distant metastases. At this time, a pathological review of the initial lesion found that it contained invasive well-differentiated follicular carcinoma.

Exemestane in metastatic breast cancer: effective therapy after third-generation non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor failure.

Exemestane is a potent steroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI) with activity in post-menopausal women with metastatic breast cancer, with a reported clinical benefit (CB) rate of 24.3% after prior AI therapy. Data on 114 patients (112 female, 2 male) were obtained retrospectively at two cancer centres.

Audit of compliance to adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy guidelines in breast cancer in a cancer network.

The North Trent Cancer Network Breast Group in the United Kingdom revised its adjuvant treatment guidelines in breast cancer management in 1998. We aimed to check the compliance to the guidelines, 8 months after their introduction. Data were collected, retrospectively, from the medical records of patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent definitive surgery (in a 3-month period) in different cancer units and the cancer centre within the North Trent Cancer Network.