A Phase I Clinical Trial of the Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor Veliparib and Weekly Topotecan in Patients with Solid Tumors.

To determine the dose limiting toxicities (DLT), maximum tolerated dose (MTD), and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of veliparib in combination with weekly topotecan in patients with solid tumors. Correlative studies were included to assess the impact of topotecan and veliparib on poly(ADP-ribose) levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, serum pharmacokinetics of both agents, and potential association of germline repair gene mutations with outcome. Eligible patients had metastatic nonhematologic malignancies with measurable disease.

Lymphedema, musculoskeletal events and arm function in older patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer (Alliance A171302).

Purpose: Musculoskeletal events (MEs) resulting from breast cancer treatment can significantly interfere with the quality of life (QOL) of older adults. We evaluated the incidence of MEs in women 65 years and older who had surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, and the impact of treatment on MEs and arm function.

Patients And Methods: Patient-reported data in Alliance/CALGB 49907 were collected using the EORTC QLQ-BR23 and physician-reported adverse events to characterize self-reported MEs and incidence of lymphedema.

Mortality and Renal Replacement Therapy after Renal Artery Stent Placement for Atherosclerotic Renovascular Disease.

Purpose: To identify risk factors for progression to renal replacement therapy (RRT) and all-cause mortality in patients who underwent renal artery (RA) stent placement for atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (RAS).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study from June 1996 to June 2009 identified 1,052 patients who underwent RA stent placement. Glomerular filtration rate at time of RA stent placement was estimated from serum creatinine level and divided into chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1-5.

Social support and its implications in older, early-stage breast cancer patients in CALGB 49907 (Alliance A171301).

Background: Studies point to a direct association between social support and better cancer outcomes. This study examined whether baseline social support is associated with better survival and fewer chemotherapy-related adverse events in older, early-stage breast cancer patients.

Methods: This study is a pre-planned secondary analysis of CALGB 49907/Alliance A171301, a randomized trial that compared standard adjuvant chemotherapy versus capecitabine in breast cancer patients 65 years of age or older.

The clinical spectrum of Castleman's disease.

Castleman's disease (CD) is a rare, poorly understood lymphoproliferative disease. The spectrum of symptoms and course of disease are broad, but there is no large study describing the natural history of this disease. Basic clinic and laboratory data from the records of 113 patients with CD evaluated at the Mayo Clinic and University of Nebraska were abstracted.

Cytokeratin-19 and mammaglobin gene expression in circulating tumor cells from metastatic breast cancer patients enrolled in North Central Cancer Treatment Group trials, N0234/336/436/437.

Purpose: To investigate the associations between baseline and posttreatment circulating tumor cell (CTC) gene expression and outcome of patients enrolled in four North Central Cancer Treatment Group metastatic breast cancer (MBC) trials in which specimens were shipped (at 4°C) from community-based sites to a reference laboratory (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN).

Experimental Design: Blood was collected at treating sites from MBC patients before (baseline), during, and at the end of treatment with erlotinib + gemcitabine (N0234), sorafenib (N0336), irinotecan + cetuximab (N0436), or paclitaxel-poliglumex + capecitabine (N0437). CTCs from 10 mL of EDTA blood were enriched with CD45 depletion, 24 to 30 hours postblood collection.

Regional immunity in melanoma: immunosuppressive changes precede nodal metastasis.

In order to characterize the degree of immunosuppression in regional immunity in patients with melanoma, we used immunohistochemistry to analyze markers of T-cell subtype and polarity, costimulation, dendritic cell maturation, monocytes, lymphatic vasculature, and angiogenesis. Specifically, we analyzed expression of CD4, CD8, CD14, CD40, CD86, CD123, HLA-DR, IL-10, LYVE, VEGFR3, and VEGF-C in lymph nodes. We compared sentinel lymph nodes with and without metastasis from patients with melanoma with both infection inflamed (reactive) and dormant human lymph nodes.

A Phase II study of (153)Sm-EDTMP and high-dose melphalan as a peripheral blood stem cell conditioning regimen in patients with multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable illness affecting nearly 20,000 individuals in the United States per year. High-dose melphalan (HDM) with autologous hematopoietic stem cell support (ASCT) is one of the mainstays of therapy for younger patients, but little advancement has been made with regards to conditioning regimens. We opted to combine (153)Samarium ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonate ((153)Sm-EDTMP), a radiopharmaceutical approved for the palliation of pain caused by metastatic bone lesions, with HDM and ASCT in a Phase II study.