Myxoid malignant fibrous histiocytoma with multiple primary sites.

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is one of the most common types of soft tissue sarcomas in adults. The most common location of MFH are the extremities and the trunk, with the most common site for distant metastases being the lung. We describe a case with multiple synchronous sites of myxoid MFH but no lung metastases and presence of abnormalities of 19p13.

Adjuvant therapy of osteosarcoma--A Phase II trial: Southwest Oncology Group study 9139.

Background: The objective of this study was to estimate the time to treatment failure and survival rate of the three-drug combination of doxorubicin, cisplatin, and ifosfamide as primary and postoperative, adjunctive treatment for teenagers and adults with osteosarcoma (OS).

Methods: Sixty-three eligible patients with nonmetastatic OS of the extremities were registered from 24 institutions from February, 1992 through December, 1996. Chemotherapy was comprised of doxorubicin at a dose of 75 mg/m2 and cisplatin at a dose of 120 mg/m2, alternating with doxorubicin at a dose of 50 mg/m2 and ifosfamide at a dose of 8 g/m2.

Phase I trial using a time-to-event continual reassessment strategy for dose escalation of cisplatin combined with gemcitabine and radiation therapy in pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine the maximum-tolerated dose of cisplatin that could be added to full-dose gemcitabine and radiation therapy (RT) in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Patients And Methods: Nineteen patients were treated. Gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) was administered over 30 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: chemotherapy and imatinib.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), previously thought to arise from the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, have recently been identified as a separate clinicopathologic entity. This new entity was revealed when investigations using more refined techniques suggested that GISTs had neural rather than smooth muscle differentiation and expressed the cell surface receptor Kit (CD117). Ensuing research led to development of a new molecularly targeted therapy, imatinib mesylate, which showed significant response among GIST patients in initial clinical trials.

Acute megakaryocytic leukemia presenting as hypercalcemia with skeletal lytic lesions.

Acute megakaryocytic leukemia (AML M7) is a rare type of acute myelogenous leukemia in adults, commonly presenting with myelofibrosis. This report describes a case of a 32-yr-old male who presented with hypercalcemia and bony lytic lesions, in the absence of myelofibrosis. The diagnosis of AML M7 should be considered in a patient with pancytopenia, lytic lesions and hypercalcemia.