Effects of Implementing a Brief Family Nursing Intervention With Hospitalized Oncology Patients and Their Families in Germany: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Family nursing, based on the Calgary Family and Intervention Models, was implemented in a German oncological inpatient unit to promote effective family functioning in the context of cancer care. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of implementing family nursing care on several psychological and physical outcomes of patients and their family members. A quasi-experimental study with 214 patients with a cancer diagnosis and 122 family members was conducted.

FOLFOXIRI Plus Panitumumab As First-Line Treatment of Wild-Type Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: The Randomized, Open-Label, Phase II VOLFI Study (AIO KRK0109).

Purpose: This trial investigated the addition of panitumumab to triplet chemotherapy with fluorouracil/folinic acid, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan (FOLFOXIRI) in a two-to-one randomized, controlled, open-label, phase II trial in patients with untreated wild-type (WT) metastatic colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR) according to RECIST (version 1.1).

A Prognostic Gene Signature Expressed in Primary Cutaneous Melanoma: Synergism With Conventional Staging.

Background: Current clinico-pathological American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging of primary cutaneous melanoma is limited in its ability to determine clinical outcome, and complementary biomarkers are not available for routine prognostic assessment. We therefore adapted a gene signature, previously identified in fresh-frozen (FF) melanomas and adjacent stroma, to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) melanomas. The aim was to develop a gene expression profiling (GEP) score to define patient survival probability at the time of first diagnosis.

Neoadjuvant plus adjuvant or only adjuvant nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine for resectable pancreatic cancer - the NEONAX trial (AIO-PAK-0313), a prospective, randomized, controlled, phase II study of the AIO pancreatic cancer group.

Background: Even clearly resectable pancreatic cancer still has an unfavorable prognosis. Neoadjuvant or perioperative therapies might improve the prognosis of these patients. Thus, evaluation of perioperative chemotherapy in resectable pancreatic cancer in a prospective, randomized trial is warranted.

Age has no significant impact on overall survival and on treatment tolerability in relapsed stage IV cutaneous malignant melanoma patients receiving Cisplatin, Gemcitabine, and Treosulfan.

Objectives: We compared the efficacy and tolerability of cisplatin, gemcitabine, and treosulfan (CGT) therapy in younger patients (age, <60 years) and in elderly patients (age, ≥60 years) with pretreated relapsed American Joint Committee on Cancer stage IV cutaneous malignant melanoma.

Patients And Methods: A total of 91 patients at the age of 18 to 80 years, in relapse after first-, second-, or third-line therapy received 40 mg/m intravenous (i.v.

Bleomycin, vinorelbine and trofosfamide in relapsed stage IV cutaneous malignant melanoma patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of bleomycin, vinorelbine, and trofosfamide (BVT) in 28 patients with pretreated relapsed AJCC stage IV cutaneous malignant melanoma.

Methods: Patients in relapse after first- or second-line therapy received 8 mg/m(2) intravenous (i.v.

Increased expression of the tumor suppressor PLZF is a continuous predictor of long-term survival in malignant melanoma patients.

Promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) is a transcriptional repressor and tumor suppressor inhibiting melanoma cell growth in vitro and in vivo in animal models. In this study, we analyzed the impact of in vivo primary tumor gene expression of PLZF on the long-term survival of malignant melanoma patients. PLZF expression was assessed by using DNA microarray and real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of 41 primary malignant melanomas from patients with a defined histology and a close to 20-year clinical follow-up, of 29 melanoma metastases, and of 6 different melanoma cell lines.

Peripheral blood neutrophils as independent immunologic predictor of response and long-term survival upon immunotherapy in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of pretreatment neutrophils, previously rendered statistically independent, on the response and on long-term survival of metastatic renal carcinoma patients treated with outpatient subcutaneous (s.c.) interleukin-2 (IL-2) and s.

Fractional polynomials in a new metastatic renal carcinoma continuous prognostic index involving histology, laboratory, and clinical predictors.

Background: We analyzed the effect of histology and various clinical and laboratory predictors in a new continuous prognostic index for metastatic renal-cell carcinoma based on fractional polynomials.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated 322 metastatic renal-cell carcinoma patients treated with subcutaneous recombinant cytokine-based home therapies in consecutive trials. We evaluated papillary histology, along with age, disease localizations, C-reactive protein, and neutrophil count in a new prognostic index, which was based on the multivariable fractional polynomial (MFP) algorithm.

Cisplatin, gemcitabine and treosulfan is effective in chemotherapy-pretreated relapsed stage IV uveal melanoma patients.

Purpose: The efficacy of cisplatin, gemcitabine, and treosulfan (CGT) was evaluated in patients with chemotherapy pretreated relapsed AJCC stage IV uveal malignant melanoma.

Methods: Patients received i.v.

GM-CSF plus antigenic peptide vaccination in locally advanced melanoma patients.

Twenty-four (24) pretreated patients with relapsed high-risk resected The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage IIA-IV melanoma received adjuvant peptide vaccinations derived from the melanosomal antigens MelanA/MART1, MAGE-1, gp100, and tyrosinase, according to patient tumor-associated human leukocyte antigen (HLA) restricted antigen expression, in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Pretreatment was comprised of surgery (n=23 primary tumor; n=23 metastases), local radiotherapy (n=2), immunotherapy (n=23), chemotherapy (n=10), and chemoimmunotherapy (n=1), respectively. All patients received peptide vaccines in an adjuvant setting.

Long-term maintenance therapy in interferon-alpha2a/interleukin-2-pretreated advanced renal-cell carcinoma patients.

Purpose: In this paper, we report on the long-term therapeutic efficacy of maintenance treatment in 12 advanced renal carcinoma patients.

Patients And Methods: Following prior systemic treatment with 8-week cycles of subcutaneous interferon- alpha2a (s.c.

Metastatic renal carcinoma long-term survivors treated with s.c. interferon-alpha and s.c. interleukin-2.

Aim: The aim of this retrospective analysis was to identify common features of long-term survivors among 218 advanced renal cell carcinoma patients sequentially entered on subcutaneous-recombinant-cytokine- based therapies between 1988 and 1993.

Patients And Methods: All patients were treated with subcutaneous (s.c.

Dose-dependent treatment benefit in high-risk melanoma patients receiving adjuvant high-dose interferon alfa-2b.

Unlabelled: This retrospective analysis of 150 consecutive high-risk melanoma patients treated with high-dose interferon alfa-2b at a single institution demonstrates similar relapse-free and overall survival data, as previously published from Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and Intergroup trials. The data suggest at least a transient dose dependency of the treatment effect on relapse-free and overall survival with high-dose interferon in high-risk melanoma patients.

Background: Adjuvant high-dose interferon seems to be the best adjuvant treatment option for patients with high-risk melanoma (AJCC-stage IIC, III) after definitive surgery.

Individualized synthetic peptide vaccines with GM-CSF in locally advanced melanoma patients.

We report on 10 patients with resected American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)stage IIA-IIIC melanoma receiving individualized adjuvant peptide vaccinations derived from the melanosomal antigens MelanA/MART1, gp100 and tyrosinase, according to patient tumor associated HLA restricted antigen expression, in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Except for 1 patient, all patients had received systemic pretreatment with immunotherapy (n = 8), chemoimmunotherapy (n = 1), chemotherapy (n = 1), or cefalectin therapy (n = 1). Upon prior therapy, 7 of 10 patients had progressed with subcutaneous/cutaneous (n = 2), lymph node (n = 3), or subcutaneous/cutaneous and lymph node (n = 2)metastases, which were subsequently resected prior to vaccination.

Predictive impact of retinoid X receptor-alpha-expression in renal-cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Retinoid receptors are nuclear transcription factors that mediate the effects of retinoids on gene expression. In our study, we analyzed the expression of retinoid X receptor-alpha (RXR-alpha) and its prognostic value in renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) patients exhibiting stage IV disease upon first diagnosis or thereafter.

Materials And Methods: Detection of RXR-alpha was performed on tumor specimens from 63 patients with primary RCC, using immunohistochemical techniques.

Thirteen-year, long-term efficacy of interferon 2alpha and interleukin 2-based home therapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Background: The goal of the current report was to demonstrate the long-term efficacy of outpatient subcutaneous (sc) interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) and sc interleukin 2 (IL-2)-based combination regimens in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Methods: In three consecutive clinical trials, 443 patients received combined sc IFN-alpha and sc IL-2 (n = 97 patients); combined sc IFN-alpha, sc IL-2, and intravenous (iv) 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (n = 260 patients); or combined sc IFN-alpha, sc IL-2, and iv 5-FU with oral 13cis-retinoic acid (n = 86 patients).

Results: The median overall survival was 21+ months.