Therapy-Related Changes in the Serum Proteome Patterns of Early Stage Breast Cancer Patients with Different Outcomes.

Adjuvant chemo- and/or radiotherapy is applied in a majority of patients treated for early stage breast cancer, although only a small percentage of these individuals are at high risk of metastasis or recurrence. Hence, knowledge of the biomarkers associated with the risk of disease progression might facilitate the planning of an optimal therapy and protect many patients from the toxicity of unnecessary treatment. In this study, we characterized the serum proteome of patients diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, exhibiting either no evidence of disease five years after the end of therapy or suffering from metastasis, relapse or a second cancer during the corresponding follow-up.

Pre-operative hyperfractionated concurrent radiochemotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancers: a phase II clinical study.

Objective: The study was prospectively designed as a single-arm, single-institution prospective trial of pre-operative concomitant hyperfractionated radiotherapy (HART) with co-administration of chemotherapy based on 5-fluorouracil (5FU) in patients with T2/N+ or T3/any N resectable mid-low primary rectal cancer. The aim of the study was to assess the safety and efficacy of accelerated HART with concurrent 5FU-based chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Methods: Patients with resectable locally advanced (≥T3 or N+) rectal cancer were eligible.

Alpha/beta (α/β) ratio for prostate cancer derived from external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy boost.

Objective: There is disagreement regarding the value of the α/β ratio for prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) may dominate the effects of dose fractionation on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and confound estimates of the α/β ratio. We estimate this ratio from combined data on external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy (BT)-treated patients, providing a range of doses per fraction, while accounting for the effects of ADT.

The effectiveness and side effects of conformal external beam radiotherapy combined with high-dose-rate brachytherapy boost compared to conformal external beam radiotherapy alone in patients with prostate cancer.

Background: Clinical data that compare external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) combined with high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) boost versus EBRT alone are scarce. The analysis of published studies suggest that biochemical relapse-free survival in combined EBRT and HDR-BT may be superior compared to EBRT alone. We retrospectively examined the effectiveness and tolerance of both schemes in a single center study.

Tolerability and toxicity of prophylactic cranial irradiation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer - Results of a phase II study (with estimation of hematological toxicity, pituitary function and magnetic resonance spectra changes).

Aim: To evaluate the tolerability and toxicity of PCI in patients with NSCLC.

Background: Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is a standard treatment for patients with small cell lung cancer. There are data showing a decreasing ratio of brain metastases after PCI for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC-non small cell lung cancer) patients but, so far, there is no evidence for increasing overall survival.

Early closure of phase II prospective study on acute and late tolerance of hypofractionated radiotherapy in low-risk prostate cancer patients.

Aim: To assess acute and late toxicity of hypofractionated radiotherapy, its efficacy and impact on quality of life in patients with low-risk prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: Since August 2006 to October 2007, 15 prostate cancer patients with favorable clinical features, aged 54-74 years (mean 67 years) entered the study. Tumor stage in the majority (73%) of patients was T2a, the mean pretreatment PSA value was 7.

Hyperfractionated or accelerated radiotherapy in lung cancer: an individual patient data meta-analysis.

Purpose: In lung cancer, randomized trials assessing hyperfractionated or accelerated radiotherapy seem to yield conflicting results regarding the effects on overall (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS). The Meta-Analysis of Radiotherapy in Lung Cancer Collaborative Group decided to address the role of modified radiotherapy fractionation.

Material And Methods: We performed an individual patient data meta-analysis in patients with nonmetastatic lung cancer, which included trials comparing modified radiotherapy with conventional radiotherapy.

Mass spectrometry-based analysis of therapy-related changes in serum proteome patterns of patients with early-stage breast cancer.

Background: The proteomics approach termed proteome pattern analysis has been shown previously to have potential in the detection and classification of breast cancer. Here we aimed to identify changes in serum proteome patterns related to therapy of breast cancer patients.

Methods: Blood samples were collected before the start of therapy, after the surgical resection of tumors and one year after the end of therapy in a group of 70 patients diagnosed at early stages of the disease.

Salvage brachytherapy for local recurrences of prostate cancer treated previously with radiotherapy.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze early effects and toxicity of salvage high dose rate brachytherapy for local recurrences of adenocarcinoma of the prostate after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT).

Material And Methods: In MCS Memorial Institute of Oncology in Gliwice a research programme on salvage HDR brachytherapy for local recurrences of prostate cancer treated previously with EBRT has been ongoing since February 2008. The treatment consisted of 3 fractions of 10 Gy each given every 14 days.

Mass spectrometry-based serum proteome pattern analysis in molecular diagnostics of early stage breast cancer.

Background: Mass spectrometric analysis of the blood proteome is an emerging method of clinical proteomics. The approach exploiting multi-protein/peptide sets (fingerprints) detected by mass spectrometry that reflect overall features of a specimen's proteome, termed proteome pattern analysis, have been already shown in several studies to have applicability in cancer diagnostics. We aimed to identify serum proteome patterns specific for early stage breast cancer patients using MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry.