Publications by authors named "L Saltz"
Purpose: Patterns of failure and salvage therapy options for patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC) who recur after definitive-intent intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with concurrent chemotherapy are not well described.
Methods And Materials: We identified consecutive patients with ASCC treated with definitive-intent IMRT between July 2005 and December 2019. Relevant patient and tumor parameters, disease outcomes (locoregional failure [LRF], distant failure, progression-free survival, colostomy-free survival, and overall survival [OS]), patterns of failure, and salvage therapies were collected.
Article Synopsis
- Total mesorectal excision with intersphincteric resection and handsewn coloanal anastomosis (ISR-CAA) is considered safe for patients with distal rectal cancer, but the outcomes for those not qualifying for a watch-and-wait strategy have yet to be studied.
- A retrospective analysis compared ISR-CAA with abdominoperineal resection (APR) in patients who received neoadjuvant therapy, showing similar tumor characteristics but differing local recurrence rates.
- Results revealed a lower 5-year local recurrence-free survival rate for ISR-CAA (79%) compared to APR (93%), while disease-free survival rates were similar for both groups.
Article Synopsis
- Current treatment options are limited by the expectation that alternative therapies must be proven "non-inferior" to existing ones, making trials expensive and complex.
- Non-inferiority trials often overlook important factors like variability in treatment outcomes and place excessive burdens of proof on alternatives, especially in terms of toxicity and cost.
- The authors suggest moving away from labeling trials as superiority or non-inferiority, advocating instead for a simpler description of trials as "comparative" to promote better patient-centered treatment options.
Article Synopsis
- Hepatic artery infusion (HAI) chemotherapy combined with systemic treatment shows promising long-term results for patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHC), suggesting improved disease control and overall survival rates.
- A phase II clinical trial and a retrospective analysis revealed a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 11.8 months and overall survival (OS) of 26.8 months among a subset of patients, with particular genomic alterations indicating worse outcomes.
- The study indicates that HAI with floxuridine (FUDR) alongside systemic therapies can provide durable disease control in locally advanced IHC, while molecular changes, particularly in the TP53 pathway, might help predict patient response to treatment.