Brain metastases as late breast cancer relapse. Single institution experience and review of the literature.

Purpose: Approximately 40% of HER2-positive breast cancer patients will develop brain metastases, usually during the first 2-3 years following initial diagnosis and up to 2 years after overt metastatic spread. However, there are no data about brain metastases development as a late disease relapse. In addition, there are no data whether the high incidence of brain metastases is maintained in patients with HER2 overexpression even in late brain metastases.

The addition of bevacizumab to fluoropyrimidine, irinotecan and oxaliplatin-based therapy improves survival for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC): combined analysis of efficacy.

Background: The primary objective of the analysis was to compare duration of survival in patients who received bevacizumab plus 5FU/LV, irinotecan or oxaliplatin based chemotherapy with the survival rate in a combined control groups of patients who received the same protocols alone, without bevacizumab.

Methods: Pooling of the data from the several studies allows evaluation of efficacy end points with greater statistical power to detect real differences between the groups of patients who were and were not treated with bevacizumab. The 10 studies have to be used for analysis were well designed, prospective trials conducted in patients with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma.

[Combined hormono-radiotherapy in treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer].

Numerous questions regarding combined hormono-radiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer still remain open. We present results of combined treatment in 133 our patients with locally advanced prostate cancer. All patients recieved hormonotherapy as neoadjuvant, concomitant with radiotherapy (tumor dose range 65-72 Gy), and adjuvant.

[Preoperative chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced esophageal cancer].

Preoperative or definitive chemoradiotherapy defines today the standard treatment of patients with localized or locally advanced esophageal cancer. Preliminary results of our study are presented. 46 patients with locally advanced squamous cell esophageal cancer (T3-4, N0-1, M0) were enrolled.

Chemotherapy by M-VAC protocol in progressive bladder carcinoma treatment.

Treatment of invasive bladder carcinoma is complex therapy procedure which means surgical and non-surgical treatment appliance. In spite of radical surgical treatment conduction, the gold standard in invasive bladder tumor therapy, about 30-40% patients spread metastasis in further disease course. The system chemotherapy in invasive bladder tumors treatments is marked with accent.

Radical radiotherapy in the treatment of carcinoma of the anal canal - single center experience.

Purpose: Radiotherapy -/+ chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for carcinoma of the anal canal in most oncology institutions. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of radical radiotherapy in the treatment of this carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: Definitive radiotherapy was performed in 41 patients with squamous cell anal carcinoma.

Incomplete operative removal of colorectal liver metastases followed by chemotherapy decreases survival in comparison to chemotherapy alone.

Metastatic colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has an inevitable fatal outcome except in a small percentage of selected patients, approximately 10-20%, with good prognosis after successful complete operative removal of the liver metastases. In patients not eligible for surgical resection of the liver metastases, chemotherapy is currently the only widely available treatment option. Controversy still exists about the criteria for operability of CRC liver metastases, and some patients, still undergo ineffective, i.

Radiotherapy in prostate cancer treatment.

Prostate cancer is a complex disease, with many controversial aspects of management in almost all stages of disease. The natural history of this tumor is variable and is influenced by multiple prognostic factors. Radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy are standard treatment options for disease limited to the prostate.

[Carcinoma of the anal canal--results of radical radiotherapy].

From February 1995 to August 2001, 34 pts with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (stage T2-35.3%, stage T3-44.1%, stage T4-20.

Radio (chemo) therapy in locally advanced rectal cancer.

Radiotherapy has an role in combined treatment to lower local recurrence in resectable rectal cancer. Radiotherapy also has an established role in nonresectable rectal cancers to increase the operability, but radiochemotherapy is more efficient. Radiotherapy can be administered as a transcutaneous therapy on the megavoltage machines as well as brachytherapy and combined--transcutaneous and brachytherapy.

[Role of radiotherapy in combined therapy of soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents].

Over last decades with modern approach to combined treatment of soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents, with effective systemic chemotherapy and adequate local control most frequently with conservative surgery and radiotherapy, or radiotherapy alone, results of treatment from 20% of a three-year overall survival to 75% were improved significantly. Nevertheless, combined treatment involves risk of acute radiation reactions and late side effects, so there is a need for precise radiotherapy planning with optimal schedule of fractionating, adequate radiation volume and optimal tumour dose. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the results of combined treatment of soft tissue sarcoma, role of radiotherapy in local control use of the optimal tumour dose and assessment of acute radiation reactions in an examined group of patients.

[Radiotherapy of local recurrence of rectal carcinoma].

In retrospective, non-randomized study were analyzed 45 patients with local recurrences of rectal carcinoma treated by combined external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and "High dose rate (HDR) remote afterloading" brachytherapy in the period from January 1st, 1988 to May 1st, 1988. Depending on the localization of the local recurrent disease, 20 patients were with vaginal relapse, 13 with vaginal and presacral, 9 with perineal and 3 with presacral and rectal. Combined radiotherapy was applied as follows: 33 patients (73.

[Palliative irradiation in the treatment of breast carcinoma].

It is considered that in 30% of female patients with breast cancer a certain form of evolutive disease occurs within 5 years from documented diagnosis. In these female patients, 58% develop distal metastases. Thus, a great number of these female patients enter the phase when hope for recovery is small.

[Local recurrence after preoperative irradiation and radical surgery in patients with locally advanced breast carcinoma (clinical stage A)].

The rationale preoperative irradiation is expressed by the sound: eradication of sensitive tumour cells at the periphery of a lesion making complete resection more likely and dissemination of tumour cells by operative manipulation less likely. The dose of irradiation required is approximately 80 to 85% of the dose needed to permanently control the palpable disease, a dose which does not interfere with subsequent mastectomy, if 3 to 4 weeks elapse between the termination of irradiation and mastectomy. One hundred fifteen consecutively examined patients with stage IIIa breast cancer were treated over the period from January 1985 to December 1987 at the Institute of Oncology and Radiology, Belgrade, Serbia.

[Treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer by combined intralumenal brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy].

The prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer is poor, due to frequent local recurrence and distant metastasis. The last decade has also seen that brachytherapy as a treatment with real potential to improve the therapeutic ratio of external irradiation. From March 1993 to October 1994 at the Institute of oncology and radiology in Belgrade, 18 patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer were treated by combined intralumenal brachytherapywith external beam irradiation.

[Combined radio-chemotherapy in solid tumour treatment of advanced bladder cancer (preliminary report)].

Unlabelled: Radiotherapy combined with platinum compounds in widely used despite unclear biological basis and mechanism of their potentiation. We started a prospective nonrandom study on January 1, 1991 with the aim to ameliorate local tumour control and possibility of curative treatment, and treatment of toxicyty.

Patients Characteristics: 82 patients with locally advanced bladder cancer (stage T3 and localizet T4) were treated with radiochemotherapy.