Gefitinib plus cisplatin and radiotherapy in previously untreated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Background And Purpose: To assess the efficacy and safety of gefitinib given concomitantly and/or as maintenance therapy to standard cisplatin/radiotherapy for previously untreated, unresected, stage III/IV non-metastatic SCCHN.

Materials And Methods: In this phase II, double-blind, study, 226 patients were randomized to gefitinib 250mg/day, 500mg/day or placebo in two phases: a concomitant phase (gefitinib or placebo with chemoradiotherapy), followed by a maintenance phase (gefitinib or placebo alone). Primary endpoint was local disease control rate (LDCR) at 2years; secondary endpoints were LDCR at 1year, objective response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, and safety and tolerability.

Preoperative radiotherapy with capecitabine and mitomycin C in locally advanced rectal carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of preoperative radiotherapy with capecitabine and mitomycin C in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Methods: A prospective, open-label, non-randomized, phase II study was performed on 49 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Preoperative radiotherapy was conducted on linear accelerators (15 or 18 MV) with a tumor dose of 45 Gy in 25 fractions over 5 weeks, combined with mitomycin C 7 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 29 and oral capecitabine 825 mg/m(2) twice daily on days 1-35.

Platinum - sensitive relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer: not all the patients benefit from reinduction with carboplatin and paclitaxel.

Background: It is widely accepted that patients with ovarian cancer relapsing 6 to 12 months after completion of a platinum-based regimen are considered to be partially platinum-sensitive. The aim of this study was to evaluate and correlate the efficacy and toxicity of reinduction with paclitaxel-carboplatin in a platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer patient cohort with previous platinum-free interval (PFI).

Material/methods: We studied retrospectively 39 patients with platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer, who received primary chemotherapy at the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, between January 2002 and May 2008.

Antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation in the blood of breast cancer patients of different ages after chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide.

Objectives: Breast carcinoma is related to the increase of lipid peroxidation in plasma with concomitant decrease of antioxidant (AO) defense capacity in blood cells, which becomes more pronounced during aging of the patients. This work evaluated the potential age-related effect of chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (FAC) on the level of lipid hydroperoxides (LP), glutathione (GSH), AO enzyme activities of copper, zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) in breast cancer patients. The level of CuZnSOD protein was assessed after the FAC therapy and radiotherapy of breast cancer.

[Disease relapses after radical radiotherapy of prostate cancer--analysis of prognostic factors].

Introduction: Although there is no consensus on which is the best option in prostate cancer treatment, these patients could be successfully treated with radiotherapy. Regarding some prognostic factors, it is possible today to classify prostate cancer patients into several risk groups for clinical and biochemical relapse, and therefore to choose the right treatment modality.

Objective: The objective in our study was to analyze the impact of tumour stage and grade, previous transurethral resection of the prostate (TUR), initial prostate specific antigen (PSA) level and age on disease relapse after radical radiotherapy of the prostate cancer.

Patients with curative resection of cT3-4 rectal cancer after preoperative radiotherapy or radiochemotherapy: does anybody benefit from adjuvant fluorouracil-based chemotherapy? A trial of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Radiation Oncology Group.

Purpose: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) trial 22921 compared adjuvant fluorouracil-based chemotherapy (CT) to no adjuvant treatment in a 2 x 2 factorial trial with randomization for preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy in patients with resectable T3-4 rectal cancer. The results showed no significant impact of adjuvant CT on progression-free or overall survival, although a difference seemed to emerge at approximately, respectively, 2 and 5 years after the start of preoperative treatment. We further explored the data with the aim of refining our understanding of the long-term results.

Quality of surgery in T3-4 rectal cancer: involvement of circumferential resection margin not influenced by preoperative treatment. Results from EORTC trial 22921.

Purpose: The present analyses aimed to determine risk factors for rectal cancer patients associated with circumferential resection margin (CRM) and number of examined lymph nodes (LN) and to correlate these parameters of surgical quality with local recurrence (LR), disease-free and overall survival (DFS and OS).

Materials And Methods: Data of 884 eligible patients, who underwent a resection and had no metastases at time of surgery, were analysed.

Results: Age, period of treatment, distance and pT-stage were associated with surgical quality.

Chemotherapy with preoperative radiotherapy in rectal cancer.

Background: Preoperative radiotherapy is recommended for selected patients with rectal cancer. We evaluated the addition of chemotherapy to preoperative radiotherapy and the use of postoperative chemotherapy in the treatment of rectal cancer.

Methods: We randomly assigned patients with clinical stage T3 or T4 resectable rectal cancer to receive preoperative radiotherapy, preoperative chemoradiotherapy, preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy, or preoperative chemoradiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy.

Enhanced tumorocidal effect of chemotherapy with preoperative radiotherapy for rectal cancer: preliminary results--EORTC 22921.

Purpose: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) trial evaluated the addition of chemotherapy (CT) to preoperative radiation (preop RT) and the value of postoperative CT for improving the survival in patients with T3-4 resectable rectal cancer. Patients were allocated to the following four arms: arm 1, preop RT 45 Gy in 5 weeks; arm 2, preop RT plus two 5-day CT courses (fluorouracil 350 mg/m2/d and leucovorin 20 mg/m2/d) in the first and fifth week of RT; arm 3, preop RT plus four postoperative CT courses; and arm 4, preop RT and CT plus postoperative CT. We investigated the effect of adding CT on the pathologic parameters.

[Current status and potential perspectives in classical radiotherapy technology].

Introduction And Potentials Of Classical Radiotherapy: After purchase of radiotherapy equipment in 2003, classic radiation therapy in Serbia will reach the highest world level. In order to define the highest standards in radiation technology, we analyzed the current status and potential perspectives of radiation therapy.

Technological Levels Of Radiotherapy In Developed Countries: An analysis of present situation in the USA, assumed as the most developed in the world, was done.

[Endoscopy in the diagnosis and therapy of inoperable esophageal carcinoma after radiotherapy and combined radiochemotherapy].

Treatment of inoperable (locally advanced) esophagus cancer, even today, has been a subject of numerous clinical researches. Combination of several clinical modalities is needed, of radiotherapy and chemotherapy the most frequently. This combination applied as neoadjuvant or concomitant brought to improvement of treatment results of these patients.