Chemotherapy in the last 30 days of life of advanced cancer patients.

Purpose: Chemotherapy near the end of life is an issue frequently discussed nowadays, but literature is generally poor. We analyzed patients with cancer who received chemotherapy in their last month of life.

Methods: The study involved all patients treated in our oncological department between 2010 and 2012; our attention focused on patients receiving chemotherapy in their last month of life.

EGFR and K-Ras mutations in women with lung adenocarcinoma: implications for treatment strategy definition.

Background: We aimed at investigating the outcomes of female patients with stage IIIB-IV adenocarcinoma of the lung according to EGFR and K-Ras mutational status.

Methods: One hundred and three consecutive female patients genotyped at a single Italian Institution were analyzed. Patients were planned to receive first-line platinum-based chemotherapy (CT) and a salvage treatment with anti-EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) was proposed irrespective of tumor mutational status.

Low dose fractionated cisplatin plus gemcitabine for elderly patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer: a retrospective analysis.

The aim of the study was to evaluate safety and efficacy of gemcitabine-cisplatin in elderly patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study included 59 patients aged >70 years consecutively admitted to our Department. treatment consisted of gemcitabine 1000 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8, and low-dose fractionated cisplatin 20 mg/m(2) on days 1, 2, 3 of a 21-day cycle.

Epirubicin/paclitaxel/etoposide in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer: a phase I-II study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate feasibility and toxicity of escalating doses of epirubicin and paclitaxel plus fixed dose of etoposide and to define the activity of the triplet in extensive disease small-cell lung cancer. Thirteen patients entered the phase I study: the maximum tolerated doses were epirubicin (EpiDX) 90 mg m-2 and paclitaxel (P) 175 mg m-2 with febrile neutropenia as dose-limiting toxicity. The recommended schedule for this regimen for the phase II study was EpiDX 75 mg m-2, P 175 mg m-2, etoposide (E) 100 mg m-2 intravenous (fixed dose) days 1-3 with courses repeated every 21 days.

Phase II study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with surgically-proven, unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether patients with truly unresectable (bulky extracapsular N2, T4 for tracheobronchial angle or mediastinal organ invasion) stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as proven by cervical mediastinoscopy supplemented or not by left anterior mediastinoscopy and fiberoptic bronchoscopy or thoracotomy, could become resectable after induction cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. In addition, we studied the value of preoperatory magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in evaluating the probability of achieving a radical resection after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Sixteen consecutive untreated stage III NSCLC patients were enrolled in the study.