A phase I/II trial to evaluate the safety, feasibility and activity of salvage therapy consisting of the mTOR inhibitor Temsirolimus added to standard therapy of Rituximab and DHAP for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large cell B-Cell lymphoma - the STORM trial.

Background: The current standard treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large cell B-Cell lymphoma (DLBCL) primarily consists of intensified salvage therapy and, if the disease is chemo-sensitive, high dose therapy followed with autologous stem cell transplantation. In the rituximab era however, this treatment approach has shown only limited benefit. In particular, patients relapsing after rituximab-containing primary treatment have an adverse prognosis, especially if this occurs within the first year after therapy or if the disease is primarily refractory.

The impact of high-dose chemotherapy, autologous stem cell transplant and conventional chemotherapy on quality of life of long-term survivors with follicular lymphoma.

In this study we investigated the quality of life (QoL) of long-term survivors with follicular lymphoma (FL) after high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) using two standardized questionnaires. Altogether, 124 patients with FL were included in the study. A total of 63 patients received HDCT with ASCT, and this group was compared with 61 patients who were treated with rituximab and CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) chemotherapy and supplementary radiation.

[Physicians responsibility for informed consent in Austrian law].

This article considers legal aspects of the informed consent. The focus is placed on the legal basis of the doctor's duty to inform and the extent of information, the determination of which is one of the most difficult problems in practice. Finally, the importance of the duty to inform as an instrument for the avoidance of conflict and for the stabilization of the doctor-patient relationship will be discussed.

[Advance directives in Austria law].

This article discusses legal aspects of advance directives. In Austrian law there is only one provision: section 10 Hospitals Act ("medical record"). Therefore permissibility, contents and form of advance directives are of special, interest.