Changing monoclonal antibody keeping unaltered the chemotherapy regimen in metastatic colorectal cancer patients: is efficacy maintained?

Unlabelled: Monoclonal antibodies bevacizumab and cetuximab both improve overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR) when combined with irinotecan-containing regimens. The optimal sequence of these monoclonal antibodies in combination with chemotherapy is controversial. This study analysed the efficacy of cetuximab plus Folfiri after progression with the same regimen plus bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Estramustine plus docetaxel as second-line therapy in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer resistant to docetaxel alone.

Objective: Although docetaxel (DOC) plus prednisone is currently the treatment of choice for hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), no standard therapy is available for those patients who progress during DOC treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the addition of estramustine (E) can overcome DOC resistance.

Methods: Patients who had not responded to DOC in a previous randomised phase II trial received a one-hour intravenous infusion of DOC 70 mg/m(2) on day 2 in combination with oral E 840 mg/day divided into three daily administrations on days 1-5.

A phase II study of biweekly paclitaxel (P) and gemcitabine (G), followed by maintenance weekly paclitaxel in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Background: This phase II study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel combination of paclitaxel (P) and gemcitabine (G) in an every 2 weeks schedule followed by weekly paclitaxel (P) as first-line treatment in elderly patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC.

Methods: Elderly patients (> or =65 years of age) with 1997 TNM stage IIIB (pleural effusion)/stage IV NSCLC, performance status (PS) of 0-2 and normal organ function were eligible. Therapy consisted of P at 150 mg/m(2) and G at 2000 mg/m(2) administered every 2 weeks for 3 cycles followed, in progression-free patients, by P at 80 mg/m(2) every week for 6 consecutive weeks every 8 weeks for 2 cycles.