Predictive role of hand-foot syndrome in patients receiving first-line capecitabine plus bevacizumab for HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Correlations between development of hand-foot syndrome (HFS) and efficacy in patients receiving capecitabine (CAP)-containing therapy are reported in the literature. We explored the relationship between HFS and efficacy in patients receiving CAP plus bevacizumab (BEV) in the TURANDOT randomised phase III trial.

Methods: Patients with HER2-negative locally recurrent/metastatic breast cancer (LR/mBC) who had received no prior chemotherapy for LR/mBC were randomised to BEV plus paclitaxel or BEV-CAP until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

The protective effect of zoledronic acid on bone loss in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer treated with sequential tamoxifen and letrozole: a prospective, randomized, phase II trial.

Objective: This study reports the efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid (ZOL) in preventing bone loss in postmenopausal patients receiving an aromatase inhibitor (AI) following tamoxifen.

Methods: Postmenopausal patients with stage I-III hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who received tamoxifen for 2.5-3 years were randomized to receive letrozole (2.

Combined weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel as primary treatment of advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate safety and outcome of weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel as the initial postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) patients.

Methods: Patients with stage IC-IV epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) primary peritoneal or tubal carcinoma were enrolled in this phase II study. Intravenous carboplatin (area under the curve 2) and paclitaxel (80 mg/m(2)) were administered on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle for 6-8 cycles.

The complexity of management of pregnancy-associated malignant soft tissue and bone tumors.

Objective: The incidence of musculoskeletal tumors during pregnancy is very low. The aim of this study was to summarize our experience in treating a large cohort of pregnant patients diagnosed with these rare tumors.

Methods: Women diagnosed with musculoskeletal tumors during pregnancy or immediately after delivery were identified retrospectively in our database between 1996 and 2006.

Efficacy and toxicity of weekly topotecan in recurrent epithelial ovarian and primary peritoneal cancer.

Objectives: We assessed the efficacy and toxicity of once-weekly topotecan (Hycamtin; GlaxoSmithKline) for relapsed or persistent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and primary peritoneal carcinoma (PPC).

Methods: Patients with recurrent or persistent EOC and PPC previously treated with > or = 1 course of platinum-based chemotherapy were treated with weekly topotecan 4.0 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle in this prospective open-label, single-arm, phase II study.

One year maintenance of carboplatin in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer--a phase II study.

Background: The 5 year survival rate in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer is 25-40% and treatment is mainly palliative once the disease recurs.

Objectives: To determine the time to progression, overall survival and toxicity of 1 year maintenance treatment with carboplatin in women with advanced EOC after achieving complete remission with platinum-based combination chemotherapy.

Methods: Twenty-two women with epithelial ovarian cancer stage III-IV previously treated with platinum-based combinations who had achieved complete remission evidenced by symptoms, pelvic examination, computerized tomography and serum CA-125, were assigned to the study protocol consisting of: carboplatin of AUC=6, three cycles every 2 months, followed by two cycles once every 3 months for a total of five courses over 1 year.

A biochemotherapy regimen with concurrent administration of cisplatin, vinblastine, temozolomide (Temodal), interferon-alfa and interleukin-2 for metastatic melanoma: a phase II study.

Our objective was to evaluate the toxicity and antitumor efficacy of concurrent biochemotherapy in metastatic melanoma patients and the effectiveness of adding temozolomide to protect the brain from metastases. Twenty-three patients with advanced inoperable melanoma were hospitalized for 5-6 days for the following treatment: cisplatin 20 mg/m daily for 4 days, vinblastine 1.6 mg/m daily for 4 days and oral temozolomide 250 mg/m daily for 5 days, with 18 x 10 IU/m intravenous interleukin-2 by continuous infusion for 4 days (the dose was cut daily by 50%) and 5 x 10 U/m interferon-alfa subcutaneously daily for 5 days, repeated at 28-day intervals for a maximum of nine courses.

Radiotherapy for spinal cord compression in patients with soft-tissue sarcoma.

Purpose: Spinal metastases of soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) occur rarely and pose a therapeutic problem. Although wide resection is warranted for best local control, it is rarely feasible. A radiotherapy (RT) dose of 70 Gy is usually needed to treat limb STS, but only 45 Gy can be given to the spine.

CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil) versus CNF (cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone, 5-fluorouracil) as adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II lymph-node positive breast cancer: results by demographic and clinical subgroups.

A multicenter phase III randomized study comparing the efficacies of two adjuvant polychemotherapeutic regimens in 145 patients with stage II node-positive breast cancer: the standard chemotherapy combination, CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil), and an experimental protocol, CNF (cyclophosphamide, mitoxantrone [Novantrone], 5-fluorouracil) in which mitoxantrone replaced methotrexate. The finding of a significant advantage ( p= 0.04) in the disease-free survival for those receiving mitoxantrone (mean survival 4.