Efficacy of Circulating Tumor Cell Count-Driven vs Clinician-Driven First-line Therapy Choice in Hormone Receptor-Positive, ERBB2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer: The STIC CTC Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The choice between chemotherapy and endocrine therapy as first-line treatment for hormone receptor-positive, ERBB2 (also known as HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer is usually based on the presence of clinical features associated with a poor prognosis. In this setting, a high circulating tumor cell (CTC) count (≥5 CTCs/7.5 mL) is a strong adverse prognostic factor for overall survival and progression-free survival (PFS).

Maintaining professional activity during breast cancer treatment.

The question of returning to work and pursuing professional activity during cancer treatment is an increasingly important consideration. The present work focuses on factors affecting the feasibility of maintaining professional activity during treatment for breast cancer, for women who wished to do so. Written questionnaires were collected from 216 patients between March and November 2012.

Prospective Clinical Utility Study of the Use of the 21-Gene Assay in Adjuvant Clinical Decision Making in Women With Estrogen Receptor-Positive Early Invasive Breast Cancer: Results From the SWITCH Study.

Background: The 21-gene Oncotype DX Recurrence Score assay is a validated assay to help decide the appropriate treatment for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), early-stage breast cancer (EBC) in the adjuvant setting. The choice of adjuvant treatments might vary considerably in different countries according to various treatment guidelines. This prospective multicenter study is the first to assess the impact of the Oncotype DX assay in the French clinical setting.

High-dose chemotherapy with carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan followed by autologous stem cell transplant is an effective treatment for elderly patients with poor-prognosis lymphoma.

Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) after high-dose chemotherapy (HDT) increases overall survival when used in relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in patients under 65 years old. Limited experience is available for older patients. We present a retrospective analysis of 73 consecutive patients aged over 65 years treated for aggressive or relapsed lymphoma by HDT with carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan (BEAM) at full dosage followed by ASCT.

Circulating tumor cells in prostate cancer: a potential surrogate marker of survival.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in blood are widely used in prostate cancer (PCa) for the management of this disease at every stage of progression. Currently, PSA levels combined with clinical stage and Gleason score provide the best predictor of survival and the main element to monitor treatment efficiency. However, these areas could be improved by utilizing emerging biomarkers.

[Clonal eosinophilia revealed by recurrent Staphylococcus aureus infection].

Acquired eosinophilia is currently classified into secondary (reactional to underlying diseases), clonal (presence of a bone marrow histological, cytogenetic or molecular marker of a myeloid malignancy) and idiopathic (neither secondary nor clonal) categories. We report the case of a 47-year-old male who was admitted to the hospital for Staphylococcus aureus recurring infections. An hypereosinophilia was discovered and led to molecular analysis.

Phase II study of UFT with leucovorin and irinotecan (TEGAFIRI): first-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer.

This phase II trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of oral tegafur-uracil (UFT) with leucovorin (LV) combined with intravenous (i.v.) irinotecan every 3 weeks (TEGAFIRI) as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

[Sarcoma of the spermatic cord. Report of 2 cases. Review of the literature].

Illustrated by a case of rapidly fatal rhabdomyosarcoma in a child and a leiomyosarcoma in an adult, the authors differentiate the various histological types of sarcomas affecting the spermatic cord. Based on a review of the literature, they stress the great variety and various clinical courses related to the histological type. The predominant role of the histologist is stressed.

Interim report of phase II study of new nitrosourea S 10036 in disseminated malignant melanoma.

Thirty-three patients with disseminated malignant melanoma were entered in a phase II study of the new nitrosourea S 10036 using a 100-mg/m2 weekly induction schedule for 3-4 consecutive weeks. Patients who responded to this treatment were followed with a maintenance therapy every 3 weeks. Toxic effects were mainly hematological and consisted of delayed thrombocytopenia and leukopenia.

[Breast cancer induced by estrogens in a prostate cancer patient].

The authors report a case of malignant breast tumour induced by oestrogens in a patient treated for 7 years for carcinoma of the prostate. They review the literature on the subject and stress the important diagnostic and prognostic role of hormonal receptor assays. These allow the much more numerous cases of mammary metastases of prostatic cancer to be distinguished and, in cases of primary malignant tumour, they permit the choice of the best possible hormone therapy available.

[Apparently primary malignant secreting renal lymphoma (immunocytoma)].

The authors report a case of renal lymphoma which secreted a monoclonal Ig M kappa immunoglobulin (immunocytoma) and which was diagnosed on the basis of its secretion. They analyse the problems posed by the indication for surgery, the histological nature, the management and the prognosis.