Symptom Burden and Factors Associated with Acute Respiratory Infections in the First Two Years of Life-Results from the LoewenKIDS Cohort.

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are the most common childhood illnesses worldwide whereby the reported frequency varies widely, often depending on type of assessment. Symptom diaries are a powerful tool to counteract possible under-reporting, particularly of milder infections, and thus offer the possibility to assess the full burden of ARIs. The following analyses are based on symptom diaries from participants of the German birth cohort study LoewenKIDS.

Evaluation of the prognostic significance of disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow of primary, non-metastatic breast cancer patients after a 7-year follow-up.

Purpose: About 30% of primary, non-metastatic breast cancer patients show a relapse of the disease years after first diagnosis, probably due to early tumor cell spread to the bone marrow (BM). For disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in the BM, tumor cell dormancy, stem cell-like features and discordant receptor status of DTCs as compared to the primary tumor have been described, explaining the failure of conventional therapies. Here, we demonstrate no prognostic impact of DTCs and explain these findings by early bisphosphonate intake.

Final results from the prospective phase III WSG-ARA trial: impact of adjuvant darbepoetin alfa on event-free survival in early breast cancer.

Background: WSG-ARA plus trial evaluated the effect of adjuvant darbepoetin alfa (DA) on outcome in node positive primary breast cancer (BC).

Patients And Methods: One thousand two hundred thirty-four patients were randomized to chemotherapy either with DA (DA+; n = 615) or without DA (DA-; n = 619). DA (500 µg q3w) was started at hemoglobin (Hb) levels <13.

A randomized phase III adjuvant study in high-risk cervical cancer: simultaneous radiochemotherapy with cisplatin (S-RC) versus systemic paclitaxel and carboplatin followed by percutaneous radiation (PC-R): a NOGGO-AGO Intergroup Study.

Background: Simultaneous adjuvant platinum-based radiochemotherapy in high-risk cervical cancer (CC) is an established treatment strategy. Sequential paclitaxel (Taxol) and platinum followed by radiotherapy may offer further advantages regarding toxicity.

Patients And Methods: An open-labeled randomized phase III trial was conducted to compare paclitaxel (175 mg/m(2)) plus carboplatin (AUC5) followed by radiation (50.

Effect of ibandronate on disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow of patients with primary breast cancer: a pilot study.

Background: Breast cancer patients may experience disease relapse even 10-20 years after primary diagnosis. Recurrence is caused by dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in the bone marrow (BM). Whereas chemotherapy is unable to eradicate these non-proliferating cells, bisphosponates are currently being discussed as eliminating DTCs.

[Screening for distress in women with breast cancer diagnosed for the first time: employment of HADS-D and PO-Bado].

Objectives: In the context of an intensification of efforts to ensure sufficient psychooncological care for breast-cancer patients, the discussion concerning valid psychometric screening instruments gains a special relevance.

Methods: The discriminant and diagnostic validity of HADS-D and PO-Bado were investigated in a sample of 123 women with breast cancer diagnosed for the first time.

Results: An ROC analysis revealed a cut-off score of greater than 9 for the subscale anxiety (sensitivity: 50%; specificity: 90%) for the use of HADS-D among breast cancer patients, whereas the recommended cut-off value was greater than 7 (sensitivity: 56%; specificity: 80%) for the subscale depression.

Speed of haemoglobin response in patients with cancer: a review of the erythropoietic proteins.

Background: Patients with cancer-related anaemia generally have a poor prognosis. Evidence suggests that an effective erythropoietic protein (epoetin)-mediated haemoglobin (Hb) response provides marked improvement in quality of life (QoL). An early Hb response to erythropoietic protein therapy in these patients would appear ideal but few studies have compared the speed of response to different erythropoietic proteins, or the potential benefits associated with an early Hb response.

WITHDRAWN: The safety of synthetic paclitaxel by intralesional delivery with OncoGeltrade mark into skin breast cancer metastases: method and results of a clinical pilot trial.

Ahead of Print article withdrawn by publisher

[Pros and cons of early cancer detection in breast carcinoma].

Mammography is an appropriate method for the detection of early forms of cancer of the breast, and for reducing mortality. Whether this actually succeeds depends upon the quality of the early detection strategies employed. Currently the data on reduction of mortality by mammographic screening remain ambivalent.

Phase I/II study of capecitabine and vinorelbine in pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: To define the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) and to evaluate the dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) of the combination of capecitabine and vinorelbine in patients with metastatic breast cancer who relapse after adjuvant and/or first-line treatment. In addition, we aimed to obtain data on efficacy and safety at the recommended dose.

Patients And Methods: Patients with measurable metastatic breast cancer after failure of prior chemotherapy (including anthracyclines and/or taxanes) were eligible.

Whole-body MR imaging: evaluation of patients for metastases.

Purpose: To compare the results of whole-body magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with staging based on computed tomographic (CT), dedicated MR imaging, and nuclear scintigraphic results as standard of reference.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-one patients with known malignant tumors were included in the study. Patients were placed on a rolling table platform capable of moving the patient rapidly through the isocenter of the magnet bore.

Rare expression of target antigens for immunotherapy on disseminated tumor cells in breast cancer patients without overt metastases.

Occult disseminated tumor cells are the major cause of relapse in patients with primary operable breast cancer but detection and characterization of these few cells is difficult. Applying immunohistochemistry, an immunomagnetic enrichment technique (IET) and immunocytochemistry (IC), we studied 58 breast cancer patients without overt metastases for the frequency of cytokeratin-positive (CK+) bone marrow (BM) cells coexpressing the epithelial adhesion molecule 17-1A (EpCAM) and c-erbB-2 and analyzed the primary tumor for these antigens as a strategy for additional immunotherapy. The primary tumors were analyzed for the target antigens by a pathologist.

Rare expression of epithelial cell adhesion molecule on residual micrometastatic breast cancer cells after adjuvant chemotherapy.

Purpose: Over the past 5 years, several clinical studies on a total of approximately 2500 patients have shown that the immunocytochemical detection of occult metastatic tumor cells in bone marrow (BM) at primary surgery provides important prognostic information in breast cancer (e.g., Ref 13 ).

Is first-line single-agent mitoxantrone in the treatment of high-risk metastatic breast cancer patients as effective as combination chemotherapy? No difference in survival but higher quality of life were found in a multicenter randomized trial.

Background: To determine whether patients with high-risk metastatic breast cancer draw benefit from combination chemotherapy as first-line treatment.

Patients And Methods: A total of 260 women with measurable metastatic breast cancer fulfilling high-risk criteria, previously untreated with chemotherapy for their metastatic disease, were randomized to receive either mitoxantrone 12 mg/m(2) or the combination of fluorouracil 500 mg/m(2), epirubicin 50 mg/m(2) and cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m(2) (FEC) every 3 weeks. Treatment was continued until complete remission plus two cycles, or until disease progression.

Cyclic progestin therapy for the management of mastopathy and mastodynia.

The management of benign diseases of the breast aims to halt the progression of fibrocystic transformation and to eliminate the symptoms of pain and breast tenderness. Progestins can be used for this purpose. In a controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study we treated 31 women with mastopathy/mastodynia with the progestins medrogestone (10 mg/day) or dydrogesterone (10 mg/day) from day 14 to day 25 for six cycles.

A summary of two clinical studies on tumor cell dissemination in primary and metastatic breast cancer: methods, prognostic significance and implication for alternative treatment protocols (Review).

Although only less than 10% of women with primary breast cancer have clinicopathologic signs of overt metastases, metastatic relapse occurs in about half of the cases with apparently localized tumors within five years after surgery. In 23% of the patients, bone marrow metastases are detectable at first relapse and this rate even increases in patients with metastatic breast cancer. However, hematogeneous or lymphatic spread of occult tumor cells can arise before diagnosis at an early stage of primary tumor growth and is regularly underestimated by currently available clinical and pathologic staging procedures.

Evaluation of different methods for the detection of minimal residual disease in blood and bone marrow of patients with primary breast cancer: importance for clinical use?

We studied cytokeratin-positive (CK+) cells in the bone marrow (BM) and tumor markers (TM) in the blood of 128 patients with primary breast cancer in order to obtain an early diagnosis of residual disease. CK+ cells of two BM aspirations were detected by immunocytochemistry (IC). To evaluate the usefulness of immunomagnetic separation (IMS) for tumor cell enrichment in clinical samples, IMS was performed prior to IC and compared with the results for IC alone.

Hemostatic effects of high-dose megestrol acetate therapy in patients with advanced gynecological cancer.

Effects of high-dose megestrol acetate on blood coagulation and fibrinolysis were investigated in patients with gynecological (n = 13) and breast (n = 10) cancer. Patients received either 160 mg or 320 mg/day megestrol acetate orally. Blood sampling was performed prior to and after months 1, 3 and 6 of treatment.

Topotecan chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer and brain metastases: results of a pilot study.

Background: Symptomatic brain metastases occur in approximately 10-15% of patients suffering from breast cancer and are linked to a clear deterioration of the patient's condition. Although radiotherapy is recommended as a primary therapy, the optimal management remains controversial. To evaluate the role of topotecan as a primary chemotherapy for brain metastases, we performed a pilot study in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

High-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

Purpose: We report the results of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in twenty-one patients with primarily advanced or relapsed ovarian cancer.

Methods: Twenty-five women underwent stem cell collection, and 21 were finally treated with different regimens of HDC containing cyclophosphamide, etoposide, carboplatin, and treosulfan. The patients received cyclophosphamide +/- cisplatin and cisplatin + paclitaxel, respectively, followed by G-CSF (n = 24) or GM-CSF (n = 1) for stem cell mobilization.