Combining gemcitabine, oxaliplatin and capecitabine (GEMOXEL) for patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma (APC): a phase I/II trial.

Background: Gemcitabine remains the mainstay of palliative treatment of advanced pancreatic carcinoma (APC). Adding capecitabine or a platinum derivative each significantly prolonged survival in recent meta-analyses. The purpose of this study was to determine dose, safety and preliminary efficacy of a first-line regimen combining all three classes of active cytotoxic drugs in APC.

Induction chemotherapy followed by parenchyma-sparing surgery in medically inoperable NSCLC-results of a feasibility study.

Purpose: Feasibility trial to test the toxicity and outcome of three cycles of induction chemotherapy followed by limited surgery in medically inoperable early stage NSCLC patients.

Patients And Methods: Thirteen patients with NSCLC (stages I-IIIB) with insufficient cardio-respiratory reserves for the oncologically required lung resection, received three cycles of induction chemotherapy with cisplatin (100mg/m(2)) and docetaxel (85mg/m(2)) followed by parenchyma-sparing lung surgery. Operability was evaluated with pulmonary function tests, perfusion scintigraphy and cardiopulmonary exercise testing.