Docetaxel-induced nail toxicity: a case of severe onycholysis and topic review.

Docetaxel is a commonly-used anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agent given its efficacy in a large variety of solid tumors. It is associated with various adverse effects one of which is nail toxicity. We report a case of severe onycholysis as a result of treatment with docetaxel in a patient who suffered from metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Isolated tumor cells and circulating CK20 mRNA in pN0 colorectal cancer patients.

Micrometastases in lymph nodes and blood may provide important prognostic information. In this study, cytokeratin 20 (CK20) positive cells in lymph nodes and circulating CK20 mRNA were studied using 57 paraffin-embedded lymph node specimens and blood from 24 patients with pN0 colorectal cancer (CRC), respectively. Results showed that 29 out of 56 (52%) lymph node specimens had CK20-positive cells (range: 1-35).

Hepatitis B viral load predicts survival of HCC patients undergoing systemic chemotherapy.

Unlabelled: HCC is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. For patients who are not candidates for curative surgery, systemic chemotherapy is one of the standard treatments. In parts of China and the Far East, over 80% of HCC patients have chronic HBV infection.

Use of the University of California Los Angeles Integrated Staging System (UISS) to predict survival in localized renal cell carcinoma in an Asian population.

Objectives: To evaluate the applicability of the University of California Los Angeles Integrated Staging System (UISS) in predicting the prognosis of Chinese patients with localized renal cell carcinoma after radical nephrectomy, with reference to that reported by Patard et al in an international multicenter study (J Clin Oncol 2004, 22:3316-3322).

Methodology: One hundred and twenty-eight Chinese patients with localized renal cell carcinoma were stratified into low risk (LR), intermediate risk (IR) and high risk (HR) groups according to the UISS, based on the TMN staging and Fuhrman grading of the tumor and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of the patients. The survival curves of each risk group were then calculated.

A fourteen-year review of radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma demonstrating the usefulness of the concept of lymph node density.

Objective: We studied the long-term outcome of radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma and evaluated prognostic factors for disease specific survival.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review was carried out for all cystectomies performed for transitional cell carcinoma between 1989 and 2002. Disease specific survival was correlated to patient, pathological and operative factors as well as to adjuvant therapy.

A randomized phase III study of doxorubicin versus cisplatin/interferon alpha-2b/doxorubicin/fluorouracil (PIAF) combination chemotherapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Single-agent doxorubicin has been widely used to treat unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the response rate is low (< 20%) and there is no convincing evidence for improved survival. Cisplatin, interferon, doxorubicin, and fluorouracil (PIAF) used in combination, by contrast, has shown promise in a phase II study. We compared doxorubicin to PIAF in patients with unresectable HCC in a phase III trial.

Use of lamivudine to prevent hepatitis B virus reactivation during chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

In parts of Asia, about 10% of the population have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and cancer patients who are HBV carriers are frequently complicated by HBV reactivation while receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy. The condition may result in varying degrees of liver damage, causing disruption in chemotherapy and compromising the patients' prognosis. With the increasing use of chemotherapy paralleling the rise in breast cancer incidence, the occurrence of HBV reactivation is likely to further increase.

Hepatitis B virus reactivation in breast cancer patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy: a prospective study.

Breast cancer is a rapidly increasing problem in many developing countries, and cytotoxic chemotherapy is now an integral part of its management. In several developing countries, the carriage of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in cancer patients may be as high as 12%, and such patients are at risk of developing fatal HBV reactivation during chemotherapy. HBV reactivation is well recognized in patients with hematological malignancies, but limited data are available on patients with other, more common, cancers, such as breast cancer.

Acute toxicity of adjuvant doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide for early breast cancer -- a retrospective review of Chinese patients and comparison with an historic Western series.

A cohort of 85 Chinese breast cancer patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide was found to have a significantly higher incidence of grade 3 (n=44, 52%) and grade 4 (n=21, 25%) neutropenia when compared with an historic Western cohort. Also noted was a higher incidence of hepatotoxicity (n=8, 9%). When compared to Caucasian patients, the higher myelotoxicity in our patients may be related to ethnic variation in susceptibility to chemotherapy-related toxicity, lower body mass index with higher percentage of body fat composition, and the popular practice of concurrent alternative medicine during chemotherapy.

Frequent detection of the replicative form of TT virus DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and bone marrow cells in cancer patients.

The TT virus (TTV), a member of a family of human viruses related to the circoviridae viruses, was associated initially with acute and chronic liver diseases. TTV consists of a single-stranded, circular DNA genome of 3.8 kilobases (kb) and at least three open reading frames (ORFs).