Long-term Outcomes of Chemoradiation for Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer in Noncystectomy Candidates. Final Results of NRG Oncology RTOG 0524-A Phase 1/2 Trial of Paclitaxel + Trastuzumab with Daily Radiation or Paclitaxel Alone with Daily Irradiation.

Background: Chemo-radiation is a well-established alternative to radical cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Many patients due to age or medical comorbidity are unfit for either radical cystectomy, or standard cisplatin- or 5-fluorouracil-based chemoradiation, and do not receive appropriate treatment with curative intent. We treated patients with a less aggressive protocol employing seven weekly doses of paclitaxel and daily irradiation.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of testosterone for treatment of postmenopausal women with aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgias: Alliance study A221102.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of testosterone supplementation for improving aromatase inhibitor musculoskeletal symptoms (AIMSS).

Methods: Postmenopausal women experiencing moderate-to-severe arthralgias while taking adjuvant aromatase inhibitors for breast cancer were enrolled in this trial. Initially, patients were randomly allocated to receive either a subcutaneous testosterone pellet versus a placebo pellet.

Results of NCCTG N0275 (Alliance) - a phase II trial evaluating resection followed by adjuvant radiation therapy for patients with desmoplastic melanoma.

To examine, in a prospective fashion, the utilization and efficacy of adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) in patients with resected desmoplastic melanoma (DM). Adult patients with resected, margin-negative, and nonmetastatic DM were eligible for this single-arm prospective phase II study. Patients were to receive postoperative RT, 30 Gy in five fractions, to the operative bed with 2- to 3-cm margins (depending on the tumor location).

Survivorship care plans: is there buy-in from community oncology providers?

Background: The Institute of Medicine recommended that survivors of cancer and their primary care providers receive survivorship care plans (SCPs) to summarize cancer treatment and plan ongoing care. However, the use of SCPs remains limited.

Methods: Oncology providers at 14 National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program hospitals completed a survey regarding their perceptions of SCPs, including barriers to implementation, strategies for implementation, the role of oncology providers, and the importance of topics in SCPs (diagnosis, treatment, recommended ongoing care, and the aspects of ongoing care that the oncology practice will provide).

Assessment of patient-reported measures of bowel function before and after pelvic radiotherapy: an ancillary study of the North Central Cancer Treatment Group study N00CA.

Purpose: The Bowel Function Questionnaire (BFQ) has been used in clinical trials to assess symptoms during and after pelvic radiotherapy (RT). This study evaluated the importance of symptoms in the BFQ from a patient perspective.

Methods: Patients reported presence or absence of symptoms and rated importance of symptoms at baseline, 4 weeks after completion of pelvic RT, and 12 and 24 months after RT.

Role of different salts on cloud-point extraction of isoprocarb and promecarb insecticides followed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

The influence of salt additive on cloud point extraction (CPE) of isoprocarb and promecarb insecticides is described. Types of salt (Na(2)CO(3), CaCl(2), MgSO(4), Na(2)SO(4), NaHCO(3) and NaCl) and concentrations were studied. The extracted target compounds were analyzed using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Sequential injection spectrophotometric determination of tetracycline antibiotics in pharmaceutical preparations and their residues in honey and milk samples using yttrium (III) and cationic surfactant.

A sequential injection analysis (SIA) spectrophotometric method for determining tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) in different sample matrices were described. The method was based on the reaction between tetracyclines and yttrium (III) in weak basic micellar medium, yielding the light yellow complexes, which were monitored at 390, 392 and 395 nm, respectively. A cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was used to obtain the micellar system.

Comparison of provider-assessed and patient-reported outcome measures of acute skin toxicity during a Phase III trial of mometasone cream versus placebo during breast radiotherapy: the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (N06C4).

Purpose: Considerable interobserver variability exists among providers and between providers and patients when measuring subjective symptoms. In the recently published Phase III N06C4 trial of mometasone cream vs. placebo to prevent radiation dermatitis, the primary provider-assessed (PA) endpoint, using the Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), was negative.

Mometasone furoate effect on acute skin toxicity in breast cancer patients receiving radiotherapy: a phase III double-blind, randomized trial from the North Central Cancer Treatment Group N06C4.

Purpose: A two-arm, double-blind, randomized trial was performed to evaluate the effect of 0.1% mometasone furoate (MMF) on acute skin-related toxicity in patients undergoing breast or chest wall radiotherapy.

Methods And Materials: Patients with ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive breast carcinoma who were undergoing external beam radiotherapy to the breast or chest wall were randomly assigned to apply 0.

Brain metastases from melanoma: is there a role for concurrent temozolomide in addition to whole brain radiation therapy?

Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the addition of temozolomide (TMZ) to whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for brain metastases from melanoma.

Methods: Seven patients with brain metastases from melanoma were treated on a North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) trial (N0274) of TMZ plus WBRT. TMZ was given orally in doses of 200 mg/m² for 5 days every 4 weeks for up to 8 cycles.

Prognostic factors differ by tumor stage for small cell lung cancer: a pooled analysis of North Central Cancer Treatment Group trials.

Background: An analysis of 14 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) trials was performed to improve the current understanding of potential prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in groups of patients with limited-stage disease SCLC (LD-SCLC) and extensive-stage disease SCLC (ED-SCLC) separately.

Methods: Data on 688 patients with LD-SCLC and 910 patients with ED-SCLC were included. Clinical and laboratory factors were tested for their prognostic significance using Cox regression models that were stratified by protocol.

Cloud-point extraction and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of carbamate insecticide residues in fruits.

A cloud-point extraction (CPE) method using Triton X-114 non-ionic surfactant was developed for the extraction and preconcentration of carbamate insecticide residues (i.e., methomyl, propoxur, carbofuran, carbaryl, isoprocarb, and promecarb) in fruit samples.

Enhanced sensitivity and selectivity in the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using sequential simplex optimization, the addition of an organic modifier and wavelength programming.

Optimized separation of a mixture of 16 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using the sequential simplex optimization method was accomplished by varying the starting and ending compositions of acetonitrile and water, linear gradient time, mobile phase flow rate, column temperature and holding time of the final mobile phase composition. Focusing on the two sets of difficult-to-separate pairs (acenaphthene-fluorene and benzo[g,h,i]perylene-indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene), analysis time was reduced by about ten percent through the use of an organic modifier (isopropanol or methanol), under both optimum and near-optimum conditions, while maintaining good separation of the remaining PAHs. High sensitivity for all of the 16 PAHs was achieved by wavelength programming during elution using five wavelengths (224, 235, 254 270 and 296 nm), depending upon the molar absorptivities of the individual compounds.

Simplex optimization of ion-pair reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic analysis of some heavy metals.

The sequential simplex algorithm was used to optimize the ion-pair reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (IP-RPHPLC) analysis of 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR) chelates of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cr(III). A chromatographic response function (CRF) which included the number of peaks, the resolution between adjacent peaks, a specified analysis time, and the individual retention times relative to a minimum retention time, was calculated to evaluate the quality of the individual chromatograms. The optimum conditions for the three experimental parameters were 28.

Phase III, double-blind study of depot octreotide versus placebo in the prevention of acute diarrhea in patients receiving pelvic radiation therapy: results of North Central Cancer Treatment Group N00CA.

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of depot octreotide for the prevention of diarrhea during pelvic radiation therapy.

Patients And Methods: Patients receiving pelvic radiation therapy (planned minimum dose, 45 Gy; 1.7 to 2.

The value of combined-modality therapy in elderly patients with stage III nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the value of combined-modality therapy in elderly patients by comparing the differences in outcome between patients who received radiotherapy (RT) alone and patients who received RT plus chemotherapy for stage III nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: The North Central Cancer Treatment Group performed 2 recent Phase III trials for stage III NSCLC. The first trial, NCCTG 90-24-51, included 3 arms: once-daily RT (QDRT) alone, twice-daily RT (BIDRT) alone, and concurrent chemotherapy plus BIDRT.

Theoretical study of hydrogen-bonded complexes of chlorophenols with water or ammonia: Correlations and predictions of pKa values.

A simple practical method for predicting the acidity constants (as pKa values) of chlorophenols is proposed based on density functional theory calculations of a series of hydrogen-bonded complexes of phenol and 19 different congeners of chlorophenol, with a single probe molecule, either water or ammonia. Relevant structural parameters and molecular properties of these complexes, primarily involving the acidic hydroxyl group, are examined and plotted against the known pKa values of 14 chlorophenols and phenol. Strong linear correlations are found for these compounds.

Results of combined-modality therapy for limited-stage small cell lung carcinoma in the elderly.

Background: A Phase III trial was conducted by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group to determine whether chemotherapy (etoposide and cisplatin) plus either twice-daily radiotherapy (BIDRT) or once-daily radiotherapy (QDRT) resulted in a better outcome for patients with limited-stage small cell lung carcinoma (LD-SCLC). No difference in survival was identified between the two arms. The current analysis examined the relation between age and outcome for patients treated during this trial.

Use of the simplex method to optimize the mobile phase for the micellar chromatographic separation of inorganic anions.

The sequential simplex strategy has been used to optimize the mobile phase used for separation of inorganic anions by micellar chromatography on a C(18)- micro Bondapak column, with absorption detection at 230 nm. The amount of acetonitrile and the concentration of phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) were chosen for optimization.