The Impact of a Small Private Online Course as a New Approach to Teaching Oncology: Development and Evaluation.

Background: Oncology involves complex care and multidisciplinary management of patients; however, misinformation and ineffective communication remain problematic.

Objective: The educational objective of our study was to develop a new teaching method to improve cancer treatment and management by emphasizing the link between hospitals (inpatients) and their surrounding communities (outpatients).

Methods: A team of 22 professionals from public and private institutions developed a small private online course (SPOC).

Use of iron sucrose and red blood cell transfusions in anaemic cancer patients in France (OncoFer study).

Purpose: This report describes the results of an observational, retrospective cohort study, evaluating the use of iron sucrose (IS) and red blood cell (RBC) transfusions in patients with cancer in routine clinical practice in France. A parallel investigated cohort treated with ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) has been reported earlier.

Methods: Data of patients with a solid tumour or haematological malignancy who have received IS or an RBC transfusion during 2010 from 3 months prior (M) to 3 months post first treatment (M) were analysed.

Clinical use of ferric carboxymaltose in patients with solid tumours or haematological malignancies in France.

Purpose: This study collected data on the use of ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) in a cancer patient population in France to evaluate the feasibility and the conditions of use of FCM in routine clinical practice beyond the limiting criteria of clinical trials.

Methods: This observational, prospective study of patients with a solid tumour or a haematological malignancy who have received treatment with FCM after 01 July 2011 evaluated data about the circumstances of iron administration, concomitant medication and laboratory tests in the period from 3 months prior to the first FCM administration (baseline) until 3 months post-baseline.

Results: Data from 367 FCM-treated patients were analysed.

Evaluation of cost savings with ferric carboxymaltose in anemia treatment through its impact on erythropoiesis-stimulating agents and blood transfusion: French healthcare payer perspective.

Objective: To evaluate the economic impact of intravenous iron (in the form of intravenous iron preparation of ferric carboxymaltose) in three different clinical settings of iron deficiency anemia: chemotherapy-induced anemia in breast cancer, chemotherapy-induced anemia in digestive cancer, and perioperative anemia in knee and hip surgery.

Methods: The economic model compared the usual therapeutic strategies of anemia without intravenous iron and strategies including intravenous iron, in each of the three clinical settings selected. Costs related to anemia treatment by erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA), blood transfusion, and intravenous iron were estimated and compared inside each setting.

Diagnosis and management of anaemia and iron deficiency in patients with haematological malignancies or solid tumours in France in 2009-2010: the AnemOnHe study.

Objective: To describe the management of anaemia in 2009-2010 in France in patients with haematological malignancies (HM) or solid tumours (ST).

Methods: Retrospective observational study in 57 centres, enrolling adult patients with HM or ST treated for an episode of anaemia (duration of the episode ≥ 3 months occurring in the last 12 months).

Results: 220 patients with ST (breast, 18%; lung, 18%) and 56 with HM (lymphoma, 60%) were included (median age, 68 years; female, 53%).

Quality of life of palliative chemotherapy naive patients with advanced adenocarcinoma of the stomach or esophagogastric junction treated with irinotecan combined with 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid: results of a randomised phase III trial.

Purpose: The quality of life (QL) of advanced gastric cancer patients receiving irinotecan, folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (IF arm) or cisplatin with 5-FU (CF arm) is presented.

Methods: Patients with measurable or evaluable advanced gastric cancer received IF weekly for 6/7 weeks or CF q4 weeks. QL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 at baseline, subsequently every 8 weeks until progression and thereafter every 3 months until death.

Combination chemotherapy of vinorelbine and cisplatin: a phase I pharmacokinetic study in patients with metastatic solid tumors.

Background: Vinorelbine (VRL)-cisplatin (CDDP) is an active doublet for advanced non-small cell lung cancer. CDDP has a narrow therapeutic index and may produce a cumulative nephrotoxicity over the treatment period. This study was to assess the risks of drug-drug interaction (DDI) over 3 consecutive cycles of VRL-CDDP combined treatments.

Patient-reported outcomes as a component of the primary endpoint in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in advanced pancreatic cancer.

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study comparing gemcitabine+tipifarnib (G+t) or gemcitabine+placebo (G+p) in patients with pancreatic cancer, the primary endpoint of time to deterioration (TTD) was based primarily on patient-reported outcomes. Deterioration was defined as death or worsening of disease-related symptoms, based on patient-reported outcomes of pain intensity and analgesic use in a daily diary, plus investigator-rated weekly performance status. Secondary endpoints included survival and safety.

Multicenter randomized trial of adjuvant fluorouracil and folinic acid compared with surgery alone after resection of colorectal liver metastases: FFCD ACHBTH AURC 9002 trial.

Purpose: Complete resection of liver metastases of colorectal origin is the only potentially curative treatment. In order to decrease recurrences, the use of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy after liver resection is controversial because no randomized study demonstrated its benefit.

Patients And Methods: In a multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 173 patients with completely resected (R0) hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer to surgery alone and observation (87 patients) or to surgery followed by 6 months of systemic adjuvant chemotherapy with a fluorouracil and folinic acid monthly regimen (86 patients).

Oxaliplatin combined with 5-FU in second line treatment of advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Results of a phase II trial.

Background: The efficacy and benefit of second-line chemotherapy in advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma has never been demonstrated although it is regularly used.

Patients And Methods: A randomized phase II study evaluating oxaliplatin alone (OXA), infusional 5-fluorouracil alone (5-FU) and an oxaliplatin/infusional 5-FU combination (OXFU) in untreated advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma has been conducted. In this trial, a second-line treatment with the OXFU regimen (OXA 130 mg/m2 2-h intravenous (i.

Cystatin C as a new covariate to predict renal elimination of drugs: application to carboplatin.

Background And Objective: The individual dosing of drugs that are mainly eliminated unchanged in the urine is made possible by assessing renal function. Most of the methods used are based on serum creatinine (SCr) levels. Cystatin C (CysC) has been proposed as an alternative endogenous marker of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

Phase-I study of a new schedule based on increasing days of topotecan administration associated with dose individualisation.

Background: The most commonly prescribed schedule of topotecan administration is daily for five days, every 21 days. Both pre-clinical and clinical studies suggest that a more protracted schedule may increase its therapeutic index. The current study was undertaken to determine the maximum tolerated number of days with 30-minute i.

In vivo and in vitro antitumor activity of oxaliplatin in combination with cetuximab in human colorectal tumor cell lines expressing different level of EGFR.

This study aimed to assess the effect of cetuximab (C225, Erbitux, a chimeric anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody) in combination with oxaliplatin in vitro and in vivo on four colon cancer cell lines (HCT-8; HT-29, SW620, HCT-116) expressing different levels of EGFR. In vitro, cetuximab combined with oxaliplatin significantly decreased the IC50 values of oxaliplatin in HCT-8 (EGF-R moderate) and HT-29 (EGF-R weak) cell lines, while SW620 (EGF-R negative) and HCT-116 (EGFR strong) cell lines remained unresponsive. This combination was synergistic in HCT-8 and HT-29 cell lines while cetuximab induced no major modification of the IC50 of oxaliplatin in HCT-116 or SW620 cell lines.

[Recommendations for the management of GIST patients].

Background: The management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) has evolved very rapidly in the last years. A national consensus meeting was therefore organized in order to identify the optimal management procedures for patients with GIST in localized and advanced stages.

Methods: A panel of different specialties, including pathology, molecular biology, imaging, surgery, gastroenterology, medical oncology reviewed the current literature, in particular the recent Lugano conference, to identify consensus points and topics for future research in four different working groups: pathology and molecular biology, early management of small tumors and imaging, surgery, and medical treatment.

Irinotecan plus oxaliplatin and leucovorin-modulated fluorouracil in advanced pancreatic cancer--a Groupe Tumeurs Digestives of the Federation Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer study.

Purpose: To evaluate response rate and toxicity of irinotecan and oxaliplatin plus fluorouracil (FU) and leucovorin (Folfirinox) in advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (APA).

Patients And Methods: Chemotherapy-naive patients with histologically proven APA and bidimensionally measurable disease were treated with Folfirinox therapy every 2 weeks, which comprised oxaliplatin 85 mg/m(2) and irinotecan 180 mg/m(2) plus leucovorin 400 mg/m(2) followed by bolus FU 400 mg/m(2) on day 1, then FU 2,400 mg/m(2) as a 46-hour continuous infusion. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed using European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30).

[Standards, Options and Recommendations 2004: good practice guidelines for second opinion in anatomic and surgical pathology in oncology (integral report)].

Context: The " Standards, Options and Recommendations" (SOR) project, which started in 1993, is a collaboration between the French Federation of Cancer Centres (FNCLCC), the 20 French Regional Cancer Centres, and specialists from French public universities, general hospitals and private clinics. The main objective is the development of clinical practice guidelines to improve the quality of health care and the outcome of cancer patients.

Objective: To develop good practice guidelines for second opinion in anatomic and surgical pathology in oncology, in collaboration with the French Society for Anatomic and Surgical Pathology.

Mechanism-based models for topotecan-induced neutropenia.

Objective: A semiphysiologic pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model was applied to describe topotecan-induced neutropenia, to quantify interindividual and intraindividual pharmacodynamic variability, and to study the effect of covariates on the model.

Methods: Data were obtained from patients treated with topotecan given either orally (118 patients) or intravenously (71 patients), according to different schedules (5 to 21 consecutive days), with or without cisplatin. The model mimics the maturation chain of neutrophils.

[For a coordination of the supportive care for people affected by severe illnesses: proposition of organization in the public and private health care centres].

The concept of continuous and global care is acknowledged today by all as inherent to modern medicine. A working group gathered to propose models for the coordination of supportive care for all severe illnesses in the various private and public health care centres. The supportive care are defined as: "all care and supports necessary for ill people, at the same time as specific treatments, along all severe illnesses".

Pharmacokinetics of platinum after oral or intravenous cisplatin: a phase 1 study in 32 adult patients.

Aims: To develop a population pharmacokinetic model for simultaneous analysis of oral/intravenous cisplatin data in order to estimate the mean population pharmacokinetic parameters, mainly the bioavailability, of cisplatin and to evaluate the influence of covariates on the pharmacokinetic variability.

Methods: Pharmacokinetic and demographic data were collected from 32 adult patients (20 males/12 females, age range 47-76 years) receiving 30-min infusions or an oral formulation of cisplatin, 10-30 mg/m2, for various malignancies. Both total plasma and ultrafilterable or unbound platinum concentrations were determined.

[Demography of oncologic practitioners working in France. Projection elements for the next 30 years].

In the early eighties, French medical regulatory authorities have decided to control the access to medical studies by restricting the number of admittances. From that date, the numerous clauses was unchanged, leading the physicians to observe a deep reduction in the number of young oncologists. The goal of this study was to define precisely the demography of French medical oncologists and the needs for new specialists.

Pharmacokinetic linearity of i.v. vinorelbine from an intra-patient dose escalation study design.

As pharmacokinetics represents a bridge between pharmacological concentrations and clinical regimens, the pharmacokinetic exploration of the therapeutic dose range is a major outcome. This study was aimed at assessing pharmacokinetic linearity of i.v.

Vinorelbine-related cardiac events: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Several cases of cardiac adverse reactions related to vinorelbine (VNR) have been reported in the literature. In order to quantify the incidence of these cardiac events, we performed a meta-analysis of clinical trials comparing VNR with other chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of various malignancies. Randomized clinical trials comparing VNR with other drugs in the treatment of cancer were searched in Medline, Embase, Evidence-based Medicine Reviews databases and the Cochrane library from 1987 to 2002.

[Clinical practice guidelines: Standards, Options and Recommendations for the diagnosis of carcinomas of unknown primary site].

Context: The "Standards, Options and Recommendations" (SOR) project, which started in 1993, is a collaboration between the Federation of French Cancer Centers (FNCLCC), the 20 French Regional Cancer Centers, and specialists from French public universities, general hospitals and private clinics. The main objective is the development of clinical practice guidelines to improve the quality of health care and the outcome of cancer patients.

Objectives: To define Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) for the diagnosis of carcinomas of unknown primary site.

Epoetin alfa and intravenous iron sucrose to treat severe anemia in a patient with chronic radiation enteropathy: a case report.

We report the case of a patient with a severe chronic radiation enteropathy. She had been dependent on red cell transfusions for many years. On admission, she displayed anemia (8.