Flecainide for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain: a Phase II trial.

Background: Management of neuropathic pain is challenging. Medications that interfere with sodium channel transport, such as lidocaine, mexilitene and flecainide, are promising as analgesics.

Objective: In a general population of patients with a working diagnosis of neuropathic pain, whether if flecainide produces enough of an improvement in pain to warrant further clinical study is determined.

Adjusting for patient selection suggests the addition of docetaxel to 5-fluorouracil-cisplatin induction therapy may offer survival benefit in squamous cell cancer of the head and neck.

When induction chemotherapy is used in locally advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN), patients often receive cisplatin-5-fluorouracil (PF) followed by radical loco-regional therapy. Phase II studies of docetaxel-cisplatin-5-fluorouracil (TPF) induction therapy, with or without leucovorin (L), have achieved high survival rates versus those reported in phase III PF trials. However, the distribution of prognostic factors may vary between phase II and phase III study populations, making the extrapolation of phase II TPF/L results to phase III PF populations difficult.

The talking touchscreen: a new approach to outcomes assessment in low literacy.

Purpose: Cancer patients who are deficient in literacy skills are particularly vulnerable to experiencing different outcomes due to disparities in care or barriers to care. Outcomes measurement in low literacy patients may provide new insight into problems previously undetected due to the challenges of completing paper-and-pencil forms.

Description Of Study: A multimedia program was developed to provide a quality of life assessment platform that would be acceptable to patients with varying literacy skills and computer experience.

Quality of life assessment for low literacy Latinos: a new multimedia program for self-administration.

Cancer patients who have limited literacy skills or English language proficiency are particularly vulnerable to receiving sub-optimal care. Outcome measurement in these patients may provide new insight into previously undetected problems. This report describes the development and testing of a Spanish language, multimedia program for quality of life (QOL) assessment.