Treatment and survival of rectal cancer patients over the age of 80 years: a EURECCA international comparison.

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for older rectal cancer patients remains unclear. The current study aimed to compare treatment and survival of rectal cancer patients aged 80+.

Methods: Patients of ≥80 years diagnosed with rectal cancer between 2001 and 2010 were included.

Treatment and Survival of Patients with Colon Cancer Aged 80 Years and Older: A EURECCA International Comparison.

Background: Colon cancer in older patients represents a major public health issue. As older patients are hardly included in clinical trials, the optimal treatment of these patients remains unclear. The present international EURECCA comparison explores possible associations between treatment and survival outcomes in elderly colon cancer patients.

Survival among clinical stage I-III rectal cancer patients treated with different preoperative treatments: A population-based comparison.

Background: Radical resection is regarded as the cornerstone of rectal cancer treatment. Preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy are often administered. This population-based study compares the survival in clinical stage I-III rectal cancer patients who received either preoperative radiotherapy, preoperative chemoradiotherapy or no preoperative therapy.

Breakage-fusion-bridge cycles leading to inv dup del occur in human cleavage stage embryos.

Recently, a high incidence of chromosome instability (CIN) was reported in human cleavage stage embryos. Based on the copy number changes that were observed in the blastomeres it was hypothesized that chromosome breakages and fusions occur frequently in cleavage stage human embryos and instigate subsequent breakage-fusion-bridge cycles. In addition, it was hypothesized that the DNA breaks present in spermatozoa could trigger this CIN.