Safety Analysis of Adjuvant Chemotherapy with Docetaxel Administered with or without Anthracyclines to Early Stage Breast Cancer Patients: Combined Results from the Asia- Pacific Breast Initiatives I and II.

Background: The Asia-Pacific Breast Initiatives (APBI) I and II registries were established to collect safety data for patients with early stage breast cancer receiving adjuvant docetaxel-based regimens in the Asia-Pacific region.

Materials And Methods: Data from the two registries were combined to perform a safety analysis. Participants in the registry were women with early stage operable breast cancer with an intermediate or high risk of recurrence.

Risk factors and natural history of breast cancer in younger Chinese women.

Aim: To investigate the age differences in the risk factors, clinicopathological characteristics and patterns of treatment of female breast cancer patients.

Methods: Seven thousand one hundred and fifty-two women with primary breast cancer from the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Registry were recruited after receiving patients' consent, they were asked to complete standardized questionnaires which captured their sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors associated with breast cancer development. Among them, clinicopathological data and patterns of treatment were further collected from medical records of 5523 patients with invasive breast cancers.

Supportive care needs in Hong Kong Chinese women confronting advanced breast cancer.

Background: Women with advanced breast cancer (ABC) are living longer, so understanding their needs becomes important. This cross-sectional study investigated the type and extent of unmet supportive care needs in Hong Kong Chinese women with advanced breast cancer.

Methods: Face-to-face interviews were conducted among women with stage III or stage IV disease mostly awaiting chemotherapy (76%) to identify unmet needs using the Supportive Care Needs Survey Short Form, psychological morbidity using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, symptom distress using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, and satisfaction with care using the Patient satisfaction questionnaire (PSQ-9).

RapidArc radiotherapy planning for prostate cancer: single-arc and double-arc techniques vs. intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

RapidArc is a novel technique using arc radiotherapy aiming to achieve intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)-quality radiotherapy plans with shorter treatment time. This study compared the dosimetric quality and treatment efficiency of single-arc (SA) vs. double-arc (DA) and IMRT in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Cetuximab plus irinotecan in pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer patients: the ELSIE study.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cetuximab plus irinotecan in irinotecan-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients from South-East Asia and Australia.

Methods: In this open-label, phase II study, the main eligibility criteria were epidermal growth factor receptor-positive mCRC with progressive disease within 3 mo of an irinotecan-based regimen as the most recent chemotherapy. Patients received cetuximab 400 mg/m2 initially, then 250 mg/m2 every week, with the same regimen of irinotecan on which the patients had progressed (4 pre-defined regimens allowed).

An analysis of the efficacy of serial screening for familial nasopharyngeal carcinoma based on Markov chain models.

Treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) can be improved by early detection of the disease as treatment outcome worsens with disease's progression. This can be achieved with a mass screening program using Epstein Barr virus (EBV) serology and nasopharyngoscopy. The efficacy of any screening strategy should be evaluated before putting it into practice.

Outcomes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma screening for high risk family members in Hong Kong.

We undertook a large retrospective study to evaluate the impact of screening family members of NPC patients with Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) serology. 1,199 asymptomatic family members of NPC patients were entered into the annual screening program with EBV serology and nasopharyngoscopy between 1994 and 2005. Eighteen participants of our screening program developed NPC; 17 of them were treated in our institute, of whom 16 were detected in screening.

Trends and patterns of breast conservation treatment in Hong Kong: 1994-2007.

Purpose: Breast conservation treatment (BCT) was quite unpopular in Hong Kong until the early 1990s, but the trends and patterns of BCT use in the past 14 years have not been studied since. The purpose of this study was to identify the latest trends and patterns.

Methods And Materials: All consecutive cases of female breast cancer referred to a community oncology center in Hong Kong between 1994 and 2007 were retrospectively reviewed.

Familial nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Hong Kong: epidemiology and implication in screening.

The pathogenetic mechanism of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is still unclear. Its familial aggregation, on the other hand, has been well documented by many epidemiological studies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of familial NPC in an endemic region.

Potential improvement of tumor control probability by induction chemotherapy for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: To assess the reduction of tumor bulk and improvement of tumor control probability (TCP) by using induction chemotherapy for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Materials And Methods: From February to December 2005, 20 patients with Stage III-IVB NPC were treated with induction-concurrent chemotherapy and intensity-modulated radiotherapy with accelerated fractionation. Combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil was used in the induction phase and single agent Cisplatin in the concurrent phase.

Clinical outcome of breast conservation therapy for breast cancer in Hong Kong: prognostic impact of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and 2005 St. Gallen risk categories.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of breast conservation therapy (BCT) for invasive breast cancers in our predominantly Chinese population.

Methods And Materials: Clinical outcomes of 412 T1-2 invasive breast cancers treated by wide local excision and external radiotherapy from 1994 to 2003 were retrospectively analyzed. Only 7% lesions were first detected by mammograms.

Induction chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine followed by accelerated radiotherapy and concurrent cisplatin in patients with stage IV(A-B) nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of cisplatin plus gemcitabine as induction chemotherapy in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: Thirty-seven patients with stage IV(A-B) NPC were treated with 3 cycles of cisplatin plus gemcitabine (cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) on day 1; gemcitabine 1250 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8) 3-weekly as induction chemotherapy, followed by another 3 cycles of concurrent cisplatin (100 mg/m(2) on day 1) 3-weekly with accelerated radiotherapy (RT) at 70 Gy in 2-Gy fractions, 6 daily fractions per week.

Results: The overall response rate to induction chemotherapy was > 90%, and side effects other than uncomplicated hematologic toxicities were uncommon.

Dose-response relationship of nasopharyngeal carcinoma above conventional tumoricidal level: a study by the Hong Kong nasopharyngeal carcinoma study group (HKNPCSG).

Background And Purpose: To define the dose-response relationship of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) above the conventional tumoricidal dose level of 66 Gy when the basic radiotherapy (RT) course was given by the 2D Ho's technique.

Patients And Methods: Data from all five regional cancer centers in Hong Kong were pooled for this retrospective study. All patients (n = 2426) were treated with curative-intent RT with or without chemotherapy between 1996 and 2000 with the basic RT course using the Ho's technique.

A comparison study of different PCR assays in measuring circulating plasma epstein-barr virus DNA levels in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: To compare the performance of three PCR assays in measuring circulating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). DNA levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients and to confirm its prognostic significance.

Experimental Design: Plasma from 58 newly diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients were collected before, during, and every 3 to 6 months after radiotherapy.

Screening for family members of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is well known for its peculiarly skewed distribution with highest incidence in Southern Chinese population. Familial aggregation is evident, hence screening for early detection is offered by oncology centers in Hong Kong to first-degree relatives of patients with NPC. During the period 1994-2001, 929 family members were screened in our center.

Effectiveness of brachytherapy and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy boost for persistent nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with local persistence after primary radiotherapy carries a high risk of treatment failure. We compared the effectiveness of brachytherapy and a fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) boost in improving tumor control.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 755 patients with NPC treated from 1994 to 2001.

Primary tumor volume of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: prognostic significance for local control.

Purpose: To study the prognostic significance of primary tumor volume on local control of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods And Materials: Between 1998 and 2001, 308 consecutive patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with radical intent were staged with MRI. On the basis of the extent of tumor infiltration outlined by a diagnostic radiologist, the gross tumor volume of the primary and involved retropharyngeal nodes (GTV-P) was delineated by a radiation oncologist for three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy to the nasopharyngeal region using the Helax-TMS Planning System.