[The importance of adherence to oral therapies in the field of oncology: the example of breast cancer].

Today, over 40 different oral anticancer therapies are available in the French prescription pricing authority dictionary. Adherence to these therapies has become a major issue in the field of oncology. Most of the available research has focused on adherence to hormonal therapy for breast cancer (BC).

Randomized study of 2 reduced-intensity conditioning strategies for human leukocyte antigen-matched, related allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation: prospective clinical and socioeconomic evaluation.

Background: The optimal intensity of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains uncertain.

Methods: In this centrally randomized phase 2 study, the authors compared 2 different strategies of RIC. In total, 139 patients (median age, 54 years; range, 21-65 years) with hematologic malignancies underwent allo-HSCT from a human leukocyte antigen-identical sibling after conditioning combining fludarabine with either busulfan and rabbit antithymocyte-globulin (BU-rATG) (n = 69) or total body irradiation (TBI) (n = 70).

Loss of Bcl-2 expression in colon cancer: a prognostic factor for recurrence in stage II colon cancer.

Aims: To evaluate the prognostic value of immunohistochemical expression of Bcl-2 in colon cancers.

Patients And Methods: Two hundred and twenty-six resected and paraffin-embedded colon carcinomas were analysed by immunostaining using monoclonal antibodies for Bcl-2. We evaluated whether the Bcl-2 staining patterns, semi-quantitatively assessed, could be correlated with the pTNM stage, size and tumour circumference, differentiation, appearance, vascular invasion, perineural invasion, colloid component, margins, involvement of adjacent structures, stromal appearance, flow cytometry and the S-phase.

Breast cancer guidelines--Physicians' intentions and behaviors.

Guidelines are written to define what a physician should do, and networks set up to provide every patient with good practice. However, is willingness to treat according norms enough to actually implement it? Between 1997 and 2003, 4,533 women with invasive, noninflammatory, nonmetastatic breast cancer have been treated within the framework of a regional network (R2C). The rate of implementation of 5 consensual norms was assessed.

[Impact on the quality of pathology reports in the R2c cancer network: analysis of 4521 pathology reports of primary breast tumors].

This study was designed to evaluate the impact on the quality of pathology reports of a cancer network, named R2c covering the west side of PACA region. Over a 7 year-period, we collected 4521 pathology reports on primary breast cancers, filled by pathologists belonging or not the network. The analysis focused on the 6 histo-prognostic factors from the pathology report standardized according to European recommendations.

[Improvement in breast cancer survival between 1975 and 2003 in a cohort of 5722 women].

To evaluate improvement in breast cancer management between 1975 and 2003, we constituted a cohort of 5722 women with an invasive non-metastatic breast cancer. An active follow-up was carried out and completed using administrative databases. Survival rates were computed using a classical person-time and a period analyses.

Micrometastases in sentinel lymph node in a multicentric study: predictive factors of nonsentinel lymph node involvement--Groupe des Chirurgiens de la Federation des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer.

Purpose: To determine the rate of nonsentinel lymph node (NSN) involvement at axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and predictive factors of this involvement following detection of micrometastasis in sentinel nodes (SN).

Methods: We analyzed 700 observations of SN micrometastases with additional ALND with the characteristics of the patients, tumors, and SN.

Results: Involvement of SN was diagnosed 388 times by serial sections (55.

Early allogeneic stem-cell transplantation for young adults with acute myeloblastic leukemia in first complete remission: an intent-to-treat long-term analysis of the BGMT experience.

Purpose: We analyzed the impact of allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (alloSCT) as an early consolidation for young patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia in first complete remission (CR1) through four successive protocols.

Patients And Methods: Of the 472 patients who achieved CR1, 182 (38%) had an HLA-identical sibling (donor group), and alloSCT was performed in 171 patients (94%). Of the 290 patients without donor (no-donor group), 62% received an autologous SCT.

Protein expression profiling identifies subclasses of breast cancer and predicts prognosis.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease whose evolution is difficult to predict by using classic histoclinical prognostic factors. Prognostic classification can benefit from molecular analyses such as large-scale expression profiling. Using immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays, we have monitored the expression of 26 selected proteins in more than 1,600 cancer samples from 552 consecutive patients with early breast cancer.

Salvage abdominoperineal resection after failure of conservative treatment in anal epidermoid cancer.

Purpose: Radiotherapy alone or with combined chemotherapy is the first therapeutic option for epidermoid carcinoma of the anal canal. Failure of this conservative treatment may benefit of salvage abdominoperineal resection. This study was designed to analyze postoperative outcome and oncologic results in a single anticancer institution.

Identification of TCL1A as an immunohistochemical marker of adverse outcome in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.

We used a combination of DNA-microarray and tissue-microarray (TMA) analyses to identify markers that could be routinely used to predict the outcome of diffuse large-B-cell lymphoma (DLCL) patients. Gene expression profiling was performed using DNA-microarrays on 52 tumour biopsy samples [31 DLCL and 21 follicular lymphomas (FL)] from 48 patients (28 DLCL and 20 FL). T-cell leukemia/lymphoma-1A (TCL1A) mRNA overexpression was correlated with relapse in DLCL patients.

CD8+ T cell dose affects development of acute graft-vs-host disease following reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

Objective: Acute graft-vs-host disease (aGVHD) remains an important cause of morbidity after reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic transplantation (allo-SCT). It has been shown that antithymocyte globulin (ATG) dose infused during RIC is a major determinant for the likelihood of developing aGVHD. The ATG modulation on aGVHD is likely related to in vivo T-cell depletion.

A recurrent chromosome breakpoint in breast cancer at the NRG1/neuregulin 1/heregulin gene.

Most studies of genomic rearrangements in common cancers have focused on regional gains and losses, but some rearrangements may break within specific genes. We previously reported that five breast cancer cell lines have chromosome translocations that break in the NRG1 gene and that could cause abnormal NRG1 expression. NRG1 encodes the Neuregulins 1 (formerly the Heregulins), ligands for members of the ErbB/epidermal growth factor-receptor family, which includes ErbB2/HER2.

Clinical outcome in patients with locally advanced bladder carcinoma treated with conservative multimodality therapy.

Objectives: To describe the outcome of patients with muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma treated with multimodality therapy in our institution from 1993 to 2002.

Methods: The charts of 60 patients with Stage T2-T4N0-N1M0 treated with transurethral resection of bladder tumor followed by a chemoradiotherapy combination were retrospectively reviewed. Of the 60 patients, 22 had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (methotrexate, cisplatin, and vinblastine or methotrexate, adriamycin, cisplatin, and vinblastine) followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy (weekly cisplatin/carboplatin or a cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil combination), and 38 had received concomitant chemoradiotherapy alone.

The benefit of induction chemotherapy in patients age > or = 75 years.

Background: Patients age > or = 75 years with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) generally are offered palliative treatments instead of induction chemotherapy. The authors conducted a retrospective study comparing the outcomes among these elderly patients with the outcomes among younger patients to assess the impact of intensive treatment approaches in this age group.

Methods: One hundred ten consecutive patients age > or = 75 years with newly diagnosed AML (excluding patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia) were treated in the authors' center over 10 years.

Immunophenotypic analysis of inflammatory breast cancers: identification of an 'inflammatory signature'.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but very aggressive form of breast cancer. Its definition is based on clinical criteria, but a molecular definition could be useful when data are incomplete or features are missing. Recently, the identification of overexpression of E-cadherin in IBC has improved understanding of the molecular basis of this disease.

Intensive sequential chemotherapy with hematopoietic growth factor support for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

Background: Optimal treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has yet to be defined, because chemotherapy could exacerbate immunodeficiency, with subsequent adverse effects for patients.

Methods: The authors investigated the feasibility of an intensive chemotherapy regimen for HIV-associated NHL. Thirty-eight patients were treated with a first course of cyclophosphamide (Cy), vincristine, and prednisone; followed by 3 courses of high-dose Cy (2000 mg/m2), doxorubicin (Doxo; 50 mg/m2), vincristine, and prednisone (modified high-dose CHOP); 1 course of high-dose methotrexate (MTX; 8000 mg/m2); and 1 course of high-dose cytarabine (8000 mg/m2).

Loss of FHIT protein expression is a marker of adverse evolution in good prognosis localized breast cancer.

The FHIT tumor suppressor gene, which encompasses the fragile site FRA3B at 3p14.2, is altered frequently in many types of human cancers. To determine its importance as a prognostic marker in breast cancer, the expression of the FHIT protein was studied in a series of 452 breast carcinomas by using immunohistochemistry on sections of tissue microarrays.

Weekly administration of docetaxel for symptomatic metastatic hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma.

Background: The current Phase II study investigated the clinical benefit, impact on quality of life (QOL), and tolerability of weekly docetaxel in symptomatic patients with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma (HRPC).

Methods: Patients received weekly docetaxel 35 mg/m(2) intravenously for 6 consecutive weeks followed by a 2-week rest repeatedly for a maximum of 24 weeks of treatment. Clinical benefit evaluations, based on Karnofsky performance status (KPS) and pain, were assessed weekly during therapy.

Reduced-intensity preparative regimen and allogeneic stem cell transplantation for advanced solid tumors.

In this prospective multicenter program, we investigated allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) from HLA-identical siblings following reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen for patients with refractory metastatic solid tumors (STs). Fifty-seven patients, of whom 39 had a progressive disease (PD) at time of ASCT, received an RIC ASCT combining fludarabine, antithymocyte globulin (ATG), and busulfan. Patients were analyzed in terms of engraftment, transplant-related mortality (TRM), disease response, and outcome.

Nonvisualization of axillary sentinel node during lymphoscintigraphy: is there a pathologic significance in breast cancer?

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to define the factors associated with nonvisualization of a sentinel node (SN) in the axilla area during preoperative lymphoscintigraphy.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 332 women with T0, T1, or T2 <3-cm, N0 invasive breast cancer who underwent a sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure. All patients had intradermal and intraparenchymal injection of 37 MBq (99m)Tc-sulfur colloid in a total volume of 4 x 0.

[Risk of stage underestimation of breast cancer by sentinel lymph node biopsy method].

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is fast becoming the standard for testing lymph node involvement in many institutions. However questions remain as to stage underestimation. The aim of this study was to analyse this specific risk in a retrospective study.

Progesterone receptor status significantly improves outcome prediction over estrogen receptor status alone for adjuvant endocrine therapy in two large breast cancer databases.

Purpose: To determine whether progesterone receptor (PgR) status provides additional value to estrogen receptor (ER) status and improves prediction of benefit from endocrine treatment among patients with primary breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Clinical outcomes of patients in two large databases were analyzed as a function of steroid receptor status. The first database (PP), contained 3,739 patients who did not receive any systemic adjuvant therapy and 1,688 patients who received adjuvant endocrine therapy but no chemotherapy.

Neoadjuvant preoperative chemoradiation in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: To assess the toxicity and efficacy of preoperative chemoradiation in pancreatic cancer.

Methods And Materials: Between November 1996 and December 2001, 32 patients with biopsy-proven pancreatic adenocarcinoma (28 head; 4 body) were treated by chemoradiation consisting of either split-course therapy (two courses of 15 Gy separated by a 2-week break, n = 10) or standard-fractionation therapy (45 Gy during 5 weeks, n = 22). Concurrent chemotherapy included continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil and a cisplatin bolus.