A phase I study of UFT/leucovorin, carboplatin, and paclitaxel in combination with external beam radiation therapy for advanced esophageal carcinoma.

Purpose: Concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (RT) are used to treat patients with esophageal cancer. The optimal combination of chemotherapeutic agents with RT is not well established. We evaluated the safety and preliminary efficacy of a combination of UFT/leucovorin, carboplatin, and paclitaxel with RT in a Phase I study of patients with advanced esophageal cancer.

Antiangiogenics: the potential role of integrating this novel treatment modality with chemoradiation for solid cancers.

Although still in very early stages of clinical development, the combination of antiangiogenics with contemporary chemoradiotherapy regimens has emerged as a feasible and promising approach to many cancers. We review the rationale and the current understanding of antiangiogenics and their therapeutic potential in combination with chemoradiotherapy. Finally, we offer a perspective on future research directions aimed at making this complex therapeutic approach successful in the clinic.

Long-term results of RTOG trial 8911 (USA Intergroup 113): a random assignment trial comparison of chemotherapy followed by surgery compared with surgery alone for esophageal cancer.

Purpose: We update Radiation Therapy Oncology Group trial 8911 (USA Intergroup 113), a comparison of chemotherapy plus surgery versus surgery alone for patients with localized esophageal cancer. The relationship between resection type and between tumor response and outcome were also analyzed.

Patients And Methods: The chemotherapy group received preoperative cisplatin plus fluorouracil.

No evidence for faster male hybrid sterility in population crosses of an intertidal copepod (Tigriopus californicus).

Two different forces are thought to contribute to the rapid accumulation of hybrid male sterility that has been observed in many inter-specific crosses, namely the faster male and the dominance theories. For male heterogametic taxa, both faster male and dominance would work in the same direction to cause the rapid evolution of male sterility; however, for taxa lacking differentiated sex chromosomes only the faster male theory would explain the rapid evolution of male hybrid sterility. It is currently unknown what causes the faster evolution of male sterility, but increased sexual selection on males and the sensitivity of genes involved in male reproduction are two hypotheses that could explain the observation.

Duodenal adenocarcinoma: patterns of failure after resection and the role of chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: To report patterns of disease recurrence after resection of adenocarcinoma of the duodenum and compare outcomes between patients undergoing surgery only vs. surgery with concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CT-RT).

Methods And Materials: This was a retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing potentially curative therapy for adenocarcinoma of the duodenum at Duke University Medical Center and affiliated hospitals between 1975 and 2005.

Adjuvant therapy of pancreatic cancer.

Of the 33,370 patients diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma in the United States this year, approximately 20% will present with resectable disease. At present, surgery offers the only means of cure. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy approaches have been used to enhance local and systemic control and survival.

Particle radiation therapy for gastrointestinal malignancies.

Treatment-related toxicity is common in the radiotherapeutic management of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. These toxicities can diminish treatment efficacy by necessitating treatment breaks, limiting the radiation dose that can be delivered, and hindering concomitant use of chemotherapy and targeted drug agents. Many efforts have focused on widening the gap between the likelihood of tumor control and the likelihood of toxicities associated with radiation.

Bevacizumab, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine with radiation therapy in rectal cancer: Phase I trial results.

Purpose: The overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is associated with poor outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. Bevacizumab, a VEGF inhibitor, enhances the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy on tumor cytotoxicity in preclinical models, including colorectal cancer. A Phase I trial was undertaken to evaluate the combination of bevacizumab, capecitabine, oxaliplatin, and radiation therapy in patients with rectal cancer.

Viability effects and not meoitic drive cause dramatic departures from Mendelian inheritance for malic enzyme in hybrids of Tigriopus californicus populations.

The genetic basis of post-zygotic reproductive isolation is beginning to be untangled in closely related species, but less is known about the genetics of reproductive isolation between divergent populations. Here, two genes encoding malic enzyme (ME) are isolated from the copepod Tigriopus californicus and their influence upon lowered viability in F(2) hybrids of genetically divergent populations is determined. Each ME gene has diverged extensively between T.

Complete pathological response to bevacizumab and chemoradiation in advanced rectal cancer.

Background: Localized rectal cancer responds well to 5-fluorouracil and radiation-based regimens. A phase I-II trial is currently testing the efficacy of adding bevacizumab, a VEGF-specific antibody, to standard chemoradiotherapy. The case presented here is a complete pathological response seen in a patient with extensive and locally invasive carcinoma after receiving this combined treatment.

VEGF-targeted cancer therapy strategies: current progress, hurdles and future prospects.

Despite setbacks, the clinical development of antiangiogenic agents has accelerated remarkably over the past 3-4 years. Consequently, there are currently three direct inhibitors of the VEGF pathway approved for use in cancer therapy. Other agents that block the VEGF pathway are in advanced stages of clinical development and have shown promising results.

Modulation of the genotoxicity of bleomycin by amines through noncovalent DNA interactions and alteration of physiological conditions in yeast.

The effects of amines on the induction of mitotic gene conversion by bleomycin (BLM) were studied at the trp5 locus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain D7. BLM induces double-strand breaks in DNA and is a potent recombinagen in this assay. The polyamine spermidine causes concentration-dependent protection against the genotoxicity of BLM, reducing the convertant frequency by over 90% under the most protective conditions.

Evaluation of an artificial intelligence guided inverse planning system: clinical case study.

Purpose: An artificial intelligence (AI) guided method for parameter adjustment of inverse planning was implemented on a commercial inverse treatment planning system. For evaluation purpose, four typical clinical cases were tested and the results from both plans achieved by automated and manual methods were compared.

Methods And Materials: The procedure of parameter adjustment mainly consists of three major loops.

Intraoperative radiation therapy.

Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is the delivery of irradiation at the time of an operation. This is performed by different techniques including intraoperative electron beam techniques and high-dose rate brachytherapy. IORT is usually given in combination with external-beam radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy and surgical resection.

Reduction of organ motion by combined cardiac gating and respiratory gating.

Purpose: To investigate whether the effect of organ motion can be further reduced with the application of a cardiac gating technique, together with respiratory gating.

Methods And Materials: Axial and coronal images through the heart and liver were continuously scanned with fast cine magnetic resonance imaging scans at three different gating settings: (1) without respiratory and cardiac gating; (2) with respiratory gating, but without cardiac gating; and (3) with both respiratory and cardiac gating. The effect of motion for either the heart or liver was analyzed with probability maps.

Advanced radiation therapy technologies in the treatment of rectal and anal cancer: intensity-modulated photon therapy and proton therapy.

Intensity-modulated photon radiation therapy (RT; IMRT) and proton therapy are advanced radiation technologies that permit improved conformation of radiation dose to target structures while limiting irradiation of surrounding normal tissues. Application of these technologies in the treatment of rectal and anal cancer is attractive, based on the potential reduction in radiation treatment toxicities that are frequently incurred in the pelvis and perineum. Furthermore, conformal RT might also allow for dose escalation to target areas, leading to improved tumor control.

A Phase I study of capecitabine, carboplatin, and paclitaxel with external beam radiation therapy for esophageal carcinoma.

Purpose: Concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (RT) are used to treat patients with esophageal cancer. The optimal combination of chemotherapeutic agents with RT is undefined. We evaluated a combination of capecitabine, carboplatin, and paclitaxel with RT in a phase I study.

Combined vascular endothelial growth factor-targeted therapy and radiotherapy for rectal cancer: theory and clinical practice.

Despite the routine use of adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, patients with advanced rectal tumors experience significant rates of treatment failure and disease recurrence. Resistance to radiation is a particular problem. Adding a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy may improve outcomes in these patients.

Zebrafish as a model for developmental neurotoxicity testing.

Background: To establish zebrafish as a developmental toxicity model, we used 7 well-characterized compounds to examine several parameters of neurotoxicity during development.

Methods: Embryos were exposed by semistatic immersion from 6 hrs postfertilization (hpf). Teratogenicity was assessed using a modified method previously developed by Phylonix.

Radiation therapy in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma.

The prognosis of patients with biliary cancers is poor. Although surgery is potentially curative in selected patients, local recurrence is a common pattern of failure. Adjuvant or neoadjuvant radiation therapy improves local control and possibly survival.

Phase II trial of preoperative chemoradiation in patients with localized gastric adenocarcinoma (RTOG 9904): quality of combined modality therapy and pathologic response.

Purpose: Preoperative therapy for localized gastric cancer has considerable appeal. We hypothesized that, in a cooperative group setting, preoperative chemoradiotherapy would induce a 20% pathologic complete response (pathCR) rate. Combined-modality therapy quality, survival, and safety were secondary end points.

Outcomes in a series of 103 retroperitoneal sarcomas.

Aims: To report the effect on outcome of selection in patients receiving intra-operative electron beam radiation (IOERT) and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).

Methods: One hundred and three patients treated for primary RS were studied. Median follow-up was 27 months.