Phase II study of vinorelbine and estramustine in combination with conformational radiotherapy for patients with high-risk prostate cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of vinorelbine and estramustine in combination with three-dimensional conformational radiotherapy (3D-CRT) in patients with localized high-risk prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: Fifty patients received estramustine, 600 mg/m(2) daily, and vinorelbine, 25 mg/m(2), on days 1 and 8 of a 21-day cycle for three cycles in combination with 8 weeks of 3D-CRT (total dose of 70.2 gray [Gy] at 1.

Feasiblity study of gemcitabine and cisplatin administered every two weeks in patients with advanced urothelial tumors and impaired renal function.

Objectives: Cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for advanced bladder cancer. However, full doses of cisplatin cannot be delivered in patients with impaired renal function. Our aim was to prove the feasibility of a gemcitabine and low-dose cisplatin regimen, delivered every two weeks in patients with impaired renal function.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in base excision repair, nucleotide excision repair, and double strand break genes as markers for response to radiotherapy in patients with Stage I to II head-and-neck cancer.

Purpose: Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes can influence response to radiotherapy. We analyzed single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in nine DNA repair genes in 108 patients with head-and-neck cancer (HNSCC) who had received radiotherapy only.

Methods And Materials: From May 1993 to December 2004, patients with Stage I and II histopathologically confirmed HNSCC underwent radiotherapy.

The MYC oncogene in breast cancer progression: from benign epithelium to invasive carcinoma.

One hypothesis for breast cancer development suggests that breast carcinogenesis involves a progression of events leading from benign epithelium to hyperplasia (with or without atypia) to carcinoma in situ and then invasive carcinoma. The MYC gene (alias c-Myc) is a transcriptional regulator whose expression is strongly associated with cell proliferation and cell differentiation. The present study is a descriptive analysis of MYC status throughout the hypothesized stages of invasive ductal carcinoma progression.

Exocrine pancreatic cancer: symptoms at presentation and their relation to tumour site and stage.

Introduction: The need to detect pancreatic cancer at earlier stages is undisputed. We recorded the signs and symptoms of patients presenting with exocrine pancreatic cancer and evaluated their association with clinical characteristics such as tumour site and disease stage.

Patients And Methods: All patients (n = 185) with exocrine pancreatic cancer newly diagnosed at five general hospitals in Eastern Spain were prospectively recruited over 5 years.

Polysomy of chromosome 17 in breast cancer tumors showing an overexpression of ERBB2: a study of 175 cases using fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

Introduction: One of the most common genetic aberrations associated with breast cancer is the amplification and overexpression of the ERBB2 proto-oncogene located at chromosome 17, bands q12-21. The amplification/overexpression occurs in 25 to 30% of all breast cancers. In breast cancer, aneusomy of chromosome 17, either monosomy or polysomy, is frequently observed by conventional cytogenetics and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Characterization of HER1 (c-erbB1) status in locally advanced breast cancer using fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a 170-kDa transmembrane glycoprotein encoded by the HER1 protooncogene, located at 7p12. This receptor is related to the pathogenesis of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to analyze the status of HER1 using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry in a series of 48 patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).

Her-2/neu expression in prostate cancer: a dynamic process?

The clinical effects of targeting Her-2/neu in prostate carcinoma are not known. This study explores the feasibility of molecular profiling to determine the correlation between Her-2/neu expression and hormonal sensitivity. Patients with progressive androgen-independent prostate carcinoma were eligible to participate in the study.