The relative risk of second nongerminal malignancies in patients with extragonadal germ cell tumors.

Background: Apart from a recognized association between extragonadal mediastinal germ cell tumors (GCT) and the occurrence of hematologic malignancies, the risk of developing second nongerminal solid tumors after the diagnosis or treatment of extragonadal GCT is unknown.

Methods: Six hundred thirty-five consecutive patients with extragonadal GCT treated at 11 centers in the U.S.

Phase II study of continuous 120-hour-infusion of mitomycin C as salvage chemotherapy in patients with progressive or rapidly recurrent gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the therapeutic activity and safety of continuously infused (c.i.) mitomycin C in patients with metastatic gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas recurring after or progressing during chemotherapy.

The use of reduced doses of amifostine to ameliorate nephrotoxicity of cisplatin/ifosfamide-based chemotherapy in patients with solid tumors.

This study evaluates the degree of kidney damage during cisplatin/ifosfamide-based combination chemotherapy and its possible prevention by amifostine. Thirty-one patients with solid tumors stratified according to pretreatment were randomized to receive cisplatin/ifosfamide-based chemotherapy with or without amifostine (1000 mg absolute) given as a short infusion prior to cisplatin. Chemotherapy consisted of cisplatin (50 mg/m2), ifosfamide (4 g/m2) and either etoposide (500 mg/m2) (VIP regimen) or paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) (TIP regimen) repeated at 3 weekly intervals.

Clinical applications of CD34(+) peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC).

Recently, a number of devices have been developed for the positive selection of CD34(+) peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) for clinical use in autologous or allogeneic transplantation. The rationale for CD34(+) selection is based on clinical studies showing a two- to five-log reduction of contaminating tumor cells in patients with breast cancer, multiple myeloma and low-grade lymphoma. In addition, a three- to five-log reduction of T cells can be obtained by CD34(+) selection in both autologous grafts for patients with autoimmune disease resistant to conventional therapy and allogeneic grafts to reduce the incidence and severity of acute graft-versus-host disease.

Hematologic disorders associated with primary mediastinal nonseminomatous germ cell tumors.

Background: The association between primary germ cell tumors of the mediastinum (the space between the lung pleura that contains the heart and other chest viscera) and hematologic malignancies has been described by retrospective analysis of patients treated at individual clinical centers. To better characterize the risk of hematologic disorders in patients with extragonadal germ cell tumors and to describe the clinical and biologic features of the disorders, we studied an unselected population in a large, international, multicenter database.

Methods: Six hundred thirty-five patients treated at 11 centers in the United States and Europe from 1975 through 1996 were evaluated retrospectively.

Platinum organ toxicity and possible prevention in patients with testicular cancer.

Advances in the management of metastatic testicular cancer are attributed mainly to the introduction of cisplatin into combination chemotherapy. In parallel with the development of effective chemotherapy resulting in long-term survival for the majority of patients, possible adverse effects of treatment have been systematically investigated. Besides acute side effects of cisplatin, such as gastro-intestinal toxic effects and moderate myelosuppression, reduction in glomerular filtration rate occurs in 20% to 30% of patients despite prophylactic intensive hydration and forced diuresis.

Mitomycin C continuous infusion as salvage chemotherapy in pretreated patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Unlabelled: Our purpose was to evaluate the safety and therapeutic activity of continuously infused mitomycin C in patients with recurring or progressive metastatic gastric cancer following first-line chemotherapy. Patients were treated with mitomycin C 20 mg/m2 i.v.

Allometric issues in drug development.

The concept of correlating pharmacokinetic parameters with body weight from different animal species has become a useful tool in drug development. The allometric approach is based on the power function, where the body weight of the species is plotted against the pharmacokinetic parameter(s) of interest. Clearance, volume of distribution, and elimination half-life are the three most frequently extrapolated pharmacokinetic parameters.

Future prospects in the chemotherapy of metastatic nonseminomatous testicular germ-cell cancer.

The current aims of chemotherapy in metastatic testicular cancer are to reduce treatment-related toxicity in patients with "good-prognosis" metastatic disease without compromising the efficacy and to improve treatment results in "poor-prognosis" patients according to the IGCCCG classification by the use of more dose-intensive regimens. Three cycles of PEB chemotherapy, consisting of cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin, remain the standard treatment for good-prognosis patients despite a number of randomized studies trying to avoid the toxicity of bleomycin or to abandon cisplatin-associated side effects by substitution with the less toxic analogue carboplatin. In patients with intermediate- and poor-prognosis criteria, four cycles of PEB given at 3-weekly intervals are considered routine treatment.

Diagnosis and treatment of patients with testicular germ cell cancer.

Testicular germ cell tumours are a highly curable malignancy even in the presence of metastases, with an overall survival rate of approximately 90 to 95% when all stages are considered. Current therapeutic strategies aim at risk-adapted therapy, trying to maintain favourable overall results while reducing treatment-related toxicity, particularly in non-advanced disease. In stage I disease, unilateral inguinal orchiectomy represents the standard diagnostic and therapeutic approach.

Approaches to dendritic cell-based immunotherapy after peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

High-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation (PBPCT) is a potentially curative treatment option for patients with both hematological malignancies and solid tumors, including breast cancer. However, based on a number of clinical studies, there is strong evidence that minimal residual disease (MRD) persists after high-dose chemotherapy in a number of patients, which eventually results in disease recurrence. Therefore, several approaches to the treatment of MRD are currently being evaluated, including treatment with dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer vaccines.

Long-term effects on sexual function and fertility after treatment of testicular cancer.

This retrospective study evaluates the types and incidences of sexual disturbances and fertility distress in patients cured from testicular cancer and examines whether there is an effect resulting from different treatment modalities. A self-reported questionnaire was sent to 124 randomly selected patients who were treated at Hanover University Medical School between 1970 and 1993. Ninety-eight patients were included in the study, representing a response rate of 78%.

Is continuous 24-hour infusion of 5-fluorouracil plus high-dose folinic acid effective in patients with progressive or recurrent colorectal cancer? A phase II study.

Background: To evaluate the therapeutic activity of 24-hour continuously infused 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) modulated by high-dose folinic acid in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who had recurred or progressed following mainly bolus 5-FU/folinic acid chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Forty-two patients with a median age of 59 years (45-76) were enrolled. Karnofsky status was 90% (80-100), previous chemotherapy regimen bolus 5-FU/folinic acid (n=33, 79%) or 24-hour continuous 5-FU+/-interferon alpha2 (n=9, 21 %).

Phase II study of continuous 120 h infusion of mitomycin C as salvage chemotherapy in patients with progressive or rapidly recurrent colorectal cancer.

We evaluated the therapeutic activity and safety of continuously infused mitomycin C in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who had recurred (less than 3 months) or progressed following first- or second-line 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. Treatment consisted of mitomycin C 20 mg/m2 i.v.

Analysis of risk factors for cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in patients with testicular cancer.

This study evaluates the degree and relevance of persisting ototoxicity after cisplatin-based standard-dose chemotherapy for testicular cancer, with emphasis on identification of potential factors for an increased risk of this late sequel. Hearing thresholds of 86 patients with a median age of 31 years (range 21-53 years) and a median follow-up time of 58 months (range 15-159 months) were assessed by conventional pure-tone audiometry. Interviews were conducted evaluating the patients' history with special regard to audiological risk factors, as well as circumstances of ototoxic symptoms.

Paclitaxel and weekly 24-hour infusion of 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid in advanced gastric cancer.

The current phase II study evaluates the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus folinic acid in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 was given intravenously over 3 hours on days 1 and 22; folinic acid 500 mg/m2 given intravenously over 2 hours followed by 5-FU 2,000 mg/m2 given intravenously over 24 hours was administered on days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and 36. Six weeks of treatment were considered one cycle, and each cycle was followed by 2 weeks off treatment.

A phase I/II study of sequential, dose-escalated, high dose ifosfamide plus doxorubicin with peripheral blood stem cell support for the treatment of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas.

Background: This Phase I/II study investigates increasingly high doses of ifosfamide combined with full dose doxorubicin chemotherapy supported with peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS).

Methods: Patients with histologically proven metastatic or advanced adult STS without prior treatment received doxorubicin, 75 mg/m2, on Day 1 followed by 4-day continuous infusion of ifosfamide at 5 consecutive dose levels starting with 8 g/m2 and escalating to 16 g/m2 in increments of 2 g/m2. Three patients per dose level and a maximum of 5 treatment cycles per level at 3-week intervals were planned.

Postchemotherapy resections of residual masses from metastatic non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumors.

Purpose: To analyse the frequencies of histological findings, predictive factors for the presence of undifferentiated tumor and variables influencing the survival of patients with non-seminomatous germ cell tumors who underwent secondary resection of residual masses after cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: 134 patients with a median age of 26 years (15-47) undergoing at least one surgical intervention at Hannover University Medical School were included. One hundred nine patients had received first-line chemotherapy and 25 underwent surgery after second-line chemotherapy.

A phase II trial of paclitaxel and weekly 24 h infusion of 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

A phase II trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/folinic acid in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma. Twenty-two patients (six female and 16 male) with advanced or metastatic disease were enrolled. None of them had received prior chemotherapy.

Interspecies scaling: a comparative study for the prediction of clearance and volume using two or more than two species.

The prediction of pharmacokinetic parameters in humans from data obtained in lower animals can be of considerable importance in the process of drug development. Successful extrapolation will facilitate drug dosing transitions from animals to man and accelerate the drug testing process. Existing literature indicates that for the prediction of pharmacokinetic parameters, data from at least three animal species are used.