Does aggressive local treatment have an impact on survival in children with metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma?

Purpose: Due to the extensive initial distant tumour spread in metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma, the importance of local treatment is sometimes underestimated. A retrospective study was conducted to identify the prognostic value of aggressive local treatment in paediatric metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma.

Patients: Patients with metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma aged 1-21 years treated in France from 1998 to 2011 according to European protocols MMT-4-89, 4-91, 98 and recent national guidelines were selected.

Personalised chemotherapy based on tumour marker decline in poor prognosis germ-cell tumours (GETUG 13): a phase 3, multicentre, randomised trial.

Background: Poor prognosis germ-cell tumours are only cured in about half of patients. We aimed to assess whether treatment intensification based on an early tumour marker decline will improve progression-free survival for patients with germ-cell tumours.

Methods: In this phase 3, multicentre, randomised trial, patients were enrolled from France (20 centres), USA (one centre), and Slovakia (one centre).

Prognostic Factors for Survival in Noncastrate Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Validation of the Glass Model and Development of a Novel Simplified Prognostic Model.

Background: The Glass model developed in 2003 uses prognostic factors for noncastrate metastatic prostate cancer (NCMPC) to define subgroups with good, intermediate, and poor prognosis.

Objective: To validate NCMPC risk groups in a more recently diagnosed population and to develop a more sensitive prognostic model.

Design, Setting, And Participants: NCMPC patients were randomized to receive continuous androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with or without docetaxel in the GETUG-15 phase 3 trial.

Anal cancer: ESMO-ESSO-ESTRO clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) is a rare cancer but its incidence is increasing throughout the world, and is particularly high in the human immunodeficiency virus positive (HIV+) population. A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory (involving radiation therapists, medical oncologists, surgeons, radiologists and pathologists). SCCA usually spreads in a loco-regional manner within and outside the anal canal.

Granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor in elderly patients receiving chemotherapy for breast and gynaecological cancers: results of a French survey.

Background: Age is a risk factor for chemo-induced febrile neutropenia (FN). According to ASCO guidelines, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) use should be considered for regimens leading to a 10- to 20-percent risk of FN.

Patients And Methods: A survey was undertaken describing the prescription of G-CSF in routine practices by 101 French physicians for 791 patients ≥70 years, having breast or gynaecological cancers, and receiving chemotherapy.

Random forests to predict rectal toxicity following prostate cancer radiation therapy.

Purpose: To propose a random forest normal tissue complication probability (RF-NTCP) model to predict late rectal toxicity following prostate cancer radiation therapy, and to compare its performance to that of classic NTCP models.

Methods And Materials: Clinical data and dose-volume histograms (DVH) were collected from 261 patients who received 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy for prostate cancer with at least 5 years of follow-up. The series was split 1000 times into training and validation cohorts.

Anal cancer: ESMO-ESSO-ESTRO clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) is a rare cancer but its incidence is increasing throughout the world, and is particularly high in the human immunodeficiency virus positive (HIV+) population. A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory (involving radiation therapists, medical oncologists, surgeons, radiologists and pathologists). SCCA usually spreads in a loco-regional manner within and outside the anal canal.

A case-control study of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx treated with pulsed-dose-rate brachytherapy.

Purpose: Pulsed-dose-rate (PDR) brachytherapy is thought to mimic the radiobiological benefits of continuous low-dose-rate (cLDR) delivery but is safer for medical personnel. We set out to evaluate the outcomes of this technique in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods And Materials: A total of 36 consecutive patients treated with PDR brachytherapy were randomly matched to 72 cLDR controls according to T-stage, tumor site, and management strategy.

A phase II trial of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) supported by hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) in germ-cell tumors (GCTs) patients failing cisplatin-based chemotherapy: the Multicentric TAXIF II study.

Background: High-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) is an effective salvage treatment of germ-cell tumors (GCTs) patients. In the first salvage setting, 30%-70% of patients may achieve durable remissions. Even when HDCT is administered as subsequent salvage treatment, up to 20% of patients may still be definitively cured.

Impact of response shift on time to deterioration in quality of life scores in breast cancer patients.

Background: This prospective multicenter study aimed to study the impact of the recalibration component of response-shift (RS) on time to deterioration (TTD) in health related quality of life (QoL) scores in breast cancer (BC) patients and the influence of baseline QoL expectations on TTD.

Methods: The EORTC-QLQ-C30 and BR-23 questionnaires were used to assess the QoL in a prospective multicenter study at inclusion (T0), at the end of the first hospitalization (T1) and, three (T2) and 6 months after the first hospitalization (T3). Recalibration was investigated by the then-test method.

Randomised proof-of-concept phase II trial comparing targeted therapy based on tumour molecular profiling vs conventional therapy in patients with refractory cancer: results of the feasibility part of the SHIVA trial.

Background: The SHIVA trial is a multicentric randomised proof-of-concept phase II trial comparing molecularly targeted therapy based on tumour molecular profiling vs conventional therapy in patients with any type of refractory cancer. RESULTS of the feasibility study on the first 100 enrolled patients are presented.

Methods: Adult patients with any type of metastatic cancer who failed standard therapy were eligible for the study.

[Safety and efficacy of whole breast irradiation with a concomitant boost: analysis of 121 cases treated at the Institute of Cancerology of Lorraine].

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of whole breast irradiation with a concomitant boost.

Patients And Materials: This is a retrospective study of 121 patients with node negative T1-T2 breast tumors inferior to 3 cm in diameter, previously treated by conservative surgery without chemotherapy. A dose of 50 Gy was delivered to the whole breast in 2 Gy daily fractions with 5 weekly treatments.

Bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy for platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer: The AURELIA open-label randomized phase III trial.

Purpose: In platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (OC), single-agent chemotherapy is standard. Bevacizumab is active alone and in combination. AURELIA is the first randomized phase III trial to our knowledge combining bevacizumab with chemotherapy in platinum-resistant OC.

[Radiation therapy of cardiac sarcomas].

Purpose: Primary cardiac sarcomas represent less than 10 yearly cases in France. Their median survival is approximately 18 months. The treatment consists of surgery when possible.

Pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an independent predictive factor irrespective of simplified breast cancer intrinsic subtypes: a landmark and two-step approach analyses from the EORTC 10994/BIG 1-00 phase III trial.

Background: Pathological complete response (pCR) following chemotherapy is strongly associated with both breast cancer subtype and long-term survival. Within a phase III neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial, we sought to determine whether the prognostic implications of pCR, TP53 status and treatment arm (taxane versus non-taxane) differed between intrinsic subtypes.

Patients And Methods: Patients were randomized to receive either six cycles of anthracycline-based chemotherapy or three cycles of docetaxel then three cycles of eprirubicin/docetaxel (T-ET).

Carboplatin plus paclitaxel once a week versus every 3 weeks in patients with advanced ovarian cancer (MITO-7): a randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Background: Carboplatin plus paclitaxel administered every 3 weeks is standard first-line chemotherapy for patients with advanced ovarian cancer. A weekly paclitaxel schedule combined with carboplatin every 3 weeks prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival in a Japanese phase 3 trial. The aim of our study was to assess whether a weekly schedule of carboplatin plus paclitaxel is more effective than the same drugs given every 3 weeks.

Patients' self-assessment versus investigators' evaluation in a phase III trial in non-castrate metastatic prostate cancer (GETUG-AFU 15).

Background: Toxicity, which is a key parameter in the evaluation of cancer treatments, can be underestimated by clinicians. We investigated differences between patients and physicians in reporting adverse events of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with or without docetaxel in a multicentre phase III trial in non-castrate metastatic prostate cancer.

Methods: The 385 patients included were invited to complete a 26-symptom questionnaire 3 and 6 months after the start of treatment, among which eighteen symptoms were also assessed by physicians, reported in medical records and graded using the Common Toxicity Criteria of the National Cancer Institute.

Results in the elderly with locally advanced rectal cancer from the ACCOR12/PRODIGE 2 phase III trial: tolerance and efficacy.

Background: Rectal cancer predominantly affects the elderly. Unfortunately, this age category is under-represented in clinical trials because clinicians are loath to include patients with a high risk of comorbidity.

Patients And Methods: An exploratory analysis of the ACCORD12/PRODIGE 2 phase III trial was carried out to retrospectively compare the benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy between the elderly (≥70 years; n=142) and younger patients (<70 years; n=442), this analysis was not preplanned in the study protocol.

Sorafenib and irinotecan (NEXIRI) as second- or later-line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and KRAS-mutated tumours: a multicentre Phase I/II trial.

Background: This trial evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of combined sorafenib and irinotecan (NEXIRI) as second- or later-line treatment of patients with KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), who had progressed after irinotecan-based chemotherapy.

Methods: In Phase I, in a 3+3 dose escalation schedule, patients received irinotecan (125, 150 or 180 mg m(-2) every 2 weeks), in combination with 400 mg sorafenib b.d.

Liposome encapsulation of curcumin: physico-chemical characterizations and effects on MCF7 cancer cell proliferation.

The role of curcumin (diferuloylmethane), for cancer treatment has been an area of growing interest. However, due to its low absorption, the poor bioavailability of curcumin limits its clinical use. In this study, we reported an approach of encapsulation a curcumin by nanoliposome to achieve an improved bioavailability of a poorly absorbed hydrophobic compound.

Primary cardiac sarcomas: a retrospective study of the French Sarcoma Group.

Introduction: Primary cardiac sarcomas (PCS) are rare tumours of dismal prognosis.

Methods: Data of 124 patients with PCS referred to institutions of the French Sarcoma Group (FSG) from 1977 and 2010 were reviewed.

Results: Median age was 48.

Optimization of routine KRAS mutation PCR-based testing procedure for rational individualized first-line-targeted therapy selection in metastatic colorectal cancer.

KRAS mutation detection represents a crucial issue in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The optimization of KRAS mutation detection delay enabling rational prescription of first-line treatment in mCRC including anti-EGFR-targeted therapy requires robust and rapid molecular biology techniques. Routine analysis of mutations in codons 12 and 13 on 674 paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of mCRC has been performed for KRAS mutations detection using three molecular biology techniques, that is, high-resolution melting (HRM), polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and allelic discrimination PCR (TaqMan PCR).

A risk-adapted study of cisplatin and etoposide, with or without ifosfamide, in patients with metastatic seminoma: results of the GETUG S99 multicenter prospective study.

Background: Whether patients with good prognosis and intermediate/poor prognosis advanced seminoma should be treated differently has not been defined.

Objective: To assess a risk-adapted chemotherapy regimen in patients with advanced seminoma.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A total of 132 patients were included in this prospective study.