JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Whether hemoglobin concentrations defined as anemia by the World Health Organization (WHO) are associated with increased mortality in older persons is not known. ⋯ Anemia defined by the WHO criteria was associated with an increased mortality risk in persons aged 85 years and older. The criteria are thus appropriate for older persons. A low hemoglobin concentration at old age signifies disease.
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Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) evaluation leads to the early detection of both prostate cancer and recurrences following primary treatment. Prostate-specific antigen outcome information on patients 5 or more years following treatment is limited and available mainly as single-institution reports. ⋯ Estimated PSA control rates in this pooled analysis are similar to those of single institutions. These rates indicate the probability of success for subsets of patients with tumors of several prognostic category groupings. These results represent a multi-institutional benchmark for evidence-based counseling of prostate cancer patients about radiation treatment.
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Clinical surveys have revealed that incidental detection of renal cell carcinoma is rising because of increased use of imaging procedures. ⋯ Increasing detection of presymptomatic tumors by imaging procedures, such as ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, does not fully explain the upward incidence trends of renal cell carcinoma. Other factors may be contributing to the rapidly increasing incidence of renal cell cancer in the United States, particularly among blacks.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Chemoradiotherapy of locally advanced esophageal cancer: long-term follow-up of a prospective randomized trial (RTOG 85-01). Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.
Carcinoma of the esophagus traditionally has been treated by surgery or radiation therapy (RT), but 5-year overall survival rates have been only 5% to 10%. We previously reported results of a study conducted from January 1986 to April 1990 of combined chemotherapy and RT vs RT alone when an interim analysis revealed significant benefit for combined therapy. ⋯ Combined therapy increases the survival of patients who have squamous cell or adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, T1-3 N0-1 M0, compared with RT alone.