Cancer treatment reviews
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Cancer treatment reviews · Nov 2016
ReviewPediatric chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy: A systematic review of current knowledge.
The dramatic increase in the number of childhood cancer survivors over the last 60years has made monitoring and minimising long term side effects of cancer treatment increasingly important. Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) has been described with many commonly used chemotherapy agents. This article provides a critical overview of pediatric CIPN, its incidence, clinical manifestations, late effects, and recent advances in understanding of risk factors and pharmacogenomics as well as evaluating current assessment strategies and treatment approaches. ⋯ While these studies guide suggestions for current clinical practice, further systematic research with development of strategies for amelioration and prevention of CIPN is necessary. Standardised assessment protocols and objective outcomes measures of CIPN applicable to patients of different ages are critical to enabling the development of novel treatments and facilitation of future clinical trials and treatment individualisation.
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Cancer treatment reviews · Nov 2016
Review Comparative StudySelective internal radiation therapy for liver metastases from colorectal cancer.
Liver metastases are often the dominant site of metastatic disease in colorectal cancer. Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) involves embolising radiolabeled spheres (SIR-Spheres) into the arterial supply of the liver. This review assesses the effectiveness and toxicity of SIRT in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer liver metastasis when given alone or with systemic or regional hepatic artery chemotherapy. ⋯ A final study (63 patients) compared SIRT and regional chemotherapy (floxuridine) with regional chemotherapy alone in first line showed no significant difference in progression free survival and median survival. There remains a lack of evidence that SIRT improves survival or quality of life in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The overall survival results from SIRFLOX combined with FOXFIRE and FOXFIRE Global are awaited.
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Cancer treatment reviews · Nov 2016
Review Comparative StudyPost-gemcitabine therapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer - A comparative review of randomized trials evaluating oxaliplatin- and/or irinotecan-containing regimens.
A systematic review and critical evaluation of randomized trial evidence for oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-containing regimens in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer previously treated with gemcitabine has not yet been published. We conducted a comparative systematic review of randomized trials evaluating oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based therapies in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer previously treated with gemcitabine to assess trial similarity and the feasibility of performing an indirect treatment comparison (ITC). Studies were identified through PubMed and key oncology conference abstracts. ⋯ Fundamental differences were identified in study design (i.e., number of study sites, number of countries), patient (i.e., locally advanced vs metastatic disease, stratification variables, prior and subsequent treatments) and treatment (i.e., regimens, dose intensity) characteristics, and primary and secondary outcomes (i.e., primary vs secondary outcomes, overall survival [OS], progression-free survival [PFS]) among the 4 included trials. Our comparative review demonstrated significant dissimilarity across trials, which precluded conducting an ITC. In the absence of head-to-head nal-IRI- and/or oxaliplatin-based therapy trials, clinicians are advised to interpret these studies separately within the context of their individual patient population.
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Cancer treatment reviews · Nov 2016
ReviewRadiotherapy and immunotherapy: Can this combination change the prognosis of patients with melanoma brain metastases?
Brain metastases are a common occurrence in patients with melanoma. Prognosis is poor. Radiotherapy is the main local treatment for brain metastases. ⋯ Preclinical data support this combination. Clinical data are more contradictory. In this review, we will discuss available therapies for melanoma brain metastases, focusing on the preclinical and clinical available data supporting the possible synergism between radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
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Cancer treatment reviews · Nov 2016
ReviewImprovement in survival end points of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma through sequential targeted therapy.
Survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has improved since the advent of targeted therapy. Approved agents include the multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) sunitinib, sorafenib, axitinib, pazopanib, cabozantinib, and lenvatinib (approved in combination with everolimus), the anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody bevacizumab, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors everolimus and temsirolimus, and the programmed death-1 (PD-1) targeted immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab. The identification of predictive and prognostic factors of survival is increasing, and both clinical predictive factors and pathology-related prognostic factors are being evaluated. ⋯ In the future, prognosis and treatment of patients with mRCC might be based on genomic classification, especially of the 4 most commonly mutated genes in RCC (VHL, PBRM1, BAP1, and SETD2). Median overall survival has improved for patients treated with a first-line targeted agent compared with survival of patients treated with first-line interferon-α, and results of clinical trials have shown a survival benefit of sequential treatment with targeted agents. Prognosis of patients with mRCC will likely improve with optimization and individualization of current sequential treatment with targeted agents.