Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology
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Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. · Nov 2008
Multicenter StudyUse of the folinic acid/5-fluorouracil/irinotecan (FOLFIRI 1) regimen in elderly patients as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer: a Phase II study.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a combination of folinic acid, 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and irinotecan (FOLFIRI 1) administered every 2 weeks in a population of elderly subjects with advanced colorectal cancer. ⋯ The FOLFIRI 1 regimen is a valid therapeutic option for elderly patients in good clinical condition.
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Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. · Nov 2008
Clinical TrialSalvage treatment with topotecan in patients with irinotecan-refractory small cell lung cancer.
Although the efficacy of topotecan as a second-line chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) has been consistently demonstrated in phase II/III clinical trials, the choice of irinotecan as the first-line therapy prevented the use of evidence-based option. This pilot study was conducted to determine the activity and safety of topotecan in SCLC patients refractory to first-line therapy with irinotecan and platinum. ⋯ Topotecan monotherapy for patients with irinotecan-refractory SCLC does not appear highly active but the observation of some responses merits further study in patients with chemosensitive disease.
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Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. · Nov 2008
Comparative StudyPharmacokinetic profile of the microtubule stabilizer patupilone in tumor-bearing rodents and comparison of anti-cancer activity with other MTS in vitro and in vivo.
Patupilone is a microtubule stabilizer (MTS) currently in clinical development. Here, we evaluate the anti-cancer activity in vitro and in vivo in comparison to paclitaxel and describe the pharmacokinetics (PK) of patupilone in tumor-bearing nude mice and rats. ⋯ The high potency of patupilone, which is not affected by P-gp expression either in vitro or in vivo, and favorable PK, independent of tumor vascularity, suggest that it should show significant activity in colorectal cancer and in other indications where high P-gp expression may compromise taxane activity.
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Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. · Nov 2008
Th1/Th2 balance: an important indicator of efficacy for intra-arterial chemotherapy.
It has been reported that Th2 cytokines down-regulate antitumor immunity, while activation of type 1 T cells promotes antitumor immunity. However, the immunological features of liver cirrhosis (LC) patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC) treated by intra-arterial chemotherapy are still unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of intra-arterial combination chemotherapy on the Th1/Th2 balance in LC patients with aHCC. ⋯ These results indicate that the Th1/Th2 balance might be a useful indicator of the effect of intra-arterial combination chemotherapy in LC patients with aHCC. Inhibition of an increase of Th2 cells might be important for the efficacy of intra-arterial chemotherapy in such patients.
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Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. · Nov 2008
Phase-II study of weekly schedule of trastuzumab, paclitaxel, and carboplatin followed by a week off every 28 days for HER2+ metastatic breast cancer.
Addition of carboplatin (C) to trastuzumab (T) and paclitaxel (P) improves the efficacy in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The aim of this phase-II study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this combination given weekly (3x) followed by a week off. The primary endpoint was: objective response rate (ORR), and secondary endpoints were: time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS), and toxicity profile. ⋯ The schedule showed an interesting activity, taking into account that 27% of patients had received previous treatment for MBC. One week of rest may benefit not only the patient but may also improve tolerability and efficacy of the combination.