American journal of clinical oncology
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Oct 2010
Is it possible to increase pCR in the neoadjuvant treatment with a dose-dense/sequential combination?: results from a phase II Trial combining epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel and gemcitabine ± trastuzumab in stage II and III breast cancer patients.
To evaluate the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of a combination of epirubicin (E) and cyclophosphamide (C) followed by paclitaxel (P) and gemcitabine (G) (+ trastuzumab[T]) in Her2+ patients) in a sequential and dose-dense schedule as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for stages II and III patients with breast cancer. Secondary endpoints: clinical response rate, disease free survival, safety and correlation between pCR and biologic markers. ⋯ These results show a highly effective regimen in terms of pCR with a good toxicity profile in the neoadjuvant treatment of patients with breast cancer. The addition of trastuzumab increased pCR rate in Her2+ tumors.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Oct 2010
Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialHigh-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy: an excellent accelerated-hypofractionated treatment for favorable prostate cancer.
The radiobiology of prostate cancer appears to favor large fractions. Accelerated hypofractionation treatments may therefore be used to improve the therapeutic ratio, particularly when the doses to rectum and bladder are kept below the prostate dose. The 5-year experience at William Beaumont Hospital (WBH) and the California Endocurietherapy Center (CET) with accelerated-hypofractionated high-dose-rate (HDR) monotherapy in favorable prostate cancer is presented. ⋯ Although the same 5-year BC rates were achieved with HDR (248 patients) and LDR (206 patients) monotherapy, HDR brachytherapy was associated with less acute and chronic genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicities. As another accepted standard of care, accelerated hypofractionated HDR monotherapy is target specific and efficient radiobiologically than EBRT which has many smaller doses per fraction. It could be considered today as the best option in accelerated hypofractionated prostate cancer treatment.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Oct 2010
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyPopulation-based analysis of the frequency of anemia and its management before and during chemotherapy in patients with malignant lymphoma.
In patients with hematologic malignancies, chemotherapy can further suppress bone marrow production. Whereas measures to correct anemia can improve patients' function and quality of life, the intervention threshold and the methods of correcting anemia in patients with malignant lymphoma are not clear. This study evaluates the frequency of anemia and the interventions used to correct anemia before and during chemotherapy for patients with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. ⋯ Anemia was common prior to and during chemotherapy in patients with malignant lymphoma. The threshold of anemia intervention varied, with transfusion being the predominant method used. The rates of intervention for anemia were low in patients with anemia, despite randomized trials showing that anemia correction can improve fatigue and quality of life.