American journal of clinical oncology
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Oct 2007
Local recurrence after mastectomy in patients with T3pN0 breast carcinoma treated without postoperative radiation therapy.
The need for comprehensive adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with T3pN0 breast cancer is controversial. This retrospective analysis was performed to assess the frequency of local and distant recurrence in patients treated with mastectomy without postoperative radiation. ⋯ The risk of isolated local recurrence in patients with T3pN0 breast cancer and negative margins is moderately low and similar to T2pN0 patients. These results suggest that routine use of postoperative chest wall and nodal irradiation in all T3pN0 patients may not be required.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2007
Multicenter StudyCan serum markers be used to predict acute and late toxicity in patients with lung cancer? Analysis of RTOG 91-03.
To identify factors that are predictive of satisfactory acute and long-term pulmonary tolerance of definitive irradiation and, conversely, factors that are predictive of excessive impairment of pulmonary functions. To determine if there is any correlation between early elevation of biochemical markers obtained in blood of irradiated patients and subsequent pulmonary abnormalities as detected by clinical findings, pulmonary function tests, and/or radiographic findings of pneumonitis/fibrosis. ⋯ Elevated levels of serum IL-6 after 10 Gy of lung irradiation appear to predict grade >or=2 acute lung toxicity, and high serum levels of surfactant apoproteins at 20 Gy correlated with grade >or=2 late pulmonary toxicity. These findings need to be confirmed but could be useful in a model to predict risk of pulmonary injury with high doses of radiation. For future studies, it is necessary to evaluate serum markers at multiple time-points during treatment, and quality control is critical during the collection, storage, and analysis of these serum markers.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2007
Capecitabine plus 3-weekly irinotecan (XELIRI regimen) as first-line chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer: phase II trial results.
Capecitabine results in superior response rate, improved safety, and improved convenience compared with 5-fluorouracil (FU)/leucovorin (LV) in metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC). Irinotecan in combination with 5-FU/LV has been shown to improve efficacy compared with 5-FU/LV alone in MCRC. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of capecitabine plus irinotecan every 3 weeks (XELIRI regimen) as first-line treatment. ⋯ XELIRI is an active first-line treatment of MCRC. Implementation of upfront dose reductions for both agents in patients with risk factors for toxicity appears to have produced a safer regimen compared with previous studies of XELIRI without such dose reductions.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2007
Image-guided percutaneous thermal ablation for the palliative treatment of chest wall masses.
To evaluate the palliative benefits of image-guided thermal ablation for the treatment of painful tumors affecting the chest wall. ⋯ Thermal ablation results in significant pain relief for the majority of patients and shows evidence of synergistic benefit when temporally combined with XRT. This minimally invasive technique appears to be a safe and durable alternative for the palliation of chest wall masses.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2007
A population-based analysis of second primary cancers after irradiation for rectal cancer.
To investigate the possible association between pelvic irradiation for rectal cancer and subsequent second primary cancers. ⋯ Second primary cancers after irradiation for rectal cancers appear relatively infrequent compared with the background incidence of spontaneous cancers, and should not factor into treatment decisions for this older population. We hypothesize that the incidence of second primary tumors within adjacent organs could represent a balance between the radiation-induction of tumors and the radiation-inhibition of spontaneously occurring tumors.