American journal of clinical oncology
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Jun 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialAnastrozole versus tamoxifen as first-line therapy in postmenopausal patients with hormone-dependent advanced breast cancer: a prospective, randomized, phase III study.
A prospective phase III trial comparing anastrozole with tamoxifen as first-line therapy in postmenopausal, hormone-dependent, advanced breast cancer (ABC). Patients were randomized to anastrozole 1 mg daily (n = 121) or tamoxifen 40 mg daily (n = 117). Efficacy and tolerability were evaluated after 3 months' therapy, and survival was evaluated at median time of follow-up. ⋯ Therapy was well tolerated in both groups. Anastrozole showed significant advantages over tamoxifen for CB, median TTP in patients gaining CB, and survival. These data further support routine use of anastrozole as first-line treatment for postmenopausal hormone-dependent ABC.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Jun 2003
Comparative StudyCost utility analysis of first-line hormonal therapy in advanced breast cancer: comparison of two aromatase inhibitors to tamoxifen.
Recent randomized clinical trials (RCT) comparing anastrozole (Arimidex) and letrozole (Femara) to tamoxifen in the first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer have demonstrated that both agents were at least as effective as tamoxifen. In addition, one RCT has revealed significant superiority of letrozole to tamoxifen with regard to tumor response rate and time to progression. Based on the efficacy and toxicity data, anastrozole or letrozole may replace tamoxifen. ⋯ When the costs and benefits were combined, the data generated an incremental cost per quality-adjusted progression-free year of 12,500 dollars and 19,600 dollars for letrozole and anastrozole, respectively, relative to tamoxifen. Letrozole and anastrozole are both economically acceptable alternatives to tamoxifen in the first-line treatment setting. However, when efficacy and cost effectiveness are considered together, letrozole could be preferentially considered.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Jun 2003
Clinical TrialInduction chemotherapy with carboplatin/paclitaxel followed by surgery or standard radiotherapy and concurrent daily low-dose cisplatin for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Five-year survival in patients with unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is less than 10%. In the present phase II study, 43 patients with locally advanced stage IIIA or selected IIIB NSCLC were given four courses of carboplatin AUC = 6 and paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 (3-hour infusion), every 3 weeks. Responsive patients, when possible, underwent surgery followed by standard radiotherapy (50 Gy) or radiotherapy (60 Gy), with concurrent cisplatin as intravenous continuous infusion of 4 mg/m2/d. ⋯ One-year and 2-year survival rates were 51% and 22%, respectively. The median survival in the responsive resected patients was 26 months, with 2-year survival of 57%. Carboplatin/paclitaxel represents an effective and well-tolerated induction therapy, suggesting its possible role in combination with radiotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment in locally advanced NSCLC in alternative to cisplatin-based regimens.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Jun 2003
Neurocognitive and functional assessment of patients with brain metastases: a pilot study.
The outcome of patients with brain metastases is generally poor. Survival alone is not necessarily a good measure of clinical outcome. Measures of neurocognitive function and the impact of the disease and treatments on functional status also need to be considered. ⋯ In this study, there was complete patient compliance, with average test completion time of 23 +/- 6 minutes. Despite high functional status, most patients demonstrated impairment in memory and fine motor domains. Neurocognitive test batteries can and should be used in patients with brain metastases enrolled in clinical trials.
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Am. J. Clin. Oncol. · Apr 2003
ReviewPalliative thoracic radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review.
Non-small-cell lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. The majority of patients are not treatable with curative intent because of the extent of disease or patient comorbidity. Radiotherapy to the primary intrathoracic tumor is used with the aim of palliating troublesome local symptoms in approximately 25% of patients. ⋯ There is no strong evidence that better palliation is obtained with higher radiation doses but good evidence that toxicity is greater. There is evidence of a modest survival benefit with higher dose schedules in patients with good performance status. The majority of patients should receive short courses (one or two fractions) of hypofractionated radiotherapy, Selected patients with good performance status should be considered for higher dose regimens if the chance of modest improvement in survival and palliation is considered worth the additional inconvenience and toxicity.