European journal of cancer : official journal for European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) [and] European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
-
The aim of this study was to review the evidence in the literature for organised cancer screening programmes. A Medline search for publications related to organised cancer screening programmes and their components was done. While there is a broad descriptive literature on various cancer screening programmes, there are few published studies that evaluate the impact of organised cancer screening. ⋯ However, the studies tend to describe organised screening programmes rather than evaluate their effectiveness relative to opportunistic screening. Furthermore, most studies focus on individual components of organised screening programmes, rather than on the programmes as a whole. More research is needed that directly compares organised with opportunistic cancer screening.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Functional relevance of antiemetic control. Experience using the FLIE questionnaire in a randomised study of the NK-1 antagonist aprepitant.
Little information exists on the functional impact of effective antiemetic protection. In the present study, the Functional Living Index-Emesis (FLIE), was used to assess patient-reported impact of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) after administration of a new NK-1 receptor antagonist (aprepitant). ⋯ Compared with standard therapy, significantly more patients treated with the high dose aprepitant regimen achieved a Complete Response (71 vs 44%, P<0.001) and also reported no impact on daily life as indicated by the FLIE total score (84 vs 66%, P<0.01). Use of the FLIE demonstrated that improved control of emesis was highly effective in reducing the impact of CINV on patients' daily lives.
-
Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Differential involvement of neurotransmitters through the time course of cisplatin-induced emesis as revealed by therapy with specific receptor antagonists.
Advances in antiemetic therapy for chemotherapy-induced emesis have resulted in improved protection against symptoms occurring within 24 h of chemotherapy. However, the vomiting which tends to occur beyond 24 h after chemotherapy (delayed-phase vomiting) is still relatively poorly controlled by the currently available drugs, suggesting that more than one mechanism may mediate these symptoms. The standard antiemetic regimen currently recommended for prevention of chemotherapy-induced emesis includes a serotonin (5-HT(3)) antagonist and a corticosteroid. ⋯ Patients who received both drugs had superior control of symptoms compared with patients who received one or the other. The difference in the time course of emesis blockade observed with two different classes of receptor antagonists provides substantial evidence for involvement of separate pathophysiological mechanisms in chemotherapy-induced vomiting. Serotonin mediates the early vomiting process that occurs within 8-12 h following cisplatin-based chemotherapy, after which time substance P acting at NK(1) receptors becomes the dominant mediator of vomiting
-
The referral of critically ill cancer patients to an intensive care unit (ICU) is a matter of controversial debate. This study was conducted by an interdisciplinary clinical group to evaluate the outcome of ICU treatment in cancer patients according to their characteristics at the time of referral. A retrospective analysis was used to identify relevant subgroups among 189 consecutive cancer patients referred as emergencies to one of four ICUs during a 2-year period. ⋯ This analysis may help to early identify relevant subgroups of cancer patients with different prognoses under ICU treatment. A prospective study to confirm the predictive usefulness of this approach is needed. Cancer patients should not be excluded from referral to the intensive care unit in an emergency solely due to their underlying malignant disease or a single unfavourable prognostic factor.