European journal of cancer : official journal for European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) [and] European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
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Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is a major risk factor for infection-related morbidity and mortality and also a significant dose-limiting toxicity in cancer treatment. Patients developing severe (grade 3/4) or febrile neutropenia (FN) during chemotherapy frequently receive dose reductions and/or delays to their chemotherapy. This may impact the success of treatment, particularly when treatment intent is either curative or to prolong survival. ⋯ While other forms of G-CSF, including biosimilars, are administered by a course of daily injections, pegfilgrastim allows once-per-cycle administration. Choice of formulation remains a matter for individual clinical judgement. Evidence from multiple low level studies derived from audit data and clinical practice suggests that some patients receive suboptimal daily G-CSFs; the use of pegfilgrastim may avoid this problem.
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CD94/NKG2A is an inhibitory receptor expressed by NK cells and cytotoxic lymphocytes and, upon activation by HLA-E, downregulates the cytolytic activities of these cells thus representing a tumour immune escape mechanism. This study was aimed at assessing whether cytotoxic lymphocytes (CD8+) and NK cells from malignant pleural effusions have a deregulated expression of CD94/NKG2A. The expression of membrane CD94/NKG2A and perforin was evaluated by flow-cytometry in CD8+ and NK cells from pleural effusions and autologous peripheral blood of cancer (n=19) and congestive heart failure (CHF) (n=11) patients. ⋯ Pleural T lymphocytes from cancer patients exhibited a reduced cytotoxic activity against cancer cells when compared to autologous peripheral blood T lymphocytes. The intracellular expression of CD94/NKG2A in CD8+ and NK cells from cancer patients was higher than membrane expression. In conclusion, this study provides compelling evidences of new mechanisms underlying the reduced host defence against cancer within the pleural space.
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Phase I study of seliciclib (CYC202, R-roscovitine), an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 2, 7 and 9, causing cell cycle changes and apoptosis in cancer cells. ⋯ The MTD and RD for seliciclib are 1250 mg bid for 5d every 3 weeks and 1600 mg bid for 3d every 2 weeks, respectively.
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We investigated survival in breast cancer patients by age group, focussing on those covered by screening programmes, using data from 12 European population-based cancer registries participating in the European Network for Indicators on Cancer Survival Working Group. ⋯ Results showed that some of the geographical differences in overall survival are even larger when considering age groups, in particular between Western and Eastern European countries. Furthermore, some of the differences in survival within the Northern and Western European areas could be due to variations in the implementation of screening programmes rather than economic inequalities.
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The purpose of this article is to give practical advice to researchers wishing to choose measures of quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for cancer clinical research. ⋯ The principles and algorithms presented in this article will assist cancer clinical researchers who lack specialist expertise in patient-reported outcome measurement to make appropriate choices when selecting PROMs for their next study.