International journal of clinical oncology
-
Int. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2017
Do all patients in the phase I oncology trials need to be hospitalized? Domestic but outstanding issues for globalization of drug development in Japan.
Most trials investigating new drugs around the world, including phase I trials, are conducted in outpatient clinics. However, in Japan, regulatory authority requirements and traditional domestic guidelines often require hospitalization of phase I study participants. ⋯ The frequency of severe toxicity that needs to be hospitalized was unexpectedly low. The data did not demonstrate the need for hospitalization in the phase I trials, suggesting that phase I trials in Japan could be conducted in outpatient settings.
-
Int. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2017
Overall survival and prognostic factors in patients with spinal metastases from lung cancer treated with and without epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Evaluation of the prognosis in patients with spinal metastases is important in decision making regarding surgical treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate overall survival in patients with spinal metastases from lung cancer by histological subtype, and to investigate prognostic factors in patients treated with and without epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). ⋯ Median overall survival was longer in patients with spinal metastases from lung cancer treated with EGFR-TKIs compared with those treated without EGFR-TKIs. Poor performance status or other prognostic factors were not associated with poor overall survival in the group treated with EGFR-TKIs.
-
Int. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2017
Nomogram predicting long-term survival after the diagnosis of intrahepatic recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma following an initial liver resection.
The aim of this study was to construct and validate a nomogram for predicting survival after the intrahepatic recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following an initial hepatectomy. ⋯ The established nomogram might be useful for estimating survival after the intrahepatic recurrence of HCC.
-
Int. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2017
ReviewRecent advances in targeting DNA repair pathways for the treatment of ovarian cancer and their clinical relevance.
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors have attracted much attention as one of the major molecular-targeted therapeutics for inhibiting DNA damage response. The PARP inhibitor, olaparib, has been clinically applied for treating certain recurrent ovarian cancer patients with BRCA1/2 mutations in Europe and the United States. It was also designated on 24 March 2017 as an orphan drug in Japan for similar clinical indications. In this review, we discuss (i) the prevalence of BRCA1/2 mutations in ovarian cancer, (ii) clinical trials of PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer, (iii) genetic counseling for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer patients, and (iv) non-BRCA genes that may be associated with homologous recombination deficiency.
-
Int. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2017
ReviewTargeting DNA repair and replication stress in the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Approximately half of high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancers incur alterations in genes of homologous recombination (BRCA1, BRCA2, RAD51C, Fanconi anemia genes), and the rest incur alterations in other DNA repair pathways at high frequencies. Such cancer-specific gene alterations can confer selective sensitivity to DNA damaging agents such as cisplatin and carboplatin, topotecan, etoposide, doxorubicin, and gemcitabine. Originally presumed to inhibit DNA repair, PARP inhibitors that have recently been approved by the FDA for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer also act as DNA damaging agents by inducing PARP-DNA complexes. ⋯ Hence, targeting DNA repair genes or DNA repair checkpoint genes augments the anti-tumor activity of DNA damaging agents. This review describes the rational basis for using DNA repair and DNA repair checkpoint inhibitors as single agents. The review also presents the strategies combining these inhibitors with DNA damaging agents for ovarian cancer therapy based on specific gene alterations.