Cancer
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Clinical Trial
Protracted 5-fluorouracil infusion with concurrent radiotherapy as a treatment for locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma.
Radiotherapy plus bolus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is generally accepted as the standard treatment for locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma. To intensify the antitumor effect of chemotherapy, the authors administered protracted 5-FU infusion with concurrent radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of this combined therapy. ⋯ This treatment showed moderate activity against locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma and was accompanied by an acceptable toxicity level.
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Long term intravenous access is a common requirement for cancer patients. This analysis was designed to determine device-related morbidity and factors predictive of poor long term outcome for patients with subcutaneous single lumen intravenous access ports. ⋯ Subcutaneous intravenous access ports in cancer patients are safe and well tolerated. Long term device duration is primarily influenced by patient survival. In this study, 90% of patients alive at 1 year and 70% of patients alive at 4 years had a functional port.
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Pretreatment serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level is a powerful prognostic factor for clinically localized prostate carcinoma. The traditional prognostic factors, T classification and Gleason score, appear to have been relegated to a minor position. This study was conducted to evaluate the relative prognostic roles of PSA, T classification, and Gleason score in a large cohort of men irradiated in the PSA era. ⋯ The establishment of T classification and Gleason score as independent prognostic factors bridges an apparent gap between an older era and the current PSA era. PSA has supplemented, rather than supplanted, the utility of the traditionally established prognostic factors for clinically localized prostate carcinoma.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Comparative clinical efficacy and safety of a novel controlled-release oxycodone formulation and controlled-release hydromorphone in the treatment of cancer pain.
The use of oxycodone to treat chronic cancer pain has been hampered by its short elimination half-life, which necessitates administration every 4 hours. This study compared the clinical efficacy and safety of a novel oxycodone formulation with that of hydromorphone in the treatment of cancer pain. ⋯ Controlled-release oxycodone demonstrated excellent pharmacodynamic characteristics, analgesic efficacy, and safety as compared with controlled-release hydromorphone and represents an important new therapeutic option for cancer pain management.