Cancer
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Due to the small number of patients and differences in the pathologic classification in most radiotherapy series, information regarding the adequacy of tumor control in patients with ocular-adnexal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) is limited. ⋯ Radiotherapy offers excellent local control with a prolonged clinical course for patients with MALT lymphoma in the ocular adnexa. The initial response to radiotherapy marginally influenced the probability of recurrence.
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Cancer chemotherapy with some of the taxane class of agents can be associated with significant neurotoxicity, arthralgias, myalgias, and skin changes that may offset the therapeutic benefits of taxane use. ⋯ Future research might examine this question of competing benefits as a potential aid to decision-making regarding the administration of toxic therapies in the setting of advanced disease.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Long-term adjustment of survivors of early-stage breast carcinoma, 20 years after adjuvant chemotherapy.
The long-term impact of breast carcinoma and its treatment was assessed in 153 breast carcinoma survivors previously treated on a Phase III randomized trial (Cancer and Leukemia Group B [CALGB 7581]) a median of 20 years after entry to CALGB 7581. ⋯ Twenty years after the initial treatment, the impact of breast carcinoma on survivors' adjustment was minimal. However, the higher prevalence of PTSD symptoms in response to having had cancer is indicative of continuing psychologic sequelae long after treatment completion. Findings related to lymphedema and numbness and continued symptoms of PTSD suggest that the long-term psychologic and medical sequelae on adjustment may be underrecognized. To establish in more detail whether survivors' overall psychologic state is any different from that of individuals without cancer, a population of community residents without cancer would need to be studied.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Eighteen-year results in the treatment of early breast carcinoma with mastectomy versus breast conservation therapy: the National Cancer Institute Randomized Trial.
Between 1979-1987, the National Cancer Institute conducted a randomized, prospective study of mastectomy (MT) versus breast conservation therapy (BCT) in the treatment of patients with early-stage breast carcinoma. After a median potential follow-up of 18.4 years, the authors present the updated results. ⋯ After nearly 20 years of follow-up, there was no detectable difference in overall survival or disease-free survival in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma who were treated with MT compared with those treated with BCT. For BCT patients, long-term in-breast failures continued to occur throughout the duration of follow-up. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of contralateral breast carcinoma between the two treatment groups.
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Malignant astrocytomas of the spinal cord are uncommon neoplasms with a dismal prognosis. To the authors' knowledge, little information has been published to date regarding the prognostic impact of clinicopathologic factors. ⋯ Patients older than 40 years have a shorter survival period compared with younger patients. There is a high risk of central nervous system dissemination in patients with this disease.