Cancer
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Comparative Study
Survival rates and patterns of care for patients diagnosed with supratentorial low-grade gliomas: data from the SEER program, 1973-2001.
Detailed population-based estimates of long-term survival as well as patterns of care for patients with low-grade gliomas examined by age at diagnosis, gender, and race have not been widely available. ⋯ Data for patients diagnosed with low-grade gliomas revealed increasing survival times over the past 25 years with a subset of patients surviving for decades. Differences in survival by race, gender, histology, and first course of treatment were appreciated. These data suggested that the clinical course of low-grade glioma for some patients may be more encouraging than previously perceived and that the identification of this group of patients may allow refinement of current treatment protocols.
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Metastatic melanoma carries a poor prognosis, with a median survival of 7-9 months. Surgical resection of metastatic disease has been advocated to improve survival. Immunotherapy after metastasectomy may further improve the outcome for high-risk resected disease. ⋯ In selected patients with AJCC Stage IV melanoma, resection of metastatic disease followed by vaccine therapy can result in long-term survival.
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The objective of this study was to assess the cosmesis and toxicities in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma who received treatment with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using interstitial brachytherapy. ⋯ APBI with interstitial brachytherapy resulted in mild chronic toxicities, the majority of which diminished or reached a plateau over time. Long-term cosmesis was good to excellent in 95-99% of patients and stabilized at 2 years.