Cancer
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Phase 1 trials offer patients with advanced cancer the opportunity to pursue life-prolonging cancer treatments. In the current study, the timing of referral and symptom burden between patients referred to palliative care by phase 1 oncologists and those referred by non-phase 1 oncologists were compared. ⋯ Outpatients referred to palliative care by phase 1 oncologists were found to have a better performance status but similar symptom burden compared with patients referred by non-phase 1 oncologists. Patients with phase 1 involvement did not appear to have delayed palliative care referral compared with non-phase 1 patients. The results of the current study support the development of a simultaneous care model.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Differential response of triple-negative breast cancer to a docetaxel and carboplatin-based neoadjuvant treatment.
In this study, the authors evaluated whether a pathologic complete response (pCR) or a clinical complete response (cCR) to neoadjuvant treatment in patients with locally advanced breast cancer differed among the 3 subtypes of breast cancer: triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, and hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. Whether a cCR or a pCR was correlated with fewer recurrences and better survival also was investigated. ⋯ The current results indicated that the TC combination is promising for the treatment of TNBC. The addition of trastuzumab to TC improved the pCR rate significantly in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.
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The use of central venous catheters (CVCs) has greatly improved the quality of care in children with cancer, yet these catheters may cause serious infectious and thrombotic complications. The aim of this prospective registry study was to assess the host and CVC-related risk factors for CVC-created thrombotic complications. ⋯ Both patient-related and CVC-related factors are associated with higher risk of symptomatic thrombotic complications. These risk factors could be used in the clinical setting and in developing future studies for CVC thromboprophylaxis.
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This retrospective study evaluated the efficacy of gabapentin for the treatment of pain syndromes related to radiation-induced mucositis in patients with head and neck cancers treated with concurrent chemoradiation. ⋯ Gabapentin appears to be promising in reducing the need for high total doses of opioids and avoiding unplanned treatment interruptions for patients with head and neck malignancies treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy and should be further evaluated prospectively in controlled clinical trials.