Cancer
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Blacks are affected disproportionately by pancreatic adenocarcinoma and have been linked with poor survival. Surgical resection remains the only potential curative option. If surgical disparities exist, then they may provide insight into outcome discrepancies. ⋯ Black and white patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma presented with similar stages and were recommended for pancreatectomy at similar rates, yet black patients underwent fewer resections. After resection, crude survival did not differ significantly between white and black patients, although multivariate analysis demonstrated a survival disadvantage for blacks despite adjusting for resection. The current results suggested that pancreatectomy may be underused for blacks. Maximizing resection rates for appropriate patients may be an important component in reducing outcome disparities for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Therapeutic effect of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (RhEGF) on mucositis in patients undergoing radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy, for head and neck cancer: a double-blind placebo-controlled prospective phase 2 multi-institutional clinical trial.
We evaluated the efficacy of topically applied human recombinant epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) for the treatment of oral mucositis induced by radiotherapy (RT), with or without chemotherapy, in patients with head and neck cancer. ⋯ The EGF oral spray may have potential benefit for oral mucositis in patients undergoing RT for head and neck cancer. Phase 3 studies are ongoing to confirm these results.
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Although adjuvant chemoradiation is used commonly in the United States for the treatment of resected pancreatic cancer, there is no consensus on the benefit of this therapy, because the results from randomized trials are conflicting. The authors of this report reviewed their experience in a consecutive, unselected series of patients who received adjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and radiation therapy (RT) for resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma. ⋯ The median survival of the current cohort was greater than that of the chemoradiation arms of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer trials and European Study Group for Pancreatic Cancer 1 trials and was comparable to the survival observed on the Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group chemoradiation arm. Lymph node status and treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy were significant predictors of OS and DFS, respectively. Future survival improvements should be directed at reducing peritoneal and liver metastases. Further randomized trials will be required to define the role of adjuvant therapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
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Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is 1 of the most powerful prognostic factors for extremity osteosarcoma. [F-18]-fluorodeoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is a noninvasive imaging modality that is used to predict histopathologic response. To determine the prognostic value of FDG-PET response for progression-free survival (PFS) in osteosarcoma, the authors of this report reviewed the University of Washington Medical Center experience. ⋯ FDG-PET imaging of extremity osteosarcoma was correlated only partially with a histologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. An SUV2<2.5 was associated with improved PFS. Future prospective studies are warranted to determine whether FDG-PET imaging may be used as a predictor of outcome independent of initial disease stage.
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A recent randomized study conducted on newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) patients demonstrated that concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide added to standard radiotherapy had a survival advantage compared with radiotherapy alone. The overall survival benefit of this aggressive treatment, however, was attenuated in older or poor performance status patients. The aim of the present study was to verify the activity and the toxicity of temozolomide administration concurrent and adjuvant to radiotherapy as first-line treatment for elderly GBM patients, and to explore correlations between clinical outcome and O6 methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status. ⋯ The overall and progression-free survival of patients given concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide are greater than in those given radiotherapy alone; however, this regimen incurs a greater deterioration in mental status. Further randomized trials should, therefore, be conducted to investigate the efficacy and against the toxicity of this regimen as first-line therapy in patients with GBM.