The lancet oncology
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The lancet oncology · Jul 2007
Efficacy of trabectedin (ecteinascidin-743) in advanced pretreated myxoid liposarcomas: a retrospective study.
Previous studies have suggested that trabectedin (ecteinascidin-743) could have antitumour activity in soft-tissue sarcoma. We aimed to study the usefulness of trabectedin in the treatment of patients with myxoid liposarcomas, a subtype of liposarcoma that is associated with specific chromosomal translocations t(12;16)(q13;p11) or t(12;22)(q13;q12) that result in the formation of DDIT3-FUS or DDIT3-EWSR1 fusion proteins. ⋯ Trabectedin was associated with antitumour activity in this series of patients with myxoid liposarcoma. The noted patterns of tumour response were such that tissue density changes occurred before tumour shrinkage in several patients. In some patients, tissue-density changes only were seen. Long-lasting tumour control was noted in responsive patients. The compassionate-use programme is still ongoing. This analysis has resulted in the initiation of two prospective studies to assess the role of trabectedin in the treatment of patients with myxoid liposarcoma in preoperative and metastatic settings. Furthermore, the selective mechanism of action for trabectedin in this translocation-related sarcoma is being studied.
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The lancet oncology · Jun 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyFactorial phase III randomised trial of rofecoxib and prolonged constant infusion of gemcitabine in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: the GEmcitabine-COxib in NSCLC (GECO) study.
The addition of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors and prolonged constant infusion (PCI) of gemcitabine to treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) might improve treatment efficacy. We aimed to assess whether the addition of rofecoxib or PCI gemcitabine could improve overall survival compared with first-line treatment with cisplatin plus gemcitabine given by standard infusion. ⋯ Neither PCI gemcitabine nor rofecoxib prolonged survival in the patients in this study. Rofecoxib improved response rate and several quality-of-life items, including pain-related items and global quality of life. Further studies with less cardiotoxic COX-2 inhibitors are needed in NSCLC.
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The lancet oncology · Jun 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialEscalated-dose versus standard-dose conformal radiotherapy in prostate cancer: first results from the MRC RT01 randomised controlled trial.
In men with localised prostate cancer, conformal radiotherapy (CFRT) could deliver higher doses of radiation than does standard-dose conventional radical external-beam radiotherapy, and could improve long-term efficacy, potentially at the cost of increased toxicity. We aimed to present the first analyses of effectiveness from the MRC RT01 randomised controlled trial. ⋯ Escalated-dose CFRT with neoadjuvant androgen suppression seems clinically worthwhile in terms of bPFS, progression-free survival, and decreased use of salvage androgen suppression. This additional efficacy is offset by an increased incidence of longer term adverse events.