Oncology
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HER2-positive breast cancer is characterized by high chemosensitivity. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy is recognized as a very effective adjuvant treatment in HER2-positive disease. One of the possible explanations is the co-amplification of TOPO II-alpha and HER2. ⋯ Trastuzumab added to chemotherapy administered for one year is associated with improvement in disease-free survival and sometimes in overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone. Efficacy of trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting seems to be increased if administered concomitantly with chemotherapy instead of sequentially. However, the interpretation of longer follow-up results is difficult because of a large crossover from the control arm to trastuzumab.
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Lhermitte's phenomenon, characterized by 'electric-shock' sensations precipitated by neck flexion, may develop during oxaliplatin treatment. Limited cases have been described previously and the pathophysiology underlying Lhermitte's phenomenon in oxaliplatin-treated patients has not been established. ⋯ Lhermitte's phenomenon represents a severe presentation of oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity, associated with generalized nerve dysfunction in the absence of structural spinal abnormalities.
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Combination of trastuzumab and anthracyclines in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is precluded due to cardiotoxicity. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) is the least cardiotoxic among the anthracyclines. We performed a phase II study of trastuzumab and PLD with biomarker evaluation. ⋯ Trastuzumab combined with PLD every 3 weeks is feasible, effective and safe in HER2-positive patients.
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This study evaluated the clinical relevance of KRAS and BRAF mutational status in 66 irinotecan-refrac- tory Korean metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients treated with cetuximab-plus-irinotecan-based chemotherapy. ⋯ This study indicates the clinical relevance of KRAS mutations in predicting the efficacy of cetuximab-plus-irinotecan-based chemotherapy in irinotecan-refractory Korean mCRC patients.
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It was the aim of this study to compare differences in disease pattern, patient characteristics and survival in patient cohorts treated during different decades. ⋯ Median survival was maximum 6 months in all decades, despite the increasing use of more aggressive treatment. As most patients harbour extracranial metastases that threaten their lives, systemic treatment might theoretically play a role in the management of these patients, but more data need to be collected to confirm the clinical impact of this approach.