Cancer
BACKGROUND:In limited institution phase 2 studies, thalidomide and temozolomide has yielded response rates (RRs) up to 32% for advanced melanoma, leading to the use of this combination as “standard” by some. We conducted a multicenter phase 2 trial to better define the clinical efficacy of thalidomide and temozolomide and the immune modulatory effects of thalidomide, when combined with temozolomide,...
BACKGROUND:The purpose of this study was to confirm whether black and white women with endometrial cancer are equally tolerant of chemotherapy and identify factors that impact survival.
METHODS:A retrospective review of 169 black women and 982 white women with the International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians stage III, stage IV, or recurrent endometrial carcinoma was performed. All...
BACKGROUND:Differences in risk factors for metastases at different time intervals after treatment have been described in several malignancies; however, to the authors' knowledge, no extensive study examining this issue in melanoma has been conducted to date.
METHODS:The authors performed a nested case‐control study of patients with melanoma who presented with only local disease. Patients in the case...
Shortly after the onset of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in the 1980s, reports of radiation‐associated toxicity in patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS began to appear in the medical literature. Although the majority of reports have focused on AIDS‐defining malignancies such as Kaposi sarcoma, greater‐than‐expected toxicity after a course of radiotherapy...
BACKGROUND:Salivary gland cancers are rare, histologically diverse, and varied in their biologic behavior and responsiveness to systemic therapy. To the authors' knowledge, there currently is no standard chemotherapy for these tumors, but cisplatin‐based regimens are often used. This phase 2 trial evaluated the combination of gemcitabine with cisplatin (carboplatin in those with protocol‐defined contraindications...
BACKGROUND:The rate of continent urinary diversion after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer varies by patient and provider characteristics. Demonstration of equivalent complication rates, independent of diversion type, may decrease provider reluctance to perform continent reconstructions. The authors sought to determine whether continent reconstructions confer increased complication rates after...
BACKGROUND:Correct pretreatment classification is critical for optimizing diagnosis and treatment of patients with peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether F18‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) can differentiate malignant (MPNST) from benign PNSTs.
METHODS:Thirty‐four adult patients presenting with PNST who underwent a presurgical...
BACKGROUND:Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)‐positive oropharyngeal carcinoma (OC) have better prognosis than patients with HPV‐negative OC. The objective of the current study was to assess how different practices across the United States treat patients with OC with respect to screening for HPV DNA or p16.
METHODS:Five hundred forty‐two randomly selected radiation oncologists were sent an...
BACKGROUND:Because of their rarity, no prospective studies have been performed regarding gangliogliomas. The optimal treatment regimen is unclear. In this study, the authors compared 4 therapies for local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) in patients with ganglioglioma.
METHODS:In 402 patients with ganglioglioma, outcomes were compared for patients who underwent gross total resection alone (GTR)...
BACKGROUND:Appendiceal neoplasms include tumors ranging from benign‐appearing cells with widespread mucin deposits to aggressive poorly differentiated signet ring cell adenocarcinomas. Traditionally, these tumors are treated with cytoreductive surgery followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. For some patients, cytoreductive surgery is not an option, and minimal published data exist in...
BACKGROUND:The Memorial Sloan‐Kettering Cancer Center risk model classifies patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by 5 pretreatment features as favorable, intermediate, and poor risk. The number of Memorial Sloan‐Kettering Cancer Center patients in each risk group was examined by year of treatment to analyze stage migration.
METHODS:The distribution of risk groups was examined retrospectively...
BACKGROUND:Despite limited preclinical and clinical investigations, milk thistle (MT) is often used for the treatment of chemotherapy‐associated hepatotoxicity. Limited treatment options exist for chemotherapy‐related hepatoxicity. Given the wide use of MT, the authors investigated MT in both the laboratory and a clinical setting.
METHODS:In a double‐blind study, children with acute lymphoblastic...
BACKGROUND:Young adult survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk for treatment‐related morbidity and mortality. In this study, the authors assessed how treatment for childhood cancer affects older‐adult health and health practices.
METHODS:One hundred seven adults treated for childhood cancer between 1947 and 1968, known to have survived past age 50 years, were identified from a single‐institution...
BACKGROUND:The authors successfully adopted an interesting and effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) referred to as angiographic subsegmentectomy (AS). This treatment involved simultaneous embolization of the peripheral feeding artery and the portal vein. The result was that almost all of the HCC and peripheral liver parenchyma developed complete anatomic necrosis.
METHODS:To determine...
BACKGROUND:The study was undertaken to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness, skeletal muscle function, and body composition of patients with newly diagnosed and untreated, postsurgical primary malignant glioma.
METHODS:By using a cross‐sectional design, patients with clinically stable (10 ± 7 days postsurgery) high‐grade glioma (HGG; n = 25) or low‐grade glioma (LGG; n = 10) were studied. Participants...
BACKGROUND:This study was undertaken to characterize the relation between the survival of patients with stage IIIB/IV nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pack‐years of cigarette smoking (graded according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system).
METHODS:Data were analyzed from patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC who had completed a prospective smoking questionnaire. The impact of...
BACKGROUND:Screening can lead to earlier detection of breast cancer and thus to an improvement in survival. The authors studied the life expectancy of women with screen‐detected invasive breast cancer (patients) compared with women invited to the breast cancer screening program in Nijmegen, the Netherlands (comparison group).
METHODS:Each patient diagnosed between 1975 and 2006 was randomly age‐matched...
BACKGROUND:Some men with a postradiation therapy (RT) prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) recurrence will die of noncancer causes before developing metastases. Therefore, our ability to determine who would benefit from salvage hormonotherapy (HT) would be enhanced if an individual's risk of nonprostate‐cancer‐specific mortality were known.
METHODS:Among 206 men with unfavorable‐risk localized prostate...