ONCOLOGY Vol 13 No 7 | Oncology

July 01, 1999

Few of us enjoy performing a task if we feel that we are not very good at it. Furthermore, the simpler the task appears to be, the more embarrassed we feel about our perceived lack of ability. As a result, we tend to avoid the whole situation

July 01, 1999

Docetaxel (Taxotere) combined with estramustine phosphate (Emcyt) and low-dose hydrocortisone appears to be a promising treatment for men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer, according to the results of a phase II trial conducted

July 01, 1999

In the course of a cancer-related study, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center stumbled upon an important genetic mechanism that may help in the treatment of two rare thyroid diseases.

July 01, 1999

Fluorouracil (5-FU) is one of the most extensively investigated chemotherapy agents in medical oncology. Generations of medical oncologists have equated this agent with the optimal treatment of colorectal cancer, both in the advanced and

July 01, 1999

Standard radiation therapy for patients with latestage cervical cancer (stage IIIB) should be adjusted so that each patient receives moderate doses of external-beam radiation therapy plus radioactive implants, according to a study led by Dr. Mark

July 01, 1999

In November 1996, residents of Oregon approved a $0.30 increase in the cigarette tax (to $0.68 per pack). The measure stipulated that 10% of the additional tax revenue be allocated to the Oregon Health Division to develop and implement a

July 01, 1999

Some factors that lead to the development of breast cancer are similar to those responsible for the development of ovarian cancer, say the authors of a new study. Consequently, women who survive breast cancer, especially those under the age of

July 01, 1999

A pharmaceutical treatment may offer patients an alternative to the usual surgical removal of basal cell carcinomas, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in New Orleans. The results

July 01, 1999

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) relieves swallowing problems associated with esophageal cancer in the majority of patients treated, according to a study conducted from November 1996 to June 1998 at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

July 01, 1999

Stanford researchers have devised a novel approach for delivering a clot-busting gene to blocked leg arteries in animals, effectively restoring blood flow to the damaged vessels, according to a new study presented at the 24th scientific meeting of

July 01, 1999

Members of Congress are trying to assure coverage of cancer screening tests under private insurance plans that Congress equired Medicare to cover as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and

July 01, 1999

The physician-patient relationship is based on effective communication. In oncology, higher expectations for communication are driven by increased media attention to cancer, patient-directed pharmaceutical advertising, and

July 01, 1999

New research shows that women who smoke menthol cigarettes may be more likely to inhale deeper and potentially inhale more nicotine than do smokers of nonmenthol cigarettes. The study also showed that menthol cigarette smokers tend to have

July 01, 1999

Discontinuing the practice of drawing blood every week from patients undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer can save time and money without jeopardizing the patient’s care, a new study has found.

July 01, 1999

Because of the absence of severe toxicities, UFT plus oral leucovorin is an optimal candidate for combination chemotherapy regimens. Its excellent acceptance by patients and well-tolerated safety profile make it a potential therapy for patients with poor performance status or patients who have been extensively pretreated

July 01, 1999

Carcinoma of the Thyroid is the first edition of a text dedicated to the anatomy, physiology, diagnosis, and treatment of thyroid malignancy. The book is written in a fairly uniform format, with 17 chapters contributed either by one of the editors or

July 01, 1999

The use of alternative therapies in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy is a potentially important clinical issue. Most patients assume that alternative therapies are harmless since they are “not drugs” and, thus, do not have an established

July 01, 1999

Total-body irradiation (TBI), when given as part of bone marrow transplantation (BMT), works by enhancing immune suppression and by exerting a tumoricidal effect. The modality has been made less toxic because of new approaches to

July 01, 1999

The article by Drs. Grondin and Sugarbaker discussing the clinical management of malignant pleural mesothelioma provides an excellent overview but also highlights many of the controversies surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of this difficult

July 01, 1999

The use of alternative therapies among cancer patients has increased dramatically since the 1970s. A recent review of published surveys found that anywhere from 7% to 64% of adult cancer patients were using such therapies.[1] Preliminary

July 01, 1999

Grondin and Sugarbaker provide an excellent, thorough review of malignant pleural mesotheliomas. Nearly 3,000 new mesotheliomas will be diagnosed in the United States this year. On the positive side, epidemiologists estimate that workplace

July 01, 1999

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is cell-cycle specific for its cytotoxicity and has a pharmacokinetic profile characterized by a short, single-dose half-life of 10 to 20 minutes in plasma. Efforts to maximize its clinical efficacy have been

July 01, 1999

Oxaliplatin is a unique platinum compound with single-agent activity in both chemotherapy-naïve colorectal cancer patients and patients who progressed on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The combination of oxaliplatin and 5-FU

July 01, 1999

UFT (uracil and tegafur in a 4:1 molar ratio) plus calcium folinate treatment has favorable activity and tolerable toxicity in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma. High response rates have been reported in patients with

July 01, 1999

Many patients treat themselves with oral antioxidants and other alternative therapies during chemotherapy, frequently without advising their conventional health care provider. No definitive studies have demonstrated

July 01, 1999

We evaluated combination therapy for advanced and recurrent breast cancer with cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), uracil and tegafur (UFT), and tamoxifen (Nolvadex) (CAUT), designed as

July 01, 1999

Gemcitabine (Gemzar) (2-deoxy-2,2-difluorocytidine) is a new antimetabolite being increasingly used in the treatment of solid tumors. It is an analog of deoxycytidine and cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) (Figure 1) that has shown significant activity

July 01, 1999

Protracted infusions of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) combined with pelvic radiotherapy have been associated with improved survival and decreased local and distant metastases in the adjuvant therapy of rectal cancer. However,

July 01, 1999

This phase I trial combining UFT plus oral calcium folinate (Orzel) with irinotecan (CPT-11) (Camptosar) for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer

July 01, 1999

Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to alter the natural history of resected colon cancer. Two regimens (5-fluorouracil [5-FU] plus calcium folinate and 5-FU plus levamisole [Ergamisol]) have been found to prolong

July 01, 1999

UFT, a compound containing uracil and tegafur (a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil) in a 4:1 molar ratio, has been used in Japan for the treatment of and as adjuvant chemotherapy for bladder cancer. In phase II studies, 300 to 600

July 01, 1999

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is one of the most active drugs in the treatment of ovarian and breast cancers. Combination therapy with paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) exhibits high activity in anthracycline-pretreated breast cancer,

July 01, 1997

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is the initial, rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). DPD has an important role in regulating the availability of 5-FU for anabolism. It is now clear that DPD also

July 01, 1999

Although treatment with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus calcium folinate has been reported to prolong survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, it can also cause significant toxicity, potentially resulting in

July 01, 1999

This is a phase I dose-escalation study of uracil and tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) administered in combination with calcium folinate and paclitaxel in metastatic breast cancer. This trial was initiated to 1)

July 01, 1999

Data from a multinational phase III trial were analyzed to evaluate the use of in- and outpatient services for 373 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer being administered uracil/tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) plus

July 01, 1999

This study was designed to determine if histopathologic evaluation of patients with resectable colorectal cancer following preoperative chemotherapy with uracil and tegafur with a molar ratio of 4:1 (UFT) could predict

July 01, 1999

In recent years, due to the advent of sensitive instrumentation and methodologies, it has been possible to identify parameters that predict the quality of response of individual patients to treatments for specific selected diseases,

July 01, 1999

Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a relatively unique drug in oncology because administration in different doses and schedules results in dramatically different patterns of qualitative toxicity. In the 41 years 5-FU has been

July 01, 1999

Since cancer is incurable in many patients, palliation of symptoms and quality-of-life issues are important aspects of therapy. Uracil and tegafur (UFT) plus calcium folinate are the components of the oral agent known

July 01, 1999

Uracil and tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) has proven activity against breast cancer and is delivered in an easy-to-administer oral formulation. Orzel, which combines UFT with the oral biomodulator, calcium folinate, may

July 01, 1999

Use of continuous-infusion 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer has met with some success in recent years. In order to build on this experience, investigators at the Royal Marsden Hospital and

July 01, 1999

This phase I study was designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and dose-limiting side effects of combination treatment with paclitaxel (Taxol) and UFT (uracil and tegafur in a 4:1 molar ratio) plus oral

July 01, 1999

A trial was designed to examine the combination of UFT and mitomycin (Mutamycin) plus tamoxifen (Nolvadex) as postoperative adjuvant therapy in the treatment of patients with stage II, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive

July 01, 1999

A number of advances have been made in the use of adjuvant chemotherapy for resectable rectal cancer. Whereas pelvic radiation therapy has been shown to increase local control in patients with clinically resectable

July 01, 1999

A phase II study of combined-modality treatment consisting of uracil and tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) plus cisplatin (Platinol) and concurrent radiotherapy was conducted to evaluate the activity of this regimen in

July 01, 1999

Locally advanced or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach still carries a poor prognosis, with 5-year survival rates of < 15%. Palliative chemotherapeutic regimens for this disease are largely 5-FU–based. We

July 01, 1999

Because most patients now want to know the truth about their diagnosis and prognosis, the ability to discuss the cancer diagnosis, disease recurrence, or treatment failure, and to solicit patients’ views about resuscitation

July 01, 1999

A prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of endocrine chemotherapy with uracil and tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) in patients with prostate cancer. The study included two

July 01, 1999

This phase I study was undertaken to define the maximum tolerated dose, dose-limiting toxicity, and recommended dosage of UFT (uracil and tegafur) plus oral calcium folinate (Orzel) and vinorelbine (Navelbine) in

July 01, 1999

Dr. Moul has done a wonderful job of outlining the scope and magnitude of the “phenomenon” of patients found to have a progressively rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level after potentially curative local treatment for prostate cancer. His

July 01, 1999

Dr. Moul discusses one of the most contemporary yet contrversial topics in prostate cancer-namely, a rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level after the failure of local therapy. The way in which patients with advanced prostate cancer present

July 01, 1999

Patients whose only sign of recurrence after local therapy for prostate cancer is a rising prostate-specific antigen level (PSA-only recurrence) have become more common. We have developed two models to predict PSA-only

July 01, 1999

Two studies were carried out to determine the activity and evaluate the toxicity of oral chemotherapy with uracil and tegafur in a 4:1 molar ratio (UFT) plus or minus calcium folinate in elderly patients with advanced colorectal

July 01, 1999

The article by Wen and Loeffler provides a comprehensive, timely, well-written review of the management of cerebral metastases. Both older studies and more recent reports on advances in the surgical, radiotherapeutic, and chemotherapeutic

July 01, 1999

Brain metastases are the most common type of brain tumor in adults and are an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. In recent years, important advances have been made in the diagnosis

July 01, 1999

As mental health professionals become integral members of the treatment team in many oncology settings,[1] we often find ourselves itching to guide and comfort our medical colleagues instead of our patients. Sometimes we have to intervene

July 01, 1999

The NCI brushed aside the concerns of some cancer advocacy groups and decided to begin the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR),expected to be one of the largest breast cancer prevention trials ever. Raloxifene (Evista) was approved

July 01, 1999

A phase I, single-center, open-label, dose-escalation study (University of Alabama [UAB] 9614) has been undertaken to evaluate the feasibility and safety of uracil and tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) plus oral

July 01, 1999

Uracil and tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) plus calcium folinate comprise the components of the oral agent, Orzel, which appears to have activity comparable to intravenously administered 5-fluorouracil. This article

July 01, 1999

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive tumor associated with exposure to asbestos. Although this disease is rare, with an annual incidence in the United States of 2,000 to 3,000 cases, a steady rise in cases has

July 01, 1999

Drs. Wen and Loeffler present a scholarly review of the management of brain metastases. They correctly note the high frequency of the brain as a site of metastasis and the fact that, overall, there are more metastatic than primary brain tumors.