ONCOLOGY Vol 14 No 10 | Oncology

October 01, 2000

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) can help radiologists find early-stage breast cancers that might otherwise be missed, according to findings from a retrospective study presented at the “Era of Hope” Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program meeting.

October 01, 2000

Surviving cancer is in itself a joyous thing. A new awards program will spotlight that joy and share the stories of 12 survivors who are “everyday heroes,” in an effort to help others who are struggling with the disease.

October 01, 2000

Three studies presented at the “Era of Hope” Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program meeting described ways in which the body’s own genes and immune system are being used to guide and develop promising new therapeutic approaches.

October 01, 2000

Two studies presented at the “Era of Hope” Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program meeting exemplify different but equally promising approaches to the development of cancer vaccines.

October 01, 2000

For 27 years, the Children’s Art Project at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has made life better for children with cancer. Each year, the project offers holiday, everyday, and Valentine collections of note cards and gift items.

October 01, 2000

The final numbers are not in yet, but there is no doubt that Congress will fund the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at a considerably higher level than the $3.505 billion the Clinton administration asked for. That fiscal 2001 request was already nearly 6% above the actual 2000 budget.

October 01, 2000

Physicians will have to use the “ANSI ASC X12N” electronic transmission format whenever they do computerized billing.

October 01, 2000

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing clearance for bexarotene (Targretin) gel 1%, a novel therapy for the topical treatment of cutaneous lesions in patients with early-stage (IA and IB) cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who develop refractory or persistent disease after undergoing other therapies or who have not tolerated other therapies.

October 01, 2000

Many patients misunderstand when their healthcare providers use terms such as “high” or “low” to explain their cancer risks, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the August 2000 issue of the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.

October 01, 2000

Soft-tissue sarcomas comprise approximately 7% of all pediatric malignancies. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy have significantly improved survival.

October 01, 2000

The article by Schwartz and colleagues is important and timely, and brings into focus an essential component of the practice of oncology. Posttreatment follow-up is not often emphasized in the training of our residents and fellows, and is often based on

October 01, 2000

Selective neck dissection is a procedure that is primarily indicated in patients with clinically negative nodal disease in which there is a high risk of occult metastases. Others have advocated its use for patients with

October 01, 2000

The premise that early diagnosis of certain types of malignancies improves outcome and survival is a cornerstone of modern medicine. Routine use of the Pap smear has been associated with reduced mortality from cervical cancer. Randomized trials

October 01, 2000

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. The health consequences of smoking impose a substantial economic toll on persons, employers, and society. Smoking accounts for $50 billion to $73 billion in annual medical-care

October 01, 2000

The management of pediatric soft-tissue sarcomas has improved drastically through the use of multimodal therapy. These tumors include rhabdomyosarcomas and nonrhabdomyosarcomas. Both are staged using

October 01, 2000

Testicular cancer is a highly curable cancer. However, 30% of patients are refractory to standard therapy and will need additional therapy. This article focuses on the use of high-dose chemotherapy in germ-cell tumors.

October 01, 2000

Selective neck dissection is a procedure that is primarily indicated in patients with clinically negative nodal disease in which there is a high risk of occult metastases. Others have advocated its use for patients with

October 01, 2000

Testicular cancer is a highly curable cancer. However, 30% of patients are refractory to standard therapy and will need additional therapy. This article focuses on the use of high-dose chemotherapy in germ-cell tumors.

October 01, 2000

Testicular cancer is a highly curable cancer. However, 30% of patients are refractory to standard therapy and will need additional therapy. This article focuses on the use of high-dose chemotherapy in germ-cell tumors.

September 30, 2000

Selective neck dissection is a procedure that is primarily indicated in patients with clinically negative nodal disease in which there is a high risk of occult metastases. Others have advocated its use for patients with

October 01, 2000

Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to alter the natural history of resected colon cancer. Two regimens (fluorouracil [5-FU] plus leucovorin and 5-FU plus levamisole) have been found to prolong disease-free survival and overall survival in affected patients.

October 01, 2000

Postoperative combined-modality therapy with fluorouracil (5-FU) and radiation therapy is accepted practice for high-risk rectal cancer. Postoperative pelvic radiotherapy alone may improve pelvic control, but is not associated with an improvement in survival.

October 01, 2000

This phase I study examines the dose escalation of UFT given in combination with fixed doses of oral leucovorin and weekly doses of paclitaxel in patients with metastatic solid tumor malignancies (excluding colorectal cancer). There are two main objectives for this study.

October 01, 2000

The combination of irinotecan and fluorouracil (5-FU) is synergistic when applied to human colon cancer cell lines in vitro and appears to be schedule-dependent: maximal activity occurs when irinotecan is administered prior to 5-FU. In this phase I study, irinotecan is administered in combination with UFT and leucovorin in patients with advanced solid tumors.

October 01, 2000

A prospective randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of maintenance chemotherapy after surgical treatment of head and neck carcinoma was performed at 67 institutions. A comparison was made between the following two groups: the treatment group, which received 1-year oral administration of UFT at 300 mg/d following curative surgical treatment (UFT arm), and the nontreatment group, which received curative surgery alone (control arm).

October 01, 2000

The palliation of symptoms and improvement of quality of life are important aspects of therapy in patients with incurable metastatic cancer. This article describes the preliminary results of a phase I study of uracil and tegafur, an orally available fluorouracil (5-FU) derivative combined with oral leucovorin plus weekly intravenous paclitaxel.

October 01, 2000

This is an open-label, nonrandomized phase I study to determine the maximum tolerated dose and dose-limiting toxicity of UFT plus leucovorin when given concomitantly with hyperfractionated radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer. The study period is determined by the course of radiotherapy, which is given as 1.7 Gy per fraction twice daily for 5 days (Monday to Friday) in 2 consecutive weeks, followed by 1 week of rest, and subsequently another 2 weeks of radiotherapy (Monday to Friday plus Monday to Thursday).

October 01, 2000

Treatment with UFT for spontaneous lung metastasis of murine renal carcinoma (RENCA) after resection of the primary tumor has resulted in significant prolongation of the life span of tumor-bearing animals. UFT inhibited the growth of metastatic nodules in the lung, apparently via decreased density of microvessels in the metastatic foci. Subsequent experiments used dorsal air sac assay to directly trace newly forming microvessels.

October 01, 2000

In a trial of adjuvant chemotherapy with mitomycin and 5-FU followed by oral UFT for T1 and T2 gastric cancer after curative gastrectomy, there was no significant difference in survival between the treated and control (surgery alone) groups (5-year survival rate, 82.9% control vs 85.8% treated). Although not significantly different, 5-year survival for patients with T2 cancer was slightly higher in the treated group than in the control group (76.9% control vs 83.0% treated).

October 01, 2000

Taxanes are the most active drugs in the treatment of metastatic breast and ovarian cancer. Weekly therapy with paclitaxel produces notable activity, with remarkably low toxicity.

October 01, 2000

Cisplatin plus fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely accepted as neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; UFT is also an active agent against this disease. In the first retrospective study, we examined the efficacy of UFT as adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with maxillary cancer.

October 01, 2000

In the United States and Europe, the combination of oral UFT plus leucovorin has been reported to produce objective responses and survival rates similar to those achieved with standard intravenous 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, with reduced toxicity.

October 01, 2000

Testicular cancer is a highly curable cancer. However, 30% of patients are refractory to standard therapy and will need additional therapy. This article focuses on the use of high-dose chemotherapy in germ-cell tumors.

October 01, 2000

The mechanism of action of fluorouracil (5-FU) and the oral fluoropyrimidines and the importance of biochemical modulation and inhibition of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase for oral application of the prodrugs of 5-FU are discussed.

October 01, 2000

UFT (with leucovorin) and irinotecan both have single-agent activity in colorectal cancer, with non–cross-resistant mechanisms of action. Combining these drugs would be anticipated to increase response rates while maintaining the advantages of a regimen based on an orally administered fluoropyrimidine.

October 01, 2000

This was an open lable, pilot translational clinical pharmacology study of a brief (7 day) course of UFT, 300 mg/m²/day, in combination with leucovorin, 90 mg/day, in six patients with newly diagnosed advanced colorectal cancer.

October 01, 2000

In a step toward a clinical trial, the tumor response and survival of a weekday-on/weekend-off schedule of UFT was compared with its conventional daily schedule in a cancer-bearing rat model. The dose-intensive schedule-600 mg of UFT for 5 days followed by 2 drug-free days-amounts to a weekly dose similar to the conventional schedule of 400 mg/day. The weekday-on/weekend-off schedule provided increased survival and significantly greater antitumor activity than the conventional daily schedule, with no difference in adverse reactions.

October 01, 2000

The use of combined modality regimens has been well established in the treatment of stages II and III rectal cancer. The most common chemotherapy regimens used include continuous-infusion 5-FU delivered with the help of a central venous catheter and the use of portable pumps.

October 01, 2000

Over the past decade, increasing data have emphasized both the importance of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), the initial, rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of fluorouracil (5-FU), and its role as a control step in 5-FU metabolism, regulating the availability of 5-FU for anabolism.

October 01, 2000

This phase I study was undertaken to define the maximum tolerated dose, the dose-limiting toxicity, and the recommended dose of UFT plus leucovorin and vinorelbine in combination treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer previously treated with one chemotherapy regimen. The pharmacokinetics of UFT and vinorelbine were also evaluated.

October 01, 2000

This is an open-label, nonrandomized phase I trial to determine the safety and maximum tolerated dose of irinotecan with a fixed dose of UFT plus oral leucovorin in patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer.

October 01, 2000

This article describes the design and early results of an open-label, nonrandomized phase I/II trial of oral UFT plus leucovorin therapy in combination with bolus injections of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide in patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer. This study was designed as a cohort dose-escalation study with the principal aims being to determine dose-limiting toxicity, overall toxicity, maximum tolerated dose, tumor response, and time to disease progression.

October 01, 2000

The management of pediatric soft-tissue sarcomas has improved drastically through the use of multimodal therapy. These tumors include rhabdomyosarcomas and nonrhabdomyosarcomas. Both are staged using

October 01, 2000

Patients with limited-stage small-cell carcinoma of the lung are treated with combined-modality therapy with the intent to cure. Standard therapy consists of platinum-based combination chemotherapy, thoracic irradiation, and

October 01, 2000

Patients with limited-stage small-cell carcinoma of the lung are treated with combined-modality therapy with the intent to cure. Standard therapy consists of platinum-based combination chemotherapy, thoracic irradiation, and

October 01, 2000

Patients with limited-stage small-cell carcinoma of the lung are treated with combined-modality therapy with the intent to cure. Standard therapy consists of platinum-based combination chemotherapy, thoracic irradiation, and

October 01, 2000

UFT is an investigational agent that may be useful treatment for colorectal carcinoma and other cancers for which fluorinated pyrimidines are a useful treatment. The combination of continuous-infusion fluoro-uracil (5-FU) with leucovorin and mitomycin-C can significantly delay recurrence and may prolong life.