ONCOLOGY Vol 25 No 2

Thanks to the widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), AIDS patients continue to live longer after their initial diagnosis.

The article by Dr. Echarri Gonzalez and her colleagues regarding intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy for women with epithelial ovarian cancer provides a comprehensive yet practical review of the critical questions surrounding the use of IP chemotherapy.

In 2006, after a third consecutive large-scale US phase III trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) confirmed that use of intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy in optimally resected stage III epithelial ovarian cancer results in superior overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free survival (PFS),[

There are a number of important issues regarding neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer that must be considered as we design clinical trials in an effort to improve survival for this disease.

Dr Castellanos et al have provided a very comprehensive review of the multimodality therapy of localized pancreatic cancer, with an emphasis on adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapies.

Dr. Henderson provides a thoughtful perspective on an important question that many clinicians often consider: can we ditch anthracyclines in favor of other, more effective and/or less toxic chemotherapeutic agents?

The anthracyclines doxorubicin (A) and epirubicin (E) are among the most active agents for breast cancer.

As our knowledge of the molecular profiles of breast cancer has increased as a result of moving closer to our goal of individualized therapy, it is clear that we need to re-think our approach to the adjuvant treatment of early-stage breast cancer.

Oncology costs have become unaffordable for our healthcare system. Increasing at a rate of more than 15% per year, costs for treating cancer patients are far outpacing inflation and other healthcare costs.

Early trials of adjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer had multiple limitations including small sample size, population heterogeneity, and inability to distinguish between components of combined modality treatment.

ALSO KNOWN AS: Ananase, dayto anase, traumanase.

The anthracyclines doxorubicin and epirubicin are among the most effective cytotoxic treatments developed for the treatment of breast cancer.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) spreads prominently within the peritoneal cavity. In fact, we now know that high-grade serous cancers are often of tubal origin, and their presentation as tubo-ovarian masses renders it likely that intraperitoneal spread occurs as an early event in their clinical evolution.