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Athanasios G Pallis

Publications and source records attributed to Athanasios G Pallis.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A multicenter phase II study of sequential vinorelbine and cisplatin followed by docetaxel and gemcitabine in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the activity and toxicity of the sequential administration of vinorelbine/cisplatin (VC regimen) followed by the docetaxel/gemcitabine (DG regimen) combination in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND TREATMENT: Fifty-nine previously untreated patients with advanced/metastatic NSCLC received three cycles of cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) (day 1), and vinorelbine 30 mg/m(2) (days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks; VC regimen), followed by six cycles of docetaxel (65 mg/m(2), day 1) and gemcitabine (1,500 mg/m(2), day 1), (DG regimen) every 2 weeks. RESULTS: One (1.7%) complete and 26 (44.1%) partial responses were achieved for an overall response rate of 45.8% (95% CI 33.05-58.48%); 12 (20.3%) patients had stable disease and 20 (33.9%) progressive disease. The median time to progression was 5.3 months, the median survival time 12.5 months and the 1-year survival rate 51%. The main toxicity was grade III/IV neutropenia occurring in 25.5% of patients; all other hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities were relatively infrequent. CONCLUSIONS: The sequential administration of VC and DG regimens was well tolerated and active against advanced NSCLC and merits to be further evaluated against a single doublet.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Validation of a reliable instrument (QUOTE-IBD) for assessing the quality of health care in Greek patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Given the early onset, the chronic and recurrent nature of their disease and their normal life expectancy, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may need considerable health care. The purpose of this study is to validate the Greek translation of the QUOTE-IBD questionnaire (GR-QUOTE-IBD). For that purpose we assessed its construct validity, and reliability. Fifty patients (33 ulcerative colitis, 17 Crohn's disease) completed the GR-QUOTE-IBD and visual-analogue scales (VAS) for the patients' evaluation of the quality of separate care dimensions, and of the total care. A subgroup of 33 patients (64%) completed the GR-QUOTE-IBD for a second time. Quality of life was assessed by the short version of the IBDQ. Clinical activity was assessed by Harvey-Bradshaw index and Colitis Activity Index. Correlations among all care dimensions and VAS were positive and highly significant (p<0.001). The total care and all eight dimensional care scores (quality impact and importance) had no significant differences between the baseline and the follow-up visit. Similarly, the correlation coefficients between the scores of the two occasions were all positive (close to one) and highly significant (p<0.001). The GR-QUOTE-IBD proved to be a valid and reliable instrument, applicable in international clinical studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Improved validation of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire and development of a short form in Greek patients.

OBJECTIVES: The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) is a disease-specific questionnaire for assessing health-related quality of life. The main objective of this study is to assess three main areas of the validation of the Greek IBDQ: internal validity, designating items to dimensions, and selecting items for a short form. An additional aim is to present alternative validation methods for improved and robust results. METHODS: A total of 134 patients with IBD, including 74 with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 60 with Crohn's disease (CD), completed the Greek IBDQ. Internal validity was assessed by using standard methods and multiple correlation analysis. Factor analysis of the 32 items of the questionnaire was carried out to identify the underlying dimensions, using principal factor analysis and maximal likelihood. For selecting items for a short form, three methods of linear regression analysis were used. RESULTS: All items had adequate convergent validity (except item 11 in the CD group) and acceptable discriminant validity (except item 11 for both groups). Factor analysis yielded five factors (emotional function, social function, systemic symptoms, bowel symptoms, and abdominal symptoms). The combination of three regression techniques and their internal validity yielded two similar but distinct short forms, one for UC and one for CD. Both forms had high correlation with the total IBDQ score (R(2) = 0.949 and 0.977, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The Greek IBDQ had good internal validity. The original designation in four dimensions and the original short form could be improved with only slight modifications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Assessing health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, in Crete, Greece.

BACKGROUND: Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important outcome measure in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The aim of our study was to assess HRQoL in a population of 135 Greek patients with IBD. METHODS: A cohort of 135 patients with IBD, 81 with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 54 with Crohn's disease (CD) were enrolled in our study. Demographic and disease-related data were recorded. HRQoL was assessed by a disease-specific and a generic questionnaire, IBDQ and SF-36, respectively. Disease activity was assessed by Harvey-Bradshaw Index and the Colitis Activity Index for CD and UC patients, respectively. RESULTS: Among all variables recorded in our study, only disease activity had a significant effect on HRQoL. Patients with active disease scored significantly lower on both IBDQ and SF-36 when compared to those in remission. Only two among the four IBDQ dimensions, bowel and systemic, had significant ability in distinguishing best patients in remission from those with active disease. CONCLUSIONS: IBD has a negative impact on HRQoL. Patients with active disease are more impaired than patients in remission. In our population of patients bowel and systemic dimensions had a predominant value in patients' perception of quality of life. Patients in our study using the same instrument scored higher than previously reported.

Adolescent↗