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Biomedical subjects

G Falkson

Publications and source records attributed to G Falkson.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Acute leukemia as a complication of long-term treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia occurred in four women after long-term therapy for advanced breast cancer. The patients had inoperable/metastatic breast cancer that had been well-controlled with chemotherapy for many years (7 years and 4 months, 7 years and 1 month, 6 years and 3 months, and 4 years and 7 months, respectively). Two of the patients had also received extensive radiotherapy. The chemotherapeutic agent that all four patients had received in common was cyclophosphamide.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

VM-26, a new anticancer drug with effectiveness in malignant lymphoma: an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Study (EST 1474).

Thirty-six patients with stage III and IV Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, who had become refractory to conventional chemotherapy, were treated with VM-26. Complete remissions were documented in two patients with diffuse histiocytic lymphoma. Six patients (four with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and two with Hodgkin's disease) had partial remissions. The overall response rate was 22% (eight of 36 patients). Hematologic toxicity was the most frequent dose-limiting toxicity. Nonhematologic toxic effects were mild and acceptable. This study demonstrates that VM-26 can produce tumor responses in refractory lymphomas. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group is currently planning two new phase II studies to incorporate VM-26 with other active new agents, one involving hexamethylmelamine and the other involving cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II).

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Role of plasma carcinoembryonic antigen in evaluating patients with breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy.

Serial plasma carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were determined in 84 patients with breast cancer who were receiving postsurgical adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy. CEA values were correlated with clinical status, scintiscans, alkaline phosphatase, LDH, and SGOT. CEA values greater than 2.5 ng/ml were considered abnormal. Thirty patients had normal serial CEA values; all remain disease-free. In 54 patients one or more abnormal CEA values were recorded; nine of 54 developed overt metastatic disease. Relapses occurred in four of 38 patients in whom values up to 5 ng/ml were recorded, in three of 14 patients in whom values up to 10 ng/ml were recorded, and in two of two patients in whom values greater than 10 ng/ml were recorded.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1978

Hepatitis B surface antigen and primary liver cancer.

Sera of 184 patients were examined to determine the incidence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Ninety-two patients had primary liver cancer (PLC) and there were 92 matched controls. Thirty-one of the 92 patients with PLC and 8 of the 92 patients with no clinical evidence of liver disease had radio-immunoassay-positive tests for HBsAg. The difference was significant (P less than 0,01). In 56 of the patients with PLC it was possible to assess the nature of associated liver disease histologically. HBsAg was found in the sera of 66,6% of patients with postcollapse cirrhosis and in 22,2% of patients with chronic Budd-Chiari syndrome. It is likely that the role played by hepatitis B infection in the pathogenesis of PLC varies according to local circumstances in different geographical areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Trofosfamide in the treatment of patients with cancer. A pilot trial.

The efficacy of trofosfamide (Ixoten; Noristan), a derivative of cyclophosphamide, was investigated in 76 patients. Those with solid tumours were given 50 mg/kg in 6 divided doses in 48 hours; those with chronic lymphatic leukaemia were treated with 100 mg orally 3 times a day for up to 10 weeks. Side-effects of treatment included leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, a fall in the haemoglobin level, haematuria and occasional alopecia. Nausea was never severe, and occurred in only half of the patients on a high dose and in none of the patients on a low dose. A therapeutic effect was observed in patients with breast cancer, cancer of unknown origin and pancreatic cancer. Twenty-one of 24 patients with chronic lymphatic leukaemia (all of whom had aggressive disease) responded to treatment, and complete remission (including normal bone marrow), was achieved in 5 of these patients.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1978

Vincristine, prednisone and L-asparaginase in the induction of remission in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia following relapse.

Two hundred and twenty-seven children with recurrent acute lymphoblastic leukemia were treated with various combinations of vincristine, prednisone, cyclophosphamide and L-asparaginase in an approach to the induction of remission. The combination of L-asparaginase 1,000 mu/kg iv q.d. x 10, vincristine 2.0 mg/m2iv q.w. x 4 and prednisone 40 mg/m2 p.o.q.d. x 28 days was found to be highly effective. The incidence of remission was 73%. No significant improvement was achieved when cyclophosphamide was added to this regimen. Various combinations of cytosine arabinoside, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, BCNU or CCNU failed to maintain remission duration for more than two or three months. Neither BCNU nor CCNU prevented the development of CNS leukemia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

A randomized comparative trial of adriamycin versus methotrexate in combination drug therapy.

A prospective randomized trial was conducted comparing the clinical response of 78 previously untreated patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer to a combination of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) or to a combination of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and 5-fluorouracil (CAF). Sixty-two percent of the patients receiving CMF responded to treatment compared to an 82% response rate for the patients receiving CAF. Although within acceptable limits, hematologic and GI toxicity was greater with CAF. There was no significant difference in the duration of response to the two regimens. Therefore, the therapeutic difference between the two therapies is a higher initial response rate to the adriamycin containing regimen.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1978

Carcinoembryonic antigen in patients with breast cancer: an adjunctive tool to monitor response and therapy.

Plasma carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were performed by radioimmunoassay in 234 patients with histologically proved breast cancer: 181 with advanced metastatic disease and 53 without distant metastases but nodal involvement at time of mastectomy. Four hundred and thirty-four assays were done and correlated with the clinical status of the patients. Values above 2.5 ng/ml were taken as abnormal. Active disease was associated with elevated plasma CEA levels. Very high values were not recorded in 109 patients when they were considered to be in complete remission, while only 22 patients out of 63 patients with progressive disease had normal values. In 16 of these values remained normal despite progression of disease. In 6 patients clinical relapse preceded CEA elevation by 2--5 months. Tumor burden and abnormal serial CEA values showed positive correlation in 38 patients. In 30 patients, change in clinical status and CEA values occurred simultaneously. In only 2 patients an increase in CEA value occurred 2--3 months before clinical documentation of relapse.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1978

Chemotherapy studies in primary liver cancer: a prospective randomized clinical trial.

One hundred and sixty-eight patients with unresectable primary liver cancer were prospectively studied by members of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. These patients were randomized to receive treatment with oral 5-Fluorouracil (5FU), oral 5-Fu plus Streptozotocin, oral 5-Fu plus Methyl-CCNU or Adriamycin. The single agent treatments (oral 5-Fu and Adriamycin) were associated with less gastrointestinal toxicity than were the oral 5-Fu treatment combinations. A total of 15 partial responses were reported. Adriamycin appears to be the most active agent and responsible for 9 of the 15 responses. No response was seen in any of the 48 patients randomized to oral 5-Fu alone. The survival associated with oral 5-Fu alone was significantly shorter than the survival time associated with the remaining 3 treatment programs among both North American and South African patients. A multivariate model of survival was formulated. Covariates of prognostic significance were treatment, initial performance status and sex. South African black patients had a shorter survival time than North American black patients. Excluding oral 5-Fu from consideration, prognostic variables appeared to dominate any differences between the remaining treatments under study.

Adenoma, Bile Duct↗
PubMed1977

Evaluation of adriamycin and dibromodulcitol in metastatic breast carcinoma.

A phase 1 to 2 evaluation of a combination of adriamycin (ADR) and dibromodulcitol (DBD) was performed in patients with progressive, metastatic breast carcinoma. All but one patient had been treated previously with chemotherapy. ADR was given on Day 1 or Days 1 and 8, and DBD was given on Days 1 to 10 of each 21- to 28-day treatment cycle. Side effects were evaluable in 54 patients, and 50 patients were evaluable for therapeutic response. The dose-limiting toxicities were leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. The severity of both toxicities increased as both the ADR and DBD doses increased; however, the effect of increases in DBD dose was much more profound. The mean white blood cell count and platelet nadirs occurred, respectively, on Days 15.3 and 15.9; both nadirs were delayed for 0.6 day by each 30-mg/sq m/day increase in the DBD dose and delayed for 1.7 to 3.9 days using the Day 1, 8 rather than the Day 1 ADR schedule Recovery of the peripheral counts by Day 29 was prolonged by the Day 1, 8 ADR schedule and by increasing the DBD dose. A tolerable dose schedule for previously treated patients was considered to be ADR, 40 mg/sq m on Day 1, and DBD, 135 mg/sq m on Days 1 to 10 repeated every 28 days. Responses were observed in 46% (23 of 50) of the patients. There were 1 complete remission, 19 partial remissions, and 3 improvements. Thirteen patients showed no change and 14 developed progressive disease. There were responses in 13 of 37 (36%) with visceral dominant disease as compared to 7 of 8 (87%) with osseous and 3 of 5 (60%) with soft tissue-dominant disease. There were 22 of 48 (46%) responses in patients previously exposed to alkylating agent therapy. Twnety-two patients had responded and 19 had failed to respond to prior alkylating agent-containing regimens; the response rates to DBD in these groups were respectively, 45 and 42%. The median time to remission was 29 days. The median time to therapeutic failure was 5.1 months for responders, 2.3 months for patients with no change, and 29 days for progressors. The combination of ADR and DBD appears to be an active and well-tolerated program in patients with previously treated metastatic breast carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Leukaemia in Hodgkin's disease.

Three new cases of Hodgkin's disease terminating in leukaemia are described and the literature is briefly reviewed. The patients developed acute lymphocytic leukaemia, acute eosinophilic leukaemia and chronic myeloid leukaemia, 6 1/4 years, 6 years and 7 months respectively after the initial diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. The 2 patients who developed acute leukaemia had been in complete remission from the Hodgkin's disease and had received no treatment for 5 3/4 and 2 1/2 years respectively. Possible causes for the occurrence of leukaemia in patients with Hodgkin's disease are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Adriamycin in the treatment of cancer.

Adriamycin is a new anticancer antibiotic with a wide spectrum of activity against solid tumours. The results obtained with this agent in 159 patients with histologically confirmed advanced metastastic malignancies are reported. Encouraging results were obtained in patients with sarcomas of bone and soft tissue (12/22). Response was also seen in mesothelioma (3/9) and lung cancer (5/15). A variety of other neoplasms was also treated and results obtained in neuroblastoma, testicular tumours, stomach carcinoma, breast cancer and nephroblastoma are reported. Treatment is discussed, with reference to response rates and toxicity. Results in 72 patients with advanced breast cancer, who received adriamycin in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents, are presented. Seventeen patients with primary liver cancer were also treated with adriamycin. To date, this is the only chemotherapeutic agent that appears to significantly improve survival times in patients with this resistant form of cancer. The prophylactic use of adriamycin against osteogenic sarcoma is also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Fluorouracil, methyl-CCNU and vincristine in cancer of the colon.

In a randomized study 91 patients with metastatic cancer of the colon were treated with either fluorouracil alone or a combination of fluorouracil, methyl-CCNU, and vincristine. Of those treated with the three-drug combination, 37% responded, and of those treated with fluorouracil alone, 22% responded. Median response duration for patients treated with the combination method was 5.0 months and for those with fluorouracil alone, 3.8 months. Toxic effects are also compared. From this study it is concluded that a three-drug regimen provides a definite advantage.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1976

A controlled clinical trial of fluorouracil plus imidazole carboxamide dimethyl triazeno plus vincristine plus bis-chloroethyl nitrosourea plus radiotherapy in stomach cancer.

The aim of this study was to seek a better treatment for patients with inoperable or recurrent stomach cancer. Seventy patients were randomly allocated to receive courses of treatment with either A (5-Fluorouracil plus radiotherapy) or B (5-Fluorouracil plus Imidazole Carboxamide Dimethyl Triazeno plus Vincristine plus Bis-Chloroethyl Nitrosourea plus radiotherapy). Only 59 of these patients were evaluable. The median survival time of patients allocated to Group A was 220 days and Group B was 199 days. Seventeen of 31 patients in Group A and 10 of 28 patients in Group B had objectively documented remission. The median survival time of responders was 222 days for Group A and 410 for Group B. While it would appear that those patients who respond to the more intensive treatment do better, a larger percentage of patients responded to the simpler treatment regimen of 5-Fluorouracil plus radiotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗