PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Loukas

Publications and source records attributed to G Loukas.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Targeting locoregional immunochemotherapy with new drugs in metastatic liver disease: a promising alternative.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A retrospective report of our experience with adjuvant targeted locoregional immunochemotherapy using new drugs in 29 Stage IV colorectal cancer patients with unresectable metastatic liver disease from September 1997 to December 1998. METHODOLOGY: After pre-operative screening, all patients were subjected to laparotomy for insertion of transhepatic and transplenic arterial catheters, both implanted subcutaneously in the right upper abdominal quadrant. A bolus transhepatic arterial chemotherapy using Eloxatine 150 mg/m2 and Campton 140 mg/m2, suspended in a 5:1 lipiodol-urografin emulsion, was given 15 days post-operatively, followed the day after by 5 daily transplenic artery and then 5 daily transhepatic arterial injections of IL-2 in a 5:1 lipiodol-urografin mixture. This treatment schema was repeated at 2-month intervals. RESULTS: Treatment response was recorded: CR=24.2%, PR=55.2%, SD=10.3%, and PD=10.3%. Seventy-nine percent responded favorably with 7 patients (24.2%) showing marked tumor bulk reductions. There were no treatment-related morbidities or mortalities. CONCLUSIONS: All 29 patients are alive with a median survival of 11 months as of this writing. Eighty percent report a significant improvement in quality of life. Targeted locoregional immunochemotherapy using the above drugs is a promising option for patients with far-advanced metastatic liver disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A prospective randomized study using adjuvant locoregional chemoimmunotherapy in combination with surgery for pancreatic carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A prospective randomized clinical trial combining adjuvant locoregional chemoimmunotherapy for pancreatic carcinoma in 512 patients was conducted from September 1991 to September 1998 at Athens Medical Center. METHODOLOGY: All patients were randomly assigned to (A) Resective Surgery (n=274), and (B) Palliative Surgery (n=238) groups. Each group was further subdivided into: (1) surgery alone, and (2) surgery plus 1-day bolus chemotherapy (Gemcitabine 1 gm/m2, Carboplatin 200 mg/m2 and Mitoxantrone 0.2 g/kg bw suspended in 10 ml of Lipiodol and 2 ml of 58% urografin), and immunotherapy (1 ml IL-2 and 0.5 ml gamma-IFN suspended in 5 ml of Lipiodol and 1 ml of 58% urografin) followed by a 5-day course of transplenic and another 5-day course of transtumoral immunotherapy using the same agents. This was repeated at 2-month intervals during the first post-operative year and every 3 months thereafter. RESULTS: Significant reduction in patient symptomatology and improvements in post-treatment quality of life were noted in patients receiving adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy. Moreover, the mean survival rate significantly improved in patients receiving the adjuvant treatment, both for the resective (32 months) and the palliative (16 months) groups. CONCLUSIONS: The treatment regimen employed was well tolerated and did not contribute to any clinical deterioration. Adjuvant targeted locoregional chemoimmunotherapy is therefore a promising avenue in the management of patients with pancreatic carcinoma.

Adult↗