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K Hahlen

Publications and source records attributed to K Hahlen.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

[Oral granisetron solution as prophylaxis for chemotherapy-induced emesis in children: double-blind study of 2 doses].

This multicentric double-blind, dose-ranging study was to compare efficacy and safety of two oral doses of granisetron solution in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced emesis in children with malignant diseases : 294 children, aged 1 to 16, treated with a moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy were randomly assigned to receive oral granisetron either 20 microg/kg (n = 143) or 40 microg/kg (n = 151) before and 6 to 12 hours after the start of chemotherapy. Fifty-one percent of patients treated with 20 microg/kg bd of oral granisetron solution achieved a complete response (no vomiting, no worse than mild nausea, no rescue therapy and no withdrawal during the specified period) and 59% achieved a major response (no more than one episode of vomiting, no worse than mild nausea, no rescue therapy and no withdrawal during the specified period). There was no difference between the two oral doses of granisetron. Treatment was rated as good or very good by investigators in 70% of cases. In conclusion, oral granisetron suspension either at 20 microg/kg bd or at 40 microg/kg bd showed good efficacy and safety in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced emesis in children with malignant diseases. Oral granisetron solution can be used as prophylaxis of emesis in children receiving moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1989

Combined measurements of plasma aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase and DOPA as tumour markers in diagnosis and follow-up of neuroblastoma.

As neuroblastoma, the most common solid tumour in childhood, may contain all the constituents of the catecholamine biosynthesis cascade, some of these constituents may be produced in excess in a varying mixture reflecting the wide variability in expression of differentiated features of the tumour. We have measured plasma levels of norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), and plasma activities of dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) and aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (ALAAD) in 18 patients with neuroblastoma, in 13 at various times during the course of their disease. Activities of serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), serum levels of ferritin (FER) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and urinary vanilmandelic acid (VMA) were also determined. NE, E and DBH were found not to reflect tumour activity. In untreated active neuroblastoma DOPA or ALAAD (10 out of 10) or both (six out of 10) were clearly elevated. In all 13 patients where samples were obtained during chemotherapy, ALAAD activities fell within the normal range, while DOPA decreased more slowly. During relapse, DOPA and, especially, ALAAD, rapidly increased; in all six patients who had a relapse both DOPA and ALAAD were elevated. In complete remission (eight patients), ALAAD was normal in all patients, but DOPA remained elevated in the one patient who later experienced a relapse. Our preliminary conclusion is that combined measurements of plasma ALAAD and DOPA may be useful markers for neuroblastoma activity at diagnosis, but even more so in indicating residual disease (DOPA) and in the early detection of relapse (ALAAD).

Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases↗