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P Canney

Publications and source records attributed to P Canney.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Early closure of a randomized trial: surgery and postoperative radiotherapy versus radiotherapy in the management of intra-oral tumours.

Tumours of the oral cavity/oropharynx occur relatively infrequently in the UK. The management of such lesions, especially the squamous cell carcinomas, is still a little controversial. Some centres advocate radiotherapy while others adopt surgery and radiotherapy. In an attempt to resolve the question of which approach gives the better results, a multicentre randomized trial was established to compare surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy with radical radiotherapy alone. It was anticipated that 350 patients would be required to give a statistically significant result, but, after 35 patients had been entered, the trial was closed prematurely with a marked difference in overall survival in favour of the combination arm (P = 0.0006). At this analysis, carried out 23 months after trial closure, the survival difference between the two arms remains statistically significant for all causes of mortality (P = 0.001; relative death rate = 0.24; 95% CI 0.10-0.59).

Adult

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase pharmacogenetics in patients with colorectal cancer.

Individuals with a deficiency in the enzyme dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) may experience severe life-threatening toxicity when treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). As routine measurement of enzyme activity is not practical in many clinical centres, we have investigated the use of DNA mutation analysis to identify cancer patients with low enzyme levels. We have identified two new mutations at codons 534 and 543 in the DPD cDNA of a patient with low enzyme activity and screened the DNA from 75 colorectal cancer patients for these mutations and the previously reported splice site mutation (Vreken et al, 1996; Wei et al, 1996). In all cases, DPD enzyme activity was also measured. The splice site mutation was detected in a patient (1 out of 72) with low enzyme activity whereas mutations at codons 534 (2 out of 75) and 543 (11 out of 23) were not associated with low enzyme activity. These studies highlight the need to combine DPD genotype and phenotype analysis to identify mutations that result in reduced enzyme activity.

Adult

Epirubicin chemotherapy and advanced breast cancer after adjuvant CMF chemotherapy.

There have been conflicting reports on the effect of prior adjuvant chemotherapy on the response of advanced breast cancer to primary chemotherapy. We report a retrospective review of the outcome of chemotherapy with epirubicin 100 mg/m2 for advanced breast cancer in 39 patients who had previously received adjuvant cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (CMF). The response rate (complete responses plus partial responses) was 38.5%, with a median duration of response of 33 weeks. There was no significant difference in the response rate or duration of survival when these patients were compared with matched controls who had not received adjuvant chemotherapy. However, the limitations of this study were such that an adverse effect of adjuvant CMF on the response to epirubicin cannot be excluded.

Adult

A phase II, multicentre, UK study of vinorelbine in advanced breast cancer.

Thirty-four evaluable patients were treated with vinorelbine, a novel, semisynthetic vinca alkaloid, as first-line chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer. They received vinorelbine 25 mg m-2 i.v. given weekly for a maximum of 16 cycles. Two patients achieved a complete remission and 15 a partial remission, giving a response rate of 17/34 (50%; 95% CI of 34-66%); median response duration was 5.8 months. The median progression-free interval was 4.4 months and median survival 9.9 months. Treatment was generally well tolerated. Fatigue was the most common side-effect. The main reason for dose adjustments was myelosuppression; 68% of patients had WHO grade 3 or 4 neutropenia and there was one death attributed to neutropenic sepsis. Nausea/vomiting and neuropathy were mild and alopecia was uncommon. This study confirms vinorelbine as a highly active, well-tolerated agent in advanced breast cancer worthy of evaluation in combination chemotherapy regimens.

Adult

Carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil in advanced and recurrent squamous carcinoma of the head and neck.

Twenty-six patients with advanced squamous carcinoma of the head and neck or local recurrence after surgery and/or radiotherapy received carboplatin 300 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 and 5-fluorouracil 1 gm/m2 by continuous intravenous infusion for 4 days. The treatment was well tolerated with little toxicity. The overall response rate was 58%.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols