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Siew-Ju See

Publications and source records attributed to Siew-Ju See.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Primary central nervous system lymphoma in an Asian population: a 15-year experience.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to characterize primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) among Asian patients and to determine their outcomes with different therapeutic modalities. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1990 and 2005, 37 patients with PCNSL were analyzed within 5 different treatment groups: radiotherapy alone (arm A), combined chemoradiation (arm B), chemotherapy alone with methotrexate (MTX) > or = 1 g/m2 (arm C), miscellaneous therapy (arm D), and best supportive care (arm E). RESULTS: The median age at presentation was 59 years, and the majority of patients were male (68%). All patients had aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The number of patients in arms A to E were 6, 16, 3, 8 and 4, respectively. The overall median survival was 7.4 months, 54.1 months, not reached, 8.9 months and 0.9 months, respectively. Use of MTX 1-2.5 g/m2 per cycle and an ECOG performance status of 0-2 were each associated with improved survival on univariate analysis (p = 0.022 and p = 0.049, respectively). Compared to radiotherapy alone, use of combined chemo-radiation was associated with a trend towards improved overall median survival (7.4 vs. 54.1 months, p = 0.058). CONCLUSION: The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes in our Asian patients were comparable to those reported in Western series. Use of MTX 1-2.5 g/m2 per cycle and an ECOG performance status of 0-2 were associated with improved survival.

Adult↗

13-cis-retinoic acid in the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Basic science and clinical investigations have demonstrated that 13-cis-retinoic acid (cRA) has activity against malignant gliomas. To assess its effectiveness in the setting of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), we performed a retrospective analysis of the medical records and neuroimaging results of patients with recurrent GBM who were treated with cRA. The toxicity profile of cRA, response, and effect on progression-free survival from initiation of treatment were end points of our analysis. Eighty-two of 85 patients with a median age of 51 years received at least 1 full cycle of cRA. At the initiation of cRA treatment, the median Karnofsky performance score was 80. All patients had failed conventional radiotherapy. Seven patients were chemonaïve, whereas 75 patients had received some form of chemotherapy. Radiographic partial responses, minor responses, and stable disease were seen in 4%, 8%, and 34% of patients, respectively. Two patients were not assessable. Progression-free survival and overall survival after initiation of cRA were 10.0 and 24.6 weeks, respectively. Six-month progression-free survival was 19% for the entire group. Grade 3 or 4 toxicity developed in 14 patients (16%), one of whom developed pancreatitis and died. The results of this study demonstrate only modest efficacy for cRA therapy in this cohort of heavily pretreated patients with recurrent GBM. This data supports the use of cRA in such patients, but its further evaluation in larger, prospective, controlled studies with or without other noncytotoxic and cytotoxic agents may be warranted.

Administration, Oral↗

Mixed nerve potentials in brachial plexopathy.

We studied the Erb's point potential with supramaximal stimulation of the median nerve in 14 consecutive patients with clinical and electrophysiological evidence of unilateral brachial plexopathy and in normal controls. Both arms were studied in each individual. In each patient, the ratio of amplitude of recorded Erb's point potential from the affected arm to the normal arm was calculated. In controls the side with a recorded potential of a lower amplitude was used as the numerator to calculate a similar ratio. Eleven out of 14 patients had a Erb's point amplitude ratio less than that of controls. This method is a simple and useful adjunct in the electrophysiological assessment of brachial plexopathy.

Adult↗