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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources

Combined modality therapy for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

In a prospective study 110 patients with histologically confirmed oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma received radiation therapy combined with bleomycin or a retinoid. Surgery was initially intended in 34 patients and was later on undertaken in 25 of them after irradiation; in 12 patients the operation was regarded as radical and in 4 of these no remaining tumour was found at operation. The survival rate was significantly higher in the operated than in the non-operated patients which entirely depended on the radically operated ones. Survivals up to more than 71 months were observed and the best results were apparently obtained in patients who became tumour-free after preoperative therapy. It is concluded, that the combined treatment was curative only in a few cases and that future studies should be focused on more intensive preoperative treatment and more critical selection of patients for surgery.

Adult↗

Combined modality therapy for poorly differentiated gliomas of the posterior fossa in children: a Children's Cancer Group report.

PURPOSE: To study the effectiveness of combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy for children with high-grade astrocytomas of the posterior fossa. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the CCG-945 study, 250 patients were treated by members of the Children's Cancer Group (CCG). Sixteen children were randomly assigned to one of two chemotherapy regimens, vincristine, lomustine, and prednisone or '8-in-1', using the same involved-field irradiation in both. Six infants received 8-in-1 chemotherapy before involved-field irradiation. All pathologic specimens had central review. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients with an institutional diagnosis high-grade posterior fossa tumors received chemotherapy and/or irradiation. Fifteen were confirmed by central review to have high-grade gliomas. Overall survival for confirmed high-grade astrocytoma of the posterior fossa was approximately 36 +/- 13% at 5 years for the children (n = 11) and 25 +/- 15% at 5 years for the infants (n = 4). CONCLUSIONS: Involved-field irradiation with chemotherapy appeared to prevent extraneural and subarachnoid metastases. We also confirmed the rarity of the tumor (6% of patients registered). Further Phase III trials are necessary to improve survival in this aggressive tumor.

Adolescent↗

[Use of plasmacytapheresis in combined modality therapy of patients with fibrosing alveolitis].

The authors describe the results of examination of 67 patients with exogenous allergic and idiopathic fibrosing alveolitis. Of these, 42 patients underwent plasmocytapheresis in addition to corticosteroid therapy. The clinical improvement, positive x-ray dynamics of pulmonary lesions, normalization of the altered laboratory indicators were noted in 39 out of the 42 patients treated with the use of plasmocytopheresis and in 15 out of 25 who received pharmacotherapy alone. The use of plasmocytapheresis at the inpatient stage of the treatment enabled the dose of corticosteroids to be reduced by 26% of the initial on the average in 3/4 of the patients and subsequent hospitalization requirement to be noticeably decreased. Plasmocytapheresis did not produce any complications.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Effectiveness of chemotherapy for advanced adenocarcinoma of the pancreas in combined modality therapy.

Because it is difficult to diagnose at an early stage, pancreatic carcinoma is usually well advanced by the time it is diagnosed. The combined use of intraoperative radiotherapy, gastrointestinal and/or biliary tract bypass operation, celiac plexus nerve block, and chemotherapy is widely applied in treatment, with favorable results reported in some patients with advanced disease. To evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy in such combinations, we compared the effect of 5-fluorouracil, its analogues, and mitomycin C on the survival of patients with advanced stage pancreatic cancer. We found no significant difference between the patients treated or not treated with these drugs. Clearly, there is a need for new agents having greater efficacy against pancreatic carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Treatment and prevention of malignant ascites associated with disseminated intraperitoneal malignancies by aggressive combined-modality therapy.

No satisfactory treatment exists to treat or prevent malignant ascites secondary to nonovarian intraperitoneal (IP) disseminated malignancies. A Phase I/II clinical trial combining radical cytoreductive surgery (CS) and IP hyperthermic chemotherapy (IPHC) with mitomycin C is presented. Between December 9, 1992 and July 31, 1995, 39 patients (pts) were explored for IP cancer. Five pts with known liver metastases were excluded, leaving 34 pts (15 female, 19 male) of median age 53 (range, 17-76). The majority of pts had disseminated IP cancers of gastrointestinal origin (80%). Prior therapy included the following: chemotherapy, 20 pts (59%); surgery, 29 pts (85%); and radiation, 2 pts (6%). Following CS, IPHC with mitomycin C was done. At surgery, 12 pts (35.3%) had frank ascites, and 12 pts (35.3%) had positive IP cytology without ascites. The median hospital stay was 9 days (range, 5-65) with no 30-day mortality. Complications for 36 treatments included: thrombocytopenia Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group grade 3 or 4, two cases (5.6%); neutropenia requiring granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, seven cases (19.4%); sepsis, four cases (11.1%); bowel leak, two cases (5.6%); and serous wound leak, two cases (5.6%). Ascites correlated with worse resection status (P = 0.025). Ascites was controlled in 9 of 12 (75.0%) pts, with failures at 1, 4, and 14 months (median follow-up, 7.5 months). No cytology-positive ascites-negative pts developed clinical ascites (median follow-up, 9.4 months). The median survival time in pts with ascites was 10.1 months versus 32.7 for patients without ascites (P = 0.013). For the entire study population, the 1- and 2-year survival rates were 74.6 and 48.5 per cent, respectively (median follow-up, 18.2 months). In this study, malignant ascites was controlled in 75 per cent of cases and prevented in all pts with positive IP cytology. CS plus IPHC appears to be relatively well tolerated and may be effective for the treatment and prevention of malignant ascites.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗

Taxanes in combined-modality therapy for solid tumors.

The taxanes, paclitaxel and docetaxel, are novel antimitotic agents that are under extensive investigation in clinical trials in patients with various solid tumors. The taxanes have demonstrated significant activity against many solid tumors as single agents and in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents. In addition, paclitaxel and docetaxel arrest cells at the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, which is the most radiosensitive phase. Numerous clinical trials have assessed paclitaxel-based chemoradiation therapy in a variety of tumor types, including non-small-cell lung cancer, small-cell lung cancer, head and neck cancers, esophageal cancer, brain tumors, pancreatic and gastric tumors, and locally advanced breast cancer. Fewer clinical trials have assessed docetaxel plus radiation therapy in these tumor types. This review highlights recent clinical trials of the taxanes in combination with radiation therapy for solid tumors.

Animals↗

Radiation techniques for the treatment of Hodgkin's disease with combined modality therapy or radiation alone.

This article reviews radiation techniques including field arrangements, anatomic borders, and doses for the treatment of Hodgkin's disease when radiotherapy is being used as the sole treatment and when it is part of a planned combined modality program with chemotherapy. We describe the techniques currently in use at Duke University Medical Center. Particular emphasis is placed on the evidence regarding the appropriate extent of the treatment field and the doses of radiation necessary to achieve local control. These issues assume increasing importance as we attempt to maintain high cure rates for Hodgkin's disease but lower the frequency of serious long-term complications.

Adult↗

Combined modality therapy for stage I-II large cell lymphoma.

Between January 1978 and December 1986, 94 patients with Stage I-II large cell lymphoma were evaluated at Stanford University Medical Center and treated with a combination of chemotherapy (CTX) and irradiation (XRT). The predominant histology was diffuse large cell (78), followed by immunoblastic (7), follicular large cell (6), and diffuse mixed small and large cell lymphoma (3). Twenty-three patients had Stage I and 71 had Stage II disease. Fifty-one had extranodal involvement (13 IE, 38 IIE), and 11 had B symptoms (2 IB, 9 IIB). Lymphoma was supradiaphragmatic in 58 patients, infradiaphragmatic in 21, and only in extranodal sites in 15. Patients received either involved (81) or extended (13) field XRT with a median dose of 40 Gy and combination CTX with 2 to 9 cycles (median 6) of either CHOP (68), M-BACOD (8), C-MOPP (8), MACOP-B (4), or other (6). Seventy-two patients remain with no evidence of disease, 21 are dead with disease, and one suffered an intercurrent death. Among the 19 patients who relapsed, there were six failures within the XRT field only, two within and outside the XRT field, and 11 outside of the XRT fields only. Actuarial survival and freedom from relapse (FFR) for the entire population were 74% and 72% at 5-years, respectively (33 month median follow-up). Stage I patients achieved 81% survival and 78% FFR, and Stage II patients had 72% survival and 70% FFR. In univariate and multivariate analyses, a favorable outcome was associated with the CTX-XRT-CTX sequence of therapy (p = 0.001), low LDH (p = 0.01), and small tumor bulk (p = 0.04). There were no relapses or deaths among the 21 patients receiving the "sandwich" sequence (CTX-XRT-CTX) of therapy. This series may serve as a comparison with single modality treatment programs for localized large cell lymphoma using either XRT or CTX alone.

Actuarial Analysis↗

Potential for combined modality therapy of cyclooxygenase inhibitors and radiation.

In conclusion, COX-2 inhibitors have potent anti-tumorigenic activity. Results from animal studies strongly indicate that the likely mechanism for enhanced TGD and TCD50 in tumors treated with radiation and COX-2 inhibitors was the inhibition of angiogenesis. In our recent findings we observed that the antagonists of angiogenesis also inhibited the endogenous as well as phorbol-ester-mediated induction of COX-2 expression in human lung cancer cell lines and that in the xenograft model a combination of angiogenic antagonists and radiation significantly delayed tumor growth [ASCO 2002, Vol. 21 (Part 1); p445a, #1779]. In human tumor models, apoptosis was another mechanism of cell death. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that COX-2 inhibitors could change the intrinsic radiosensitivity of human cancer cells [41]. Therefore, inhibition of angiogenesis by COX-2 inhibitors may be the major mechanism for increased radiation effects in tumors. However, other mechanisms such as changes in tumor perfusion, apoptosis, and an increase in intrinsic radiation sensitivity must also be considered. Inhibitors of COX-2 in combination with radiation therapy may be an alternative strategy that can be tested in clinical trials. The combination of COX-2 inhibitors and radiation suggest a complementary strategy to target angiogenesis while potentially minimizing the impact on quality of life. Currently, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [www.rtog.org] is just one of the National Cancer Institute sponsored cooperative groups conducting clinical trials in cervix cancer, lung cancer and brain tumors, using inhibitors of COX-2 in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These clinical trials will help elucidate the role of this interesting class of agents in combination with cytotoxic therapy for the treatment of cancer.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors↗

Evolution of combined modality therapy for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer.

A number of randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses now support the conclusion that combined modality regimens that include cisplatin (Platinol)-based chemotherapy improve survival in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) more effectively than radiotherapy or surgery alone. Depending on the therapy, chemotherapy may play a cytoreductive role by eradicating distant micrometastases, a radiosensitizing role by improving local control, or do both. In general, sequential therapies in which platinum-based chemotherapy precedes thoracic radiation or surgery have improved outcome by affecting distant metastases. In contrast, concurrent chemoradiotherapy utilizing low-dose cisplatin improves survival by reducing local recurrence without an effect on distant failure rates. In view of these observations, chemoradiotherapy strategies that integrate both radiosensitizing agents and dose levels of chemotherapy that are effective against micrometastases may prove to be most efficacious. Since distant metastases remain the major site of failure, it is also likely that more effective chemotherapy or other systemic antitumor agents are necessary to increase the current level of response and survival. Fortunately, several new chemotherapeutic agents are highly effective against NSCLC as well as potent radiosensitizers.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Combined modality therapy of gastric cancer.

Most patients with adenocarcinoma of the stomach continue to present with advanced stages of disease. Although cure is not possible without complete resection, most patients will go on to recur and die of their disease. Despite the efforts of the last 3 to 4 decades, little progress has been made in improving disease specific survival. The latest efforts to treat gastric cancer have now focused on preoperative treatment modalities. This article reviews the rationale and current status of preoperative multimodality therapy for gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Combined-modality therapy for rectal cancer using irinotecan.

Preoperative or postoperative pelvic radiation plus concurrent fluorouracil-based chemotherapy is standard adjuvant treatment for patients with T3 and/or N1/2 rectal cancer. Newer chemotherapeutic regimens have been developed for the treatment of patients with metastatic disease. Irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar)-based regimens have improved survival in patients with metastatic disease and are being actively investigated in combination with pelvic radiation therapy for patients with rectal cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Combined-modality therapy of head and neck cancer.

The treatment of head and neck cancer has traditionally consisted of surgery with postoperative radiation therapy. Chemotherapy has been reserved for palliation. In recent years, induction chemotherapy has been shown to allow for larynx preservation in patients with laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer. Concomitant chemoradiotherapy has been shown to provide a statistically significant survival benefit in selected studies and recent meta-analyses. In patients with nasopharyngeal cancer, the use of cisplatin and concomitant radiation therapy results in a marked survival benefit.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Preliminary results of treatment of Ewing's sarcoma of bone in children and young adults: six months of intensive combined modality therapy without maintenance.

Thirty-one previously untreated patients with Ewing's sarcoma were treated with an intensive chemotherapy program of vincristine, Adriamycin (doxorubicin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH), and cyclosphosphamide (VADRIAC) in combination with radiation therapy to the primary site (greater than 50 Gy) and bone metastases (45 to 50 Gy). An intensified regimen with one further cycle of chemotherapy (VADRIAC), total body irradiation (TBI), and autologous bone marrow transplantation was given to patients with primary tumors of the pelvis, humerus, femur, and chest wall without metastases and to all patients with metastases at diagnosis. Patients with primary tumors of the distal extremity and other sites without metastases at diagnosis were treated on a less intensive chemotherapy regimen of VADRIAC without the intensification. Therapy was completed within 6 to 7 months in all patients. Thirteen patients had metastatic disease at diagnosis; only two of these had the lung as the sole site of metastatic disease. Eighteen patients had no evidence of metastatic disease at diagnosis: ten of these patients had tumors that arose in central axis and proximal extremity sites, and eight had tumors that arose in distal extremity and other sites. Thirty of the 31 patients achieved a complete remission, although two patients underwent amputation: one before chemotherapy and radiation and one after chemotherapy and radiation because of persistent local disease. Seventeen remain in their first complete remission at a median time on study of 30 months and a median time after completion of therapy of 24 months. Fourteen patients have relapsed (13) or progressed (1): ten in metastatic sites and four in the primary site. One patient had persistent local disease after radiation requiring amputation. Nine of the 13 patients with metastatic disease at diagnosis have relapsed compared with five of the 18 patients without metastatic disease. For the entire group, the actuarial survival is 78% (65% to 87%) at 30 months, and the actuarial disease-free survival is 58% (46% to 69%) at 30 months.

Adolescent↗