High-frequency ECoG oscillations in the site of onset of epileptic seizures during sleep.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the toxicity and efficacy of combined therapy with cisplatin and prolonged infusion topotecan as front line therapy in women with epithelial ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Women with previously untreated, measurable and non-measurable epithelial ovarian cancer, stages Ic-IV were eligible. Patients were treated with cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) on day 1, followed by topotecan 0.3 to 0.4 mg/m(2)/day given as a continuous infusion over 14-21 days, every 28 days. Dose levels and duration of infusion were adjusted for toxicity as appropriate. Patients were evaluated for response to treatment and treatment toxicity by standard NYGOG criteria. RESULTS: Sixty patients were enrolled. Among the 20 patients with post-surgical residual disease >2 cm, 80% [95% CI (56.3%, 94.3%)] demonstrated an objective response to therapy. The median progression-free survival for all 60 patients enrolled was 19.3 months with a median overall survival of 45.6 months given the median follow-up of 55 months (range 6-81 months). Five year survival is estimated to be 41%. Toxicity was observed in the first four patients treated with topotecan (0.4 mg/m(2)/day x 21 days) and dosing was continued at 0.3 mg/m(2)/day x 14 days thereafter. Of the 56 patients treated at the amended dose level, marrow suppression continued to be dose-limiting, with 86% of patients experiencing grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, 55% experiencing grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia and 50% of patients experiencing grade 3 or 4 anemia. Nonetheless, only 11/245 cycles administered were associated with febrile neutropenia and/or infection (8 port-related). Other non-hematologic toxicity was as expected. There were no treatment-related deaths. CONCLUSION: This large, multicenter phase II study of prolonged infusion topotecan in combination with cisplatin demonstrated similar response, time to progression and survival compared with reported results of taxane and platinum combinations. Hematologic toxicity was greater but tolerated. Further studies investigating topotecan in combination with platinum therapy as a first line agent are warranted.
An electrophysiologic mapping technique which enables identification of the central sulcus and pathologic cortical regions is described. Electrocorticographic recordings of 1 min duration were recorded from 25 patients who were undergoing resection of tumors in the sensory-motor region or being evaluated for temporal lobectomy for epilepsy. Analysis of the patterns of subdural inter-electrode coherence revealed low coherence across the central sulcus for 11/12 cases where its location could be verified with direct cortical stimulation and/or somatosensory evoked potential mapping. Regions of high coherence identified the location of tumors in the sensory-motor region for 10/10 cases. Over the temporal lobe, localized areas of high coherence were evident in 8/9 epilepsy patients, but were not indicative of the location of mesial temporal lobe tumors or inter-ictal spiking, when present. We conclude that analysis of cortical coherence patterns may be helpful for revealing the location of pathologic processes relative to critical cortical areas.
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PURPOSE: To determine the outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemotherapy plus high-dose radiation therapy in patients with local/regional squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Forty-five patients with clinical Stage T1-4N0-1M0 squamous cell carcinoma were entered on a prospective single-arm study, of which 38 were eligible. Patients received 3 monthly cycles of 5-FU (1000 mg/m2/24 h x 5 days) and cisplatin (100 mg/m2 day 1; neoadjuvant segment) followed by 2 additional monthly cycles of 5-FU (1000 mg/m2/24 h x 5 days) and cisplatin (75 mg/m2 day 1) plus concurrent 6480 cGy (combined modality segment). The median follow-up in surviving patients was 59 months. RESULTS: For the 38 eligible patients, the primary tumor response rate was 47% complete, 8% partial, and 3% stable disease. The first site of clinical failure was 39% local/regional and 24% distant. For the total patient group, there were 6 deaths during treatment, of which 9% (4/45) were treatment related. The median survival was 20 months. Actuarial survival at 3 years was 30%, and at 5 years, 20%. CONCLUSION: This intensive neoadjuvant approach does not appear to offer a benefit compared with conventional doses and techniques of combined modality therapy. However, high dose radiation (6480 cGy) appears to be tolerable, and is being tested further in Intergroup Trial INT 0123.
To assess the impact of disease and treatment on patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we set out to determine a clinically meaningful change (CMC) on the Lung Cancer Subscale (LCS) and the Trial Outcome Index (TOI) of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) questionnaire. We used data from Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group study 5592 (E5592), a randomized trial comparing three chemotherapeutic regimens in 599 advanced NSCLC patients. Patients completed the FACT-L at baseline (pretreatment), 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months. Comparing across baseline performance status (0 vs. 1), prior weight loss (<5% vs. > or = 5%), and primary disease symptoms (< or = 1 vs. >1), LCS and TOI score differences ranged from 2.4 to 3.6 and 6.5 to 9.2, respectively (all Ps <.001). Mean improvement in LCS score from baseline to 12 weeks was 2.4 points in patients who had responded to treatment versus 0.0 points in patients who had progressive disease. Twelve-week LCS change scores for patients progressing early were 3.1 points worse than those of patients progressing later (mean = -1.2 vs.1.9, respectively). Similarly, the average TOI change score from baseline to 12 weeks was -6.1 for patients who had progressive disease versus -0.8 points for patients who had responded to treatment. Twelve-week TOI change scores for patients progressing early (mean = -8.1) were 5.7 points worse than those of patients progressing later (mean = -8.1 vs. -2.4, respectively). Analyses assuming nonrandom missing data resulted in slightly larger differences. Clinically relevant change scores were estimated as two to three points for the LCS and five to seven points for the TOI, setting upper limits for minimal CMCs. These values were comparable to suggested distribution-based criteria of a minimally important difference. These results support use of a two to three point change in the LCS and five to six point change on the TOI of the FACT-L as a CMC, and offer practical direction for inclusion of important patient-based endpoints in lung cancer clinical trials.
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OBJECTIVES: Analysis of event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) often requires the investigation of diverse frequency bands. Such analysis can be difficult, especially when using multichannel data. Therefore, an effective method for the visualization of event-related changes in oscillatory brain activity is required. METHODS: A bootstrap-based method is presented which gives time-frequency maps showing only significant changes of ERD or ERS in predetermined frequency bands. RESULTS: Examples from an electroencephalographic study and an electrocorticographic study are shown. The results demonstrate how easily reactive channels and their spatio-temporal and frequency-specific characteristics can be identified by means of this method. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed method is a simple but effective way to visualize significant ERD/ERS patterns.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and toxicity of amonafide in unresectable or recurrent head and neck cancer and to determine if the degree of toxicity with amonafide correlated with the acetylator phenotype of the patient. Thirty patients were registered on the study and received amonafide, 300 mg/m2, over two hours each day for five consecutive days every 21 days. There was one partial response (3%) which lasted four months. The dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression. Acetylator phenotype was determined prior to treatment using HPLC to quantitate caffeine metabolites in urine samples after administration of caffeine. This pharmacokinetic evaluation was performed in 21 patients and revealed that (17/21) 81% of the patients were slow acetylators and 19% of the patients were rapid acetylators. No association was found between acetylator phenotype and toxicity in our patient population. Based on this study, it appears that amonafide given at 300 mg/m2 for 5 consecutive days every 21 days is not active in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and that acetylator status does not correlate with toxicity.
BACKGROUND: [corrected] Chemotherapeutic agents are playing an increasing role in the management of urothelial carcinoma. Despite recent advances in the treatment of this disease there continues to be a need to identify new active agents and their toxicity spectra. Topotecan is an agent as yet unstudied in bladder cancer. METHODS: Ambulatory patients with progressive advanced urothelial carcinoma following prior systemic chemotherapy were treated with topotecan 1.5 mg/m2 intravenously (i.v.) daily for 5 days every three weeks for 6 cycles. Doses were modified for leukopenic fever, thrombocytopenic bleeding, and any grade 3 or 4 (NCI common toxicity criteria) toxicity. RESULTS: Forty-four eligible patients entered the trial. There were 4 partial responses for an overall response rate of 9.1% (exact 95% two-stage binomial CI, 2.9% to 25.5%). Major identified toxicities were gastrointestinal and myelosuppression. There were no treatment-related deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Topotecan at this dose and schedule has minimal activity in previously treated patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma. Toxicities can be severe but are manageable.
PURPOSE: The objective was to compare health related quality of life (QOL) in hormone receptor negative, node-positive breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy to determine whether a more intensive chemotherapy regimen has an adverse effect upon QOL that is not balanced by improvements in disease control or survival. Increased physical symptoms, including fatigue and the inconvenience of the dose intensive 16-week regimen, were expected to have a negative impact on QOL. DESIGN: QOL was measured in 163 patients, randomized to either a standard cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and 5-flurouracil (CAF) or a 16-week multidrug regimen, using the Breast Chemotherapy Questionnaire (BCQ). The 30 item BCQ was self-administered prior to therapy, during therapy, and 4 months post treatment. RESULTS: BCQ scores decreased (worsened) more during therapy on the 16-week regimen, median change -1.4, than on CAF, median change -0.8 (p < 0.001). By 4 months post treatment, BCQ scores were higher than pre-treatment and equal in the two arms (CAF: 8.1 and 16 weeks: 8.2, p = 0.6). Over a period of 48 months, patients on the 16-week regimen averaged 1.4 fewer months of treatment with toxicity, 4.0 more months without symptoms and 0.7 fewer months post recurrence compared to patients on the CAF regimen. Given typical values for these health states, the gain in Q-TWiST observed for the CAF regimen during treatment shifted to the 16-week regimen after 1 year, with a gain of 2.0 to 2.4 months after 4 years. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesized negative impact of the dose intensive 16-week regimen was confirmed by the BCQ assessments. However, Q-TWiST analysis suggests a small gain for the 16-week regimen. The later results should be interpreted with caution with the limited follow-up of 4 years.
There have been many advances in the prevention and treatment of GVHD, including cyclosporine, FK506, and combination therapies. This syndrome, however, continues to account for significant morbidity and mortality after allogeneic transplantation. With the expanded use of matched unrelated as well as mismatched related donors, the increase in incidence and severity of GVHD poses a new clinical challenge. Many of the newer agents discussed in this paper may have a role in the future as therapy for acute GVHD. The evaluation of these new agents and the approach to be taken is hampered by the realization that most patients have received and are relatively refractory to standard therapies. Clinical trials must be performed earlier in the course of the syndrome to establish the role of these compounds. Newer strategies are likely to include the use of sequential therapy directed at blocking endogenous cytokines followed by blocking alloreactive donor cells, and immunologic advances such as the induction of tolerance. What impact, if any, such therapy may have on amelioration of a graft-versus-leukemia effect remains unknown.
CD65s appears when the progenitor antigen CD34 disappears, suggesting that this sialylated carbohydrate antigen marks a turning point in normal myeloid differentiation. We characterized acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with low CD65s expression (CD65s(low) AML) in 711 patients entered on seven Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group AML treatment trials (1986-1999). Of those, 198 (28%) qualified as having CD65s(low) AML. Morphologically, CD65s(low) AML was more common in FAB subgroups with minimal differentiation, M0/M1 (P=<0.0001). Early precursor antigens CD34, CD117 and terminal transferase were more frequent in CD65s(low) than CD65s(high) AML (P=<0.0001). Myeloperoxidase was present in fewer CD65s(low) myeloblasts, and the more mature myeloid antigens, CD15 and CD11b, were rarely detected (P=<0.0001). Yet, the two diagnoses did not differ in the distribution of cytogenetic prognostic groups or the occurrence of the multidrug-resistance mediator, P-glycoprotein. CD65s(low) AML patients were significantly older than CD65s(high) cases (P<0.0001). Furthermore, the incidence of CD65s(low) cases increased with age, from 20% in patients under the age of 50 years to 67% in patients older than 80 years (P<0.0001). Overall, complete remission (CR) rate and overall survival were comparable in CD65s(low) and CD65s(high) AML. However, among patients >55 years of age, CD65s(low) AML had a decreased CR rate of 33 vs 44% in CD65s(high) AML (P=0.055). Thus, CD65s(low) AML represents immunophenotypically undifferentiated disease and occurs predominantly in older adults. Although not statistically significant, the observed association between low CD65s expression and decreased CR rate only in patients over the age of 55 is intriguing.
T-helper blood populations are frequently altered in multiple myeloma (MM). We measured the numbers of naive and activated cell subsets in the blood of a cohort of both previously untreated and treated MM patients. Two-colour flow cytometry to detect total CD4+, CD4+, CD4 5RA+ (naive) and CD4+, CD45RO+ (activated) subsets was then used to quantify the T-cell subsets in controls and MM patients. Previously treated MM patients either on or off treatment (n = 105) had significantly reduced (P< 0.0001) total CD4 and naive/activated cells than controls. Previously treated MM patients sampled for naive/activated cells while currently off therapy (n = 45) had no difference in the levels of CD4 and naive/activated cells compared to the currently treated patients (n = 60). However, newly diagnosed patients (n = 58) had a significantly reduced total CD4 (P = 0.023) and activated CD4 (P = 0.004), but not naive CD4 subsets, compared to controls. CD19+ cell levels above 125/microl were positively associated with higher T-helper cell levels. There was a strong positive association for better overall survival for patients with >395 CD4 cells/microl (P = 0.0001). These data indicate that MM patients at diagnosis have altered T-helper subsets, with a selective reduction in activated but not naive cells. Subsequent chemotherapy or the disease process contributes to a further reduction in CD4 cells. Importantly, the association of higher CD19+ cell levels with higher T helper cells indicates that certain myeloma patients can be identified with a more quantitatively intact immune system.
BACKGROUND: Platinum-based combination chemotherapy is currently recommended as the standard treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its benefit seems limited to fit patients with a performance status (PS) of 0 or 1. For PS2 patients, there is no consensus on standard treatment. With the aims of reviewing the evidence supporting each of these therapeutic options, possibly reaching a consensus for treatment of PS2 patients affected by advanced NSCLC in clinical practice, and suggesting the priorities for clinical research in this field, an European Experts Panel took place in Avellino, Italy in April 2003. RESULTS: and conclusions On the basis of current evidence, chemotherapy treatment appears justified for patients with advanced NSCLC and PS2. Single-agent chemotherapy (gemcitabine, vinorelbine, taxanes) could be the preferred option, although carboplatin-based or low-dose cisplatin-based doublets may represent alternative options. Stronger evidence is expected from new clinical research specifically focused on PS2 patients. Single-agent chemotherapy should be the standard arm against which experimental treatments are tested in randomised trials dedicated to PS2 patients. High priority should be given to the evaluation of tolerability and efficacy of platinum-based combinations, and to the testing of new biological agents. Another research priority is the improvement of supportive care. Patients strongly need symptomatic improvement: end points such as symptom relief, clinical benefit and quality of life should have a central position in trials dedicated to PS2 NSCLC patients.
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