282 research outputs found
Chemotherapy in metastatic cancer of unknown primary
In general a patient is considered ta have a carcinoma of
unknown primary site if na primary tumor ean be identified
af ter a thorough history and physical examination, and a
reasonabIe laboratory and radiologie work-up. This definition
a180 requires a histological diagnosis of carcinoma. The
importance of histologie (re)examination in the management of
patients with carcinoma of unknown primary site has been
emphasized by several authors. Light microscopie examinat
ion may al ready provide a clue ta suggest the site of origin. lnununohistochemistry and/or electron microscopy are
of additional value, particularly in patients with undifferentiated
tumors. A substantial number of patients with a light
microscopie diagnosis of anaplastic tumor or undifferentiated
carcinoma ultimately prove to have a lymphomas
Ifosfamide in advanced adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus or oesophageal-gastric junction area
Abstract
25 previously untreated patients with inoperable or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus or oesophageal-gastric junction area were treated with ifosfamide 6 g/m2 over 48 hours, combined with mesna 6 g/m2. 1 complete response and 1 partial response were seen among 23 patients evaluable, with a response duration of 29+ months and 7 months, respectively. Toxicity was not severe: grade 3 infection in 2 patients, grade 3 leucopenia in 3 patients and grade 3 nausea in 4 patients. No life-threatening episodes or central nervous system toxicity were encountered. Ifosfamide has limited activity in adenocarcinoma of the oesophageal-gastric junction area
Disease monitoring by the tumour maskers Cyfra 21.1 and TPA in patients with non-small cell lung cancer
We evaluated the use of two tumour markers Cyfra 21.1 and tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) for disease monitoring. Assessment of response to WHO criteria was compared to response assessment according to changes in the tumour marker levels. The criteria defined for marker response were a 65% decrease for a partial response and a 40% increase for progressive disease. When response evaluations with a positive lead time were included, 72% of 115 evaluations for Cyfra 21.1 and 59% of 107 evaluations for TPA yielded the same result. Most discordant evaluations were caused by those evaluations whereby the patient achieved a partial response according to the WHO criteria and had normalisation of the marker. Less cases with a positive lead time, more negative lead times, and more patients with progressive disease without an increase of the marker were seen with TPA compared to Cyfra 21.1. In conclusion, Cyfra 21.1 follows the changes in the tumour load better than TPA. Rising levels of both markers nearly always indicate disease progression, and such knowledge easily obtained may prevent the continuation of ineffective treatment
Randomized clinical trial of adenosine 5'-triphosphate in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer
BACKGROUND: Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) is involved in
the regulation of a variety of biologic processes, including
neurotransmission, muscle contraction, and liver glucose metabolism, via
purinergic receptors. In nonrandomized studies involving patients with
different tumor types including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ATP
infusion appeared to inhibit loss of weight and deterioration of quality
of life (QOL) and performance status. We conducted a randomized clinical
trial to evaluate the effects of ATP in patients with advanced NSCLC
(stage IIIB or IV). METHODS: Fifty-eight patients were randomly assigned
to receive either 10 intravenous 30-hour ATP infusions, with the infusions
given at 2- to 4-week intervals, or no ATP. Outcome parameters were
assessed every 4 weeks until 28 weeks. Between-group differences were
tested for statistical significance by use of repeated-measures analysis,
and reported P values are two-sided. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were
allocated to receive ATP treatment and 30 received no ATP. Mean weight
changes per 4-week period were -1.0 kg (95% confidence interval [CI] =
-1.5 to -0.5) in the control group and 0.2 kg (95% CI = -0.2 to +0.6) in
the ATP group (P =.002). Serum albumin concentration declined by -1.2 g/L
(95% CI= -2.0 to -0.4) per 4 weeks in the control group but remained
stable (0.0 g/L; 95% CI = -0.3 to +0.3) in the ATP group (P =.006). Elbow
flexor muscle strength declined by -5.5% (95% CI = -9.6% to -1. 4%) per 4
weeks in the control group but remained stable (0.0%; 95% CI= -1.4% to
+1.4%) in the ATP group (P =.01). A similar pattern was observed for knee
extensor muscles (P =.02). The effects of ATP on body weight, muscle
strength, and albumin concentration were especially marked in cachectic
patients (P =.0002, P =.0001, and P =. 0001, respectively, for ATP versus
no ATP). QOL score changes per 4-week period in the ATP group showed
overall less deterioration than in the control group-physical scores
(-0.2% versus -2.4%; P =. 0002); functional scores (+0.4% versus -5.5%; P
=.02); psychologic scores (-0.7% versus -2.4%; P =.11); overall QOL score
(+0.1% versus -3.5%; P =.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This randomized trial
demonstrates that ATP has beneficial effects on weight, muscle strength,
and QOL in patients with advanced NSCLC
The orally administered P-glycoprotein inhibitor R101933 does not alter the plasma pharmacokinetics of docetaxel
This Phase I study was performed to assess the feasibility of combining
docetaxel with the new P-glycoprotein inhibitor R101933 and to determine
the dose limiting toxicity of this combination. Fifteen patients received
oral R101933 alone at a dose escalated from 200 to 300 mg twice daily
(b.i.d.; cycle 0), an escalating i.v. dose of docetaxel (60, 75, and 100
mg/m2) as a 1-h infusion (cycle 1), and the combination (cycle 2 and
further). Dose limiting toxicity consisting of mucositis and neutropenic
fever was reached at the combination of docetaxel, 100 mg/m2, and R101933,
300 mg b.i.d., and the maximum tolerated dose was established at
docetaxel, 100 mg/m2, and R101933, 200 mg b.i.d. Plasma concentrations of
R101933 achieved in patients were in the same range as required in
preclinical rodent models to overcome paclitaxel resistance. The plasma
pharmacokinetics of docetaxel were not influenced by the R101933 regimen
at any dose level tested, as indicated by plasma clearance values of 26.5
+/- 7.78 liters/h/m2 and 23.4 +/- 4.52 liters/h/m2 (P = 0.15) in cycles 1
and 2, respectively. These findings indicate that the contribution of a
P-glycoprotein inhibitor to the activity of anticancer chemotherapy can
now be assessed in patients for the first time independent of its effect
on drug pharmacokinetics
The value of immunohistochemistry in patients with poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas and undifferentiated carcinomas of unknown primary
Capacity Analysis of Sequential Zone Picking Systems
This paper develops a capacity model for sequential zone picking systems. These systems are popular internal transport and order-picking systems because of their scalability, flexibility, high-throughput ability, and fit for use for a wide range of products and order profiles. The major disadvantage of such systems is congestion and blocking under heavy use, leading to long order throughput times. To reduce blocking and congestion, most systems use the block-and-recirculate protocol to dynamically manage workload. In this paper, the various elements of the system, such as conveyor lanes and pick zones, are modeled as a multiclass block-and-recirculate queueing network with capacity constraints on subnetworks. Because of this blocking protocol, the stationary distribution of the queueing network is highly intractable. We propose an approximation method based on jumpover blocking. Multiclass jump-over queueing networks admit a product-form stationary distribution and can be efficiently evaluated by mean value analysis and Norton’s theorem. This method can be applied during the design phase of sequential zone picking systems to determine the number of segments, number and length of zones, buffer capacities, and storage allocation of products to zones to meet performance targets. For a wide range of parameters, the results show that the relative error in the system throughput is typically less than 1% compared with simulation
Prognostic significance of tissue polypeptidespecific antigen (TPS) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer
In this study, we evaluated the prognostic value of the tumour marker, tissue polypeptide-specific antigen (TPS), in 203 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and related this to several other known prognostic factors. TPS was significantly correlated with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), γ-glutamyltranspeptidase and alkaline phosphatase, and the median level of TPS in patients with stage 4 disease was significantly higher as compared to stage 3A and 3B disease. In the univariate analysis, performance status, stage of disease, LDH, alkaline phosphatase, a histology of undifferentiated large cell carcinoma and TPS all had a statistically significant association with survival. Multivariate analysis showed that stage of disease, performance status, histology and TPS were the most important prognostic factors. TPS has prognostic significance for survival in patients with advanced NSCLC, independent from performance status and stage of disease
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