Water pillow irrigation compared to furrow irrigation for soybean production in a semi-arid area

Field studies were done in 2003 and 2006 to evaluate the performance of water pillow (WP) irrigation as an alternative to furrow irrigation (FI) for soybean growth in semi-arid climatic conditions. There were four irrigation treatments: two of which (FI and WP(1.0)) were full irrigation, in that the water deficit in the soil profile (0.9 m) was brought to field capacity in 10-day intervals. The other two treatments (WP(0.75) and WP(0.50)) were deficit irrigation treatments, and received 75% and 50% of WP(1.0) irrigation amount. The highest seed yield was achieved with the WP(1.0) treatment. Irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) and water use efficiency (WUE) were influenced significantly by the irrigation methods and levels (P <= 0.05). The highest values of WUE and IWUE were obtained by the WP(0.75) and WP(0.50) treatment, respectively, in both study years. However, the smallest irrigation amount resulted in lower total yield for the WP(0.50) treatment, and is not recommended. in conclusion, the WP(0.75) treatment is recommended for soybean production in order to attain higher values of IWUE and WUE, and to conserve water and maximize yield with the same volume of water. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Water pillow irrigation compared to furrow irrigation for soybean production in a semi-arid area

Field studies were done in 2003 and 2006 to evaluate the performance of water pillow (WP) irrigation as an alternative to furrow irrigation (FI) for soybean growth in semi-arid climatic conditions. There were four irrigation treatments: two of which (FI and WP1.0) were full irrigation, in that the water deficit in the soil profile (0.9 m) was brought to field capacity in 10-day intervals. The other two treatments (WP0.75 and WP0.50) were deficit irrigation treatments, and received 75% and 50% of WP1.0 irrigation amount. The highest seed yield was achieved with the WP1.0 treatment. Irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) and water use efficiency (WUE) were influenced significantly by the irrigation methods and levels (P Water pillow irrigation method Soybean Water use efficiency

Irinotecan as a Second-line Monotherapy for Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objectives: The present study was designed to investigate the efficacy of irinotecan monotherapy as a second-line treatment for small cell lung cancers (SCLCs). Methods: Irinotecan monotherapy was administered to 46 SCLC patients who were previously undergone cisplatin based chemotherapy protocols. Response to treatment, time to progression (TTP), overall survival rates and adverse events associated with irinotecan monotherapy (300mg/m2; total 153 cycles; mean 3.78 +/- 1.98) were determined, retrospectively. Results: Limited stage disease was diagnosed in 19.6% of patients (n=9) while 80.4% (n=37) were diagnosed with extensive stage cancer preceeding the irinotecan monotherapy. None of the patients had complete response to irinotecan. Partial response and stable disease were achieved among 17.5% of patients. Mean time to tumor progression (TTP) was determined to be 11.3 +/- 5.94 weeks while overall survival was 13.3 +/- 6.83 months. Considering adverse events, grade 3 and 4 toxicity was encountered in 8.9% and 4.5% of patients, respectively. Irinotecan monotherapy in brain metastasized tumors was found to be associated with significantly higher survival times compared with tumors lacking brain metastasis (15.0 +/- 5.95 vs 10.7 +/- 4.82 months; p<0.05). Conclusions: Irinotecan as a monotherapy in the second-line treatment of SCLC seems to have an acceptable level of toxicity and significant palliative effects. The prominent survival step-up effect particularly in brain metastasis patients appears worthy of note

Recovery of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia by sunitinib treatment for renal cell carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature

Sunitinib is a novel oral multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It has higher response rates and progression-free survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) when compared with standard chemotherapy and interferon-a. We report a case of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia, resistant to conventional treatment but recovers by sunitinib treatment as the first case in the literature, in a 33-years-old man with metastatic RCC. At the sixth month of follow-up period, in this case, serum calcium level was still in normal ranges. Besides sunitinib is effective in symptom control, it is also helpful in management of paraneoplastic hypercalcemia, a life-threatening entity

Stomach Metastasis in a Patient with Prostate Cancer 4 Years after the Initial Diagnosis: A Case Report and a Literature Review

Prostate cancer commonly metastasizes bones and lymph nodes, but it very rarely spreads to the gastrointestinal tract. However, only five cases of prostate cancer metastatic to the stomach have been previously reported in the literature. We report a case of a 69-year-old man with metastatic prostate cancer who presented with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGB) 4 years after the diagnosis. Esophagogastroscopy revealed multiple ulcerations in the gastric body and histopathological examination confirmed gastric metastasis that originated from prostate cancer. Chemotherapy could not be given because of patient's refusal. He was treated with LHRH agonist. We suggest that for a man with prostate cancer diagnosed with UGB, stomach metastasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of UGB

The effect of being overweight on survival in patients with gastric cancer undergoing adjuvant chemoradiotherapy

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of being overweight on survival in patients with gastric cancer undergoing adjuvant chemoradiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this study 152 patients were evaluated. Radiotherapy dose was 45 Gy given in 5 weeks. 5-FU 425 mg/m(2) and folinic acid 20 mg/m(2) were administered weekly during the radiotherapy and four cycles with 4-week intervals as consolidation chemotherapy after radiotherapy. Patients were assigned into two groups according to their body mass index: overweight (body mass index >= 5 kg/m(2)) and normal weight (body mass index <25.0 kg/m(2)). The median overall survival was 39 months vs. 18 months and median disease-free survival was 27 months vs. 13 months in the overweight and normal-weight groups respectively (P = 0.004 and P = 0.006 respectively). The 5-year survival was better in the patients with overweight than those with normal weight (42% vs. 17%; P = 0.004). The overall survival was significantly better with being overweight and early pathological stage (P = 0.016 and P = 0001 respectively). Overall survival, disease-free survival and long-term survival in patients with gastric cancer undergoing adjuvant treatment were better in overweight than normal-weight patients. Moreover, it was shown that body mass index and pathological stage were associated to survival and prognosis

D-dimer is a marker of response to chemotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Purpose: D-dimer, LDH and tumor markers are usually overexpressed in colorectal carcinomas (CRC). Our purpose was to assess the prognostic role of D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), CEA, CA19-9 and CA72-4 in patients with metastatic CRC treated with XELOX chemotherapy

Do thrombophilic gene mutations have a role on thromboembolic events in cancer patients?

Aim: Thromboembolism is common in patients with cancer and may be considered a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We studied the most common genetic polymorphism characteristics that may have roles in the development of thrombosis in patients with cancer. Methods: A total of 158 patients with cancer who had had any thrombotic event were included, together with a control group of 134 patients with cancer without a thromboembolic event. The presence of mutations (Factor V Leiden G1691A, prothrombin G20210A) and polymorphisms (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase [MTHFR] C677T and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) 4G/5G) were analysed. Results: A heterozygous polymorphism for Factor V Leiden G1691A was found in 48 patients (30.3%) and a homozygous polymorphism in only one (0.63%), compared to 32 heterozygous (23.8%) and one homozygous (0.74%) polymorphism in the control group (P = 0.462). Prothrombin G20210A heterozygous polymorphism was observed in 11(6.9%) and four (2.5%) in the patients and controls, respectively. The MTHFR C677T heterozygous polymorphism was found in 48 (30.3%) and 24 (15.1%) and the homozygous polymorphism was observed in 15 (9.4%) and 12 (7.5%) in the study and control group, respectively (P = 0.04). Conclusion: Although we found a statistically significant difference between patients with and without thrombosis in respect to MTHFR C677T gene mutation, our data suggest that we do not have enough evidence yet to recommend performing genetic analysis

Prognostic Value of Excision Repair Cross-complementing Gene 1 Expression for Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy in Advanced Gastric Cancer

Background: Association of excision repair cross-complementing gene 1 (ERCC1) expression and treatment response and survival was evaluated in advanced stages of gastric cancer patients who were given different platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients and Methods: Forty-one patients with advanced gastric cancer were enrolled into the study from January 2000 to December 2009. ERCC1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results: Thirteen of the 41 patients (31%) were shown to have ERCC1 positive lesions. Although the clinical benefit from platin based chemotherapy was the same for ERCC1 positive and negative patients, survival times were statistically significantly better in ERCC1 negative gastric cancer patients. Conclusion: We suggest that IHC studies for ERCC1 may be useful in prediction of the clinical outcome of advanced gastric cancer patients treated with platin-based chemotherapy