6 research outputs found
Teacher quality in the twenty first century: new lives, old truths
This chapter is based upon a keynote address to the first global teacher education summit, organised by Beijing Normal University in 2011, in which research across the world about influences which affect teachers' sense of professional identity, capacity for compassion, commitment, resilience and effectiveness long after they have graduated from their pre-service education and training programmes in universities and colleges were shared. The findings suggest that teaching pre-service students about how the conditions in which they work may enhance or diminish their capacity to teach to their best and how they might act to mediate these is a key part of the work of all teacher educators and an important focus for the work of educational researchers
A phase II study of capecitabine plus 3-weekly oxaliplatin as first-line therapy for patients with advanced gastric cancer
Capecitabine plus oxaliplatin every 3 weeks (XELOX regimen) has proven efficacy in patients with colorectal carcinoma. We investigated this combination in patients with previously untreated advanced gastric carcinoma. The study population comprised patients with histologically confirmed nonresectable advanced gastric adenocarcinoma. Patients received intravenous oxaliplatin 130âmgâmâ2 over 2âh on day 1 plus oral capecitabine 1000âmgâmâ2 twice daily on days 1â14, every 3 weeks. Patients received a maximum of eight cycles. Twenty evaluable patients (17 men, 3 women) with a median age of 64 years (range 38â75) were enrolled. The overall response rate was 65% (95% confidence interval (CI), 44â86%), with complete responses in two patients and partial responses in 11 patients. Median progression-free survival was 7.5 months (95% CI, 3.2â11.7 months); median overall survival was not reached during the study period. There was no grade 4 and little grade 3 toxicity. The most common haematological adverse event was anaemia (65% of patients) and the most common nonhaematological toxicities were vomiting (65%), neuropathy (60%), diarrhoea (30%), and handâfoot syndrome (20%). In conclusion, XELOX is apparently as effective as triplet combinations and is well tolerated as first-line therapy for advanced gastric carcinoma. We are starting a large multi-institutional phase II study of XELOX in this setting
XELOX (capecitabine plus oxaliplatin) as first-line treatment for elderly patients over 70 years of age with advanced colorectal cancer
The purpose of this phase II trial was to determine the efficacy and safety of the XELOX (capecitabine/oxaliplatin) regimen as first-line therapy in the elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC). A total of 50 patients with MCRC aged â©Ÿ70 years received oxaliplatin 130âmgâmâ2 on day 1 followed by oral capecitabine 1000âmgâmâ2 twice daily on days 1â14 every 3 weeks. Patients with creatinine clearance 30â50âmlâminâ1 received a reduced dose of capecitabine (750âmgâmâ2 twice daily). By intent-to-treat analysis, the overall response rate was 36% (95% CI, 28â49%), with three (6%) complete and 15 (30%) partial responses. In total, 18 patients (36%) had stable disease and 14 (28%) progressed. The median times to disease progression and overall survival were 5.8 months (95% CI, 3.9â7.8 months) and 13.2 months (95% CI, 7.6â16.9 months), respectively. Capecitabine was well tolerated: grade 3/4 adverse events were observed in 14 (28%) patients: 11 (22%) diarrhoea, eight (16%) asthenia, seven (14%) nausea/vomiting, three (6%) neutropenia, three (6%) thrombocytopenia, and two (4%) handâfoot syndrome. There was one treatment-related death from diarrhoea and sepsis. In conclusion, XELOX is well tolerated in elderly patients, with respectable efficacy and a meaningful clinical benefit response. Given its ease of administration compared with combinations of oxaliplatin with 5-FU/LV, it represents a good therapeutic option in the elderly