Cancer

Immunofluorescence staining with cytokeratin antibodies was used to evaluate sentinel lymph nodes in patients with breast carcinoma. Immunofluorescence is a rapid, highly sensitive, and highly specific method by which breast carcinoma metastasis to lymph nodes can be diagnosed using touch imprints.

Breast tumor size and the number of positive lymph nodes found at axillary dissection are related directly. This relation is much less strong in BRCA1-related breast carcinoma compared with other types of breast carcinoma, suggesting that the pattern of metastatic spread of BRCA1-related breast carcinoma may differ from both BRCA2-related and nonhereditary breast carcinoma.

In the current review, the authors discuss the problem of thromboembolism in patients with breast cancer who are undergoing therapy, the mechanisms by which thromboembolisms occur, and the potential strategies by which these events can be prevented.

The authors compared five tumor markers between Korean women and white women in the U.S. with early-onset breast carcinoma. There were high levels of positivity for HER-2/neu in the Korean cohort, which may have potential implications for local and systemic management of breast carcinoma.

The relation between the method of detection of the initial breast carcinoma and the method of detection of subsequent ipsilateral local recurrence and contralateral breast carcinoma was evaluated. Both mammography and physical examination were found to be important for detecting local recurrence in the ipsilateral breast and for detecting contralateral breast carcinoma, regardless of the method of detection of the primary tumor.

A Phase II trial was designed to evaluate the combination of oral cyclophosphamide, oral prednisone, and diethylstilbestrol (DES) in patients with androgen-independent prostate carcinoma (AIPC). Cyclophosphamide, prednisone, and DES represent a well-tolerated, low-cost combination therapy with significant activity in the treatment of patients with AIPC.

The use of unidimensional measurements for response assessment in patients with renal cell carcinoma yields a significantly different apparent time to progression assessment compared with the use of bidimensional measurements. Response assessments in patients with renal cell carcinoma also can differ if measurements of the primary renal tumor are included or excluded in the sum of the measurements.

After primary transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract, renal insufficiency, uremia, and concurrent bladder tumors are significant risk factors for the development of contralateral upper urinary tract tumors. Regular follow-up of these patients is recommended for early diagnosis and treatment.

A Phase II study involving weekly docetaxel in symptomatic men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma was associated with improvements in clinical benefit response, quality of life, and drug tolerance.

Salvage surgery in patients with high levels of serum tumor markers after systemic chemotherapy resulted in long-term disease free status in approximately 40% of patients with disseminated (Stage II or III) testicular germ cell carcinoma or extragonadal germ cell carcinoma. Patients with elevated α-fetoprotein levels alone (i.e., normal levels of serum human chorionic gonadotropin) and patients with lymph node lesions alone appeared to have a better chance of survival.

In the current study, low-dose dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide were found to demonstrate efficacy as salvage therapy in the treatment of patients with hormone-resistant prostate carcinoma.

See also pages 1559–61.

CD9 expression is associated significantly with tumor grade and stage. Lack of CD9 expression is an independent prognostic factor in predicting tumor progression, but not recurrence, in patients with superficial papillary tumors of the urinary bladder.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was overexpressed in endometriosis-associated ovarian carcinoma. This variation in VEGF expression may be associated with the malignant transformation of endometriosis and may present both diagnostic and therapeutic options for the treatment of ovarian malignancies.

A modified 3-day schedule of topotecan is less active than the approved 5-day regimen for the treatment of patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian carcinoma.

Analysis of a relatively large sample of patients with osteosarcoma of the head and neck (n = 496 patients) extracted from the National Cancer Data Base indicated that survival has improved over the last 2 decades compared with historic controls. Prognostic patient and tumor factors were identified. Surgical resection with clear margins is an important predictor of long-term survival. The role of chemotherapy in managing this disease is not well defined, but data suggest that its incorporation into therapy for patients with high-risk tumors may improve long-term survival.

In the current study, the authors demonstrated that, in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), elevated plasma levels of soluble CD86 (sCD86) were associated with significantly reduced complete remission (CR) rates and that, in younger patients with AML, sCD86 levels provided a prognostic marker independent of cytogenetics. Levels of sCD86 in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome were not associated with either the CR rate or survival.

After resection, recurrent gallbladder carcinoma (GBCA) is much more likely than hilar cholangiocarcinoma to involve a distant site. GBCA is also associated with a much shorter time to disease recurrence and a shorter survival after disease recurrence.

The authors studied the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism as a possible genetic risk factor for lung carcinoma in African Americans and Mexican Americans. The polymorphism appeared to be associated with increased risk of lung carcinoma in certain subgroups, and that association may depend heavily on the degree of smoking.

The combination of gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and cisplatin has proven to be safe and highly active as induction chemotherapy for patients with biopsy-proven Stage IIIA(N2) nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The response rate and tumor downstaging associated with this regimen indicate that it is a promising treatment option for locally advanced NSCLC.

Angiosarcoma of the scalp is a rare but lethal tumor about which little is known. In this study, the authors report on 29 patients with angiosarcoma exclusively of the scalp. The results show that surgical excision alone frequently is inadequate and that the addition of postoperative radiation therapy may lead to improved long-term survival.

A population-based cohort of 86,626 Swedish patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) was followed for up to 26 years. Little, if any, excess risk of prostate carcinoma (2% excess incidence after 10 years of follow-up) was found relative to the general population. However, the incidence and mortality of prostate carcinoma differed markedly by type of surgical BPH treatment, suggesting that factors related to treatment or health reasons underlying the selection of treatment influence subsequent prostate carcinoma risk.

Zoledronic acid (4 mg) administered as a 15-minute intravenous infusion every 3–4 weeks is safe and well tolerated in patients with bone lesions secondary to breast carcinoma or multiple myeloma. During this 25-month study, it was found that zoledronic acid was more effective, based on multiple-event analysis, than pamidronate in reducing the risk of developing skeletal complications in patients with bone lesions from metastatic breast carcinoma and multiple myeloma.

The long-term survival of intracranial glioblastoma multiforme is lower than would be predicted from clinical trials. Patient age and some histologic factors may predict long-term survival.

Long-term cancer survivors represent a growing population, yet little is known about how they fare—physically, mentally, or socially. In the current study, the authors found significant associations between social networks and health-related quality of life among female long-term colorectal cancer survivors.

Fifty-four patients were treated palliatively with pelvic reirradiation and hyperthermia for recurrent rectal carcinoma. This treatment resulted in good or complete palliation in 72% of patients. The median duration of palliation was 6 months, which was longer compared with radiotherapy alone.

A Phase I study of talaporfin sodium that was photoactivated by a minimally invasive intratumoral light device was conducted in patients with refractory tumors. Observed adverse and serious adverse events were minimal and an overall tumor response rate of 33% was observed.