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Cancer Leads (cancer + lead)
Selected AbstractsSupport groups in advanced breast cancer,CANCER, Issue S11 2005Living better if not longer Abstract Considerable research has been conducted into the potential benefits of support groups for patients with metastatic breast cancer. An early report by Spiegel et al. suggested that participation in these groups not only had psychologic benefits but also resulted in prolongation of survival. A review of the published literature was undertaken. Five randomized trials of support groups in metastatic breast cancer have been published. Four of those five trials have reported survival results: Survival outcomes from the fifth study are pending. A variety of group interventions were investigated. All of the studies reported beneficial psychosocial effects of the intervention, although the effects, at times, were transient and were not always present for all study outcomes. Only the original publication by Spiegel's group identified a survival benefit. No survival benefit was seen for participation in support groups for the other three studies that reported survival effects. Mixed survival effects were reported for other psychologic interventions in other cancers. There was good evidence that support groups in metastatic breast cancer lead to improved psychologic outcomes. Evidence of beneficial survival effects was not convincing. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society. [source] Her-2/neu and EGFR tyrosine kinase activation predict the efficacy of trastuzumab-based therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancerINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 5 2006Gernot Hudelist Abstract Her-2/neu overexpression in human breast cancer leads to an aggressive biological behavior and poor prognosis. Although the anti-Her-2/neu antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin®) has become a valuable therapeutic option for patients with Her-2/neu -overexpressing breast cancer, many patients do not benefit from this therapy. To evaluate the effect of receptor activation on tumor response, we have investigated the phosphorylation status of Her-2/neu and EGFR in 46 Her-2/neu -overexpressing tumor samples from trastuzumab-treated metastatic breast cancer patients by immunohistochemistry. Activated (p)tyr-1248 Her-2/neu was detected in 9 of 46 breast cancers (20%), and activated (p)tyr-845 and (p)tyr-1173 EGFR were both present in 6 tumors (13%) while EGFR was present in 16 cases (35%). ptyr-1248 Her-2/neu showed a trend to correlate with increased response to trastuzumab (p = 0.063), while ptyr-845, ptyr-1173 EGFR and EGFR did not. The presence of ptyr-1248 Her-2/neu and ptyr-845 or ptyr-1173 EGFR, however, was a strong predictor of both response to trastuzumab-based treatment (OR = 8.0, p = 0.021 and OR = 8.0, p = 0.021) and clinical benefit (OR = 5.47, p = 0.041 and OR = 6.22, p = 0.028 multivariate logistic regression analysis). Furthermore, ptyr-845 EGFR and ptyr-1248 Her-2/neu were both independent predictors of progression-free survival (RR = 0.21, p = 0.01 and RR = 0.45, p = 0.026, multivariate analysis). Patients with ptyr-845 EGFR positive tumors also tended toward increased overall survival (RR = 0.17, p = 0.082). Taken together, we have demonstrated that the determination of activated EGFR improves the utility of ptyr-1248 Her-2/neu staining in predicting the clinical outcome of patients undergoing trastuzumab treatment. We hypothesize that the activation state of both Her-2/neu and EGFR are key determinants for trastuzumab efficacy. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Routine scrotal ultrasonography during the follow-up of patients with testicular cancer leads to earlier detection of asynchronous tumours and a high rate of organ preservationBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 8 2010Brigitte Stoehr Study Type , Diagnosis (case series) Level of Evidence 4 OBJECTIVE To compare outcomes of patients with asynchronous tumours detected before and after the introduction of scrotal ultrasonography (SUS) during routine follow-up examinations. PATIENTS AND METHODS Since January 2001 SUS was also used during the follow-up of patients with testicular cancer. A series of 16 consecutive patients with asynchronous bilateral testicular tumours diagnosed while still complying with routine follow up investigations were identified and divided into two groups; group A was diagnosed by palpation only, before 2001, and group B was diagnosed after 2000. The groups were compared statistically for the interval between asynchronous tumours, clinical stage, tumour diameter at the time of diagnosis and rate of testis-sparing surgery. RESULTS All tumours in group A were diagnosed by palpation, but only two in group B were palpable at the time of diagnosis. The mean tumour diameter was statistically significantly smaller in group B (1.2 cm) than in group A (2.68 cm); testis-sparing surgery was used in all of group B and only three patients in group A. After organ-sparing surgery all patients had normal testosterone levels. All patients after organ-sparing surgery had adjuvant scrotal radiotherapy because of germ cell tumour, and no patient had a local recurrence. CONCLUSION Our data indicate that using SUS for the remaining testicle in routine follow-up visits of patients with testicular cancer leads to the earlier detection of smaller tumours and, consequently, a higher rate of organ preservation. The maintenance of physiological endocrine function might finally result in a better quality of life. [source] | ||||||||||