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Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (peter + maccallum_cancer_centre)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Pathology reporting in head and neck cancer,Snapshot of current status

HEAD & NECK: JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES & SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Issue 2 2009
Bronwyn King MBBS
Abstract Background Currently there is no standardized head and neck pathology reporting system in Victoria, Australia. The aim of this study was to document deficiencies in head and neck pathology reports at our institution. Methods The pathology reports of all patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who presented to Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) between January 1, 2004, and March 31, 2006, were critically assessed for 16 key pathological items. Results Only 37% reports contained all the 16 items. The most commonly missing items were "diameter of the largest involved lymph node" (38%), "presence/absence of lymphovascular space invasion" (30%), "presence/absence of peri-neural invasion" (28%), "clearance of margins in millimeters" (27%), and "presence/absence of extracapsular extension" (27%). The most variable item was the clearance in millimeters used to determine "clear margins". Conclusions Several of the most important pathological factors predicting locoregional relapse in HNSCC are currently the least reliably reported items in head and neck pathology reports. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2009 [source]

Clinical verification of the superiority of the current International Union Against Cancer staging criteria in an Australian population of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 4 2004
J Corry
Summary The purpose of this study is to assess the prognostic abilities of the fourth and fifth edition International Union Against Cancer (UICC) staging systems for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Australian patients. All patients planned for curative treatment at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre from April 1985 to December 1999 were included in this study. There were 181 patients eligible for this study. The median follow up was 7.6 years. Histological subgroups were World Health Organization (WHO) 1 (23), WHO 2 (12), and WHO 3 (146). Presentation with stage IV disease was 83% by UICC fourth edition staging and 34% by UICC fifth edition staging. The 5 years failure-free survival (FFS) rates for stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 disease by the fourth edition was 77, 100, 93, and 49% respectively,and by the fifth edition was 85, 76, 57 and 36%, respectively. The 5 years overall survival (OS) for stage 1, 2, 3, and 4 disease by the fourth edition was 77, 100, 100 and 61%; respectively, and by the fifth edition was 85, 82, 67 and 53%, respectively. Stage 4 patients by the fourth edition were reclassified as stages 2, 3 and 4 by the fifth edition with hazard ratios of 0.77, 1.01 and 1.79, respectively. In multifactor analysis, the fifth edition staging system was significantly related to FFS and OS after allowing for the fourth edition (FFS: P = 0.002; OS: P = 0.005), but the fourth edition was not significantly related to FFS or OS after allowing for the fifth edition (FFS: P = 0.96; OS: P = 0.96). This study confirms the prognostic superiority of the fifth edition UICC staging system over the fourth edition staging system in an Australian NPC population. [source]

Retinoblastoma: Review of 30 years' experience with external beam radiotherapy

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
Claire Phillips
Summary A review of the experience at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac), Melbourne, Australia in treating retinoblastoma with external beam radiotherapy was conducted. Outcomes of particular interest were tumour control, vision preservation and treatment late effects. The review was restricted to patients that had intact eyes treated at Peter Mac from 1965 until 1997 with at least 2 years of follow up. Histories were reviewed regarding patient and tumour characteristics and treatment details. Thirty-five patients were identified in whom 47 eyes were treated. Of the tumours, 47% were Reese,Ellsworth stage IV or V and the majority of others were at high risk for vision loss because of tumour location. The radiation treatment technique became increasingly sophisticated during the study period. Radiation dose and fraction size have similarly evolved but most patients received 30,50 Gy. Since 1989, a highly accurate contact lens immobilization technique has been used to deliver 40 Gy in 20 fractions. Thirteen eyes required additional local therapy. Of the treated eyes, 34 (72%) remain intact and 74% of these have useful vision. One patient died from retinoblastoma and three from second malignant neoplasms. With modern radiotherapy, late toxicities other than growth arrest and non-progressive cataract did not occur during the study period. Tumour control was high and a very acceptable rate of organ and vision preservation was achieved in a relatively high-risk population. Modern radiotherapy continues to develop in an attempt to improve treatment accuracy and minimize late radiation toxicity. [source]

Off label and unlicensed prescribing in a specialist oncology center in Australia

ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
James D MELLOR
Abstract Aim: Oncology is an area with a high prevalence of off-label and unlicensed prescribing. A previous audit conducted in 2001 at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, a specialist oncology hospital, showed that 22% of all prescriptions were either off-label or unlicensed. This study aimed to determine if the rates of off-label and unlicensed prescribing in oncology had changed between 2001 and 2008. Methods: All prescriptions at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre were reviewed on a single day in March 2008. Each prescription was classified as licensed, off-label or unlicensed by comparing to the Approved Product Information (API). Results: The medications of 132 patients were assessed. Among the 1094 prescriptions, 382 (35%) were off-label and 44 (4%) were unlicensed. 112 (85%) patients received at least one off-label or unlicensed drug. Conclusion: The results of the audit suggest that the level of off-label prescribing increased by 17% since 2001. This study confirmed the extensive off-label and unlicensed drug usage as suggested by the literature and demonstrated a higher rate of off-label prescribing than the previous audit in 2001. The results demonstrate that 85% of all cancer patients in the study were prescribed at least one drug that had not been fully tested by the regulatory approval process. [source]