Tendency of cancer patients and their relatives to use internet for health-related searches: Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) Study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to reveal the habits of using internet by cancer patients and their relatives to access health-related information and services in Turkey. METHODS: An 18-item questionnaire survey was applied in cancer patients and their relatives. RESULTS: A total of 1106 patients (male, 37.3%, and female, 62.7%) and their relatives were included in the study. The responders had been using internet to obtain health information about oncological diseases, once a month (34.2%), 1-2 times a week (27.4%) or 2-3 times a month (21.9%). After diagnosis of cancer was made, participants more frequently (64.4%) investigated health-related issues, while 64.9% of them considered internet as an important search tool, and 16.7% of them had thought to give up cancer therapy under the influence of internet information. Some (33.1%) participants had used herbal medicine, and 16.7% of them had learnt these herbal products from internet. Still 12.7% of them had not questioned the accuracy of internet information, while 26.9% of them indicated that they had not shared the internet information about cancer with their physicians, and 13 % of them searched information in internet without asking their physicians. CONCLUSION: Cancer patients and their relatives showed a higher tendency to use health-related internet information which may mislead them, and can result in treatment incompliance. Health professionals should offer evidence-based information to the patients and their relatives through internet.

Results of adjuvant FOLFOX regimens in stage III colorectal cancer patients: retrospective analysis of 667 patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the use of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) regimens in clinical practice according to their efficacy and toxicity. METHODS: Patients who received oxaliplatin-containing regimens after curative resection for colorectal carcinoma from 10 different oncology centers between May 2004 and December 2009 were included in the study. All patients were treated with FOLFOX regimens. Patients with rectal carcinoma were also treated with chemoradiotherapy with 5-FU after 2 cycles of a FOLFOX regimen. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 56 years (range 17-78). Of the total 667 patients, 326 were given FOLFOX-4, 232 were given modified FOLFOX-4 and 109 were given FOLFOX-6. The distribution according to disease stage was 33 patients with stage IIIA colorectal cancer, 382 patients with stage IIIB and 252 patients with stage IIIC. The most common adverse events were neutropenia (54%), nausea (36.9%), neuropathy (38.2%) and anemia (33.1%) for all grades. The median follow-up time was 23 months (range 1-79). Three-year disease-free survival and overall survival were 65 and 85.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The different oxaliplatin-containing 5-FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy regimens in patients with stage III colorectal cancer seemed to be at least equal in terms of efficacy regardless of the method of 5-FU administration or oxaliplatin dose.

Evaluation of the efficacy of modified De Gramont and modified FOLFOX4 regimens for adjuvant therapy of locally advanced rectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of modified De Gramont (mDG) and FOLFOX4 (mFOLFOX4) regimens in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). METHODS: Patients that received adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) for the treatment of LARC (stage II and III) were retrospectively evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 231 patients were examined. Median age was 58 (range, 18-83) and, of these patients, 36 (15.6%) had stage II and 195 (84.4%) had stage III disease. While the patients with stage II disease received only mDG regimen (36, 100.0%), of the patients with stage III disease, 71 (36.5%) received mDG and 124 (63.5%) received mFOLFOX4 regimen. Patients with stage III disease showed recurrences more often, but this difference was not statistically significant. Similarly, for the patients with stage III disease, there was no statistically significant relation between the adjuvant CT regimen received and the rate of recurrence. In patients with stage II disease, who received mDG, median DFS was 101 months and median OS was 106 months. For the patients with stage III disease, the patients that received mDG showed a median DFS of 78 months and a median OS of 96 months, while the patients that received mFOLFOX4 had a median DFS of 51 months and a median OS of 78 months. Although, for the patients with stage III disease, there are major differences between the two different regimens of CT in terms of DFS and OS, this difference was not statistically significant.When the results were evaluated from the perspective of toxicity, the patients that received mFOLFOX4 showed more toxicity. Neurotoxicity, which was seen in the patients that were given mFOLFOX4, was the most prominent toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: mDG and mFOLFOX4 regimens are applicable regimens as adjuvant CT for the treatment of LARC.