[Measurement of health-related quality of life in coronary heart disease: a review].

This paper introduces the development and application of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scales in research on coronary heart disease (CHD). Currently, the scales for CHD patients have been more systematically developed and widely used in foreign countries, while domestically in China, they are developed successfully but problematically; research in this field has started later and the scales introduced are limited and not suitable for the entire range of domestic CHD patients. Thus, this paper introduces 26 HRQOL scales in research on CHD, including five generic scales, ten disease-specific scales from abroad and eleven scales originating from China. With the deficiency of HRQOL scales, especially that in traditional Chinese medicine and specific scales, this paper analyzes and summarizes the problems existing in development of scales. The authors also provide solutions in order to help the development and application of scales in further studies.

[Activity of toremifene plus mitomycin, vindesin and cisplatin regimen in unresectable non-small cell lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the activity and clinical efficacy of toremifene plus mitomycin, vindesin and cisplatin regimen (MVP) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: A549 cells were seeded into 96 wells at the concentration of 10 x 10(4)cells/well and exposed to different agents. Seventy-two hours later, the cytotoxicity of the agents were evaluated with the method of MTT. The clinical trial included 63 patients with chemtherapy-naive NSCLC and 30 patients who had received chemotherapy (Pre-treatment arm). The chemotherapy-naive patients were randomly divided into the toremifene-treatment arm and the control arm. Each patient was given MVP chemotherapy. Five days before the chemotherapy, those in the toremifene-treatment group and pre-treatment arm started toremifene 420 mg daily orally for 7 days. The response was evaluated after two cycles of chemotherapy and toxic side effects and the survival of the patients were followed up. RESULTS: Toremifene decreased the IC(50) of chemotherapeutic agents and increased their cytotoxicity. In the clinical trial, the response rate and median survival were 47% and 11 months in the toremifene-treatment arm and 32% and 9 months in the control arm, respectively. The difference between the two arms was not significant. The response rate and median survival were 17% and 7 months in the pre-treatment arm, respectively. The toxicity among the three groups was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Toremifene can improve the cytotoxicity of cisplatin, mitomycin and vindesin. Toremifene plus MVP regimen is safe and effective in the treatment of NSCLC.