RESUMO
Although cisplatin and etoposide seem to represent the treatment of choice in Small-Cell Lung Cancer, a lot of data exist in literature supporting both the use of anthracycline-containing regimens and the use of alternating regimens where platinum-containing regimens and anthracycline-containing regimens are alternatively used as first line in the same patient. In our paper we review the outcomes of two different series of patients treated with ciclophosphamide-epidoxorubicin-etoposide (CEVP16) or carboplatin-etoposide (CBE) for extended Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Sixty-three patients (53.4%) were treated with CEVP16 and 55 patients (46.6%) with CBE. Response Rate (complete plus partial responses) was greater in patients treated with CEVP16 (49.2%) when compared with the response rate in patients treated with CBE (30.9%) (p=0.04 using the Chi-Square test); no differences were observed in the median time to progression (235 vs 199 days, using the Log-Rank test). Overall survival was greater in the CEVP16 group when compared with the CBE one (281 vs 208 days and 35.6% vs 16.3% of patients alive after 2 years of follow up for CEVP16 and CBE respectively, p=0.02 using the Log-Rank test). Although our data present all the methodological limits of the "case-series", it is interesting to observe how an anthracycline-containing regimen seems to be more effective than a platinum-containing one and how it could still play a role in the treatment of extended Small-Cell Lung Cancer.
Assuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma de Células Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Carboplatina/administração & dosagem , Cisplatino/uso terapêutico , Ciclofosfamida/uso terapêutico , Epirubicina/uso terapêutico , Etoposídeo/administração & dosagem , Etoposídeo/uso terapêutico , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
We report three patients with advanced "hormone-resistant" prostate cancer, each of whom had rapid progression of the disease during treatment with megestrol acetate for cancer cachexia. All patients had been previously treated with total androgenic deprivation. With progression of the disease, megestrol acetate was given to palliate the cancer-related wasting syndrome. No other antineoplastic drugs were contemporaneously given, and no concomitant condition that could favor the progression of the disease was present. The worsening observed while receiving megestrol acetate, and the atypical withdrawal syndrome occurring after the treatment was stopped, seem to suggest a promoting role of megestrol acetate in advanced "hormone-resistant" prostate cancer. The risk of rapid disease progression overwhelming the anti-cachectic palliative effect should be kept in mind when progestins are administered as a palliative treatment of cancer cachexia in patients with advanced "hormone-resistant" prostate cancer.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos Hormonais/uso terapêutico , Caquexia/tratamento farmacológico , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos , Acetato de Megestrol/uso terapêutico , Cuidados Paliativos , Neoplasias da Próstata/tratamento farmacológico , Idoso , Progressão da Doença , Humanos , Masculino , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Up to now adjuvant chemotherapy after curative resection for gastric cancer (GC) has been considered an experimental approach. The results of existing phase III randomized trials comparing chemotherapy with control after surgery are controversial. Three meta-analyses have been published in recent years. It is likely that each of them presents a theoretical bias, mainly as regards the inclusion criteria of the trials. In this article we re-examine this potential bias, highlighting the differences between the present and past meta-analyses on adjuvant chemotherapy for GC. METHODS: Only randomized controlled clinical trials comparing systemic adjuvant chemotherapy with control after radical resection of GC were eligible. Total mortality was assessed as outcome measure of the treatment effect and a pooled odds ratio was calculated using the Peto-Mantel-Haenszel method. RESULTS: After the selection process 17 papers (18 comparisons) proved eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis with a total of 3118 patients, of whom 1546 randomized to the treatment arms and 1572 to the control arms; 762 and 871 deaths occurred in the treatment and control arms, respectively. Statistical analysis suggests an absence of significant heterogeneity between the trials and a significant advantage in survival for adjuvant chemotherapy (pooled odds ratio, 0.72, 95% Cl, 0.62-0.84). CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis would seem to indicate that adjuvant chemotherapy results in a significant survival advantage in patients with GC. However, this observation undoubtedly requires confirmation in large randomized controlled trials including cisplatin before adjuvant chemotherapy after curative resection for GC can be proposed for use in clinical practice.
Assuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Neoplasias Gástricas/tratamento farmacológico , Quimioterapia Adjuvante , Humanos , Imunoterapia , Razão de Chances , Prognóstico , Ensaios Clínicos Controlados Aleatórios como Assunto , Neoplasias Gástricas/mortalidade , Neoplasias Gástricas/cirurgia , Taxa de Sobrevida , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Cisplatin-containing regimens represent the gold standard in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer, but carboplatin is often preferred for its better toxic profile when palliation is the aim of the treatment. The synergistic effect and tolerability of carboplatin-gemcitabine combination are well known. In this phase II trial, we evaluated the activity and safety of a schedule with carboplatin and gemcitabine, defined in our previous phase I trial. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with measurable stage IV non-small cell lung cancer were treated with carboplatin, AUC 4.5 mg/ml/min on day 1, and gemcitabine, 800 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, every 21 days. All patients were treated until disease progression or intractable toxicity and were evaluated before each course of chemotherapy for toxicity and after every 3 courses for response. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of over 10 months, complete response, partial response, and stabilization of the disease were observed in 3 (8.1%), 9 (24.3%), and 15 patients (40.5%), respectively. Median time to progression was 7 months. At this writing, 27 patients have died, with a median survival of 10 months, and 29 (78.3%), 16 (43.2%), and 11 (29.7%) patients are alive after 6, 12, and 15 months of follow-up, respectively. Toxicity was mild, and mainly hematological, with a significant correlation with the number of courses of chemotherapy (P = 0.0003). CONCLUSIONS: Our results are comparable with those reported in the literature and confirm the good activity and tolerability of the carboplatin-gemcitabine combination. Up to 4 courses of chemotherapy with carboplatin and gemcitabine may represent an interesting option in the palliative treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.
Assuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Desoxicitidina/análogos & derivados , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Cuidados Paliativos/métodos , Idoso , Carboplatina/administração & dosagem , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/secundário , Desoxicitidina/administração & dosagem , Progressão da Doença , Feminino , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Análise de Sobrevida , Resultado do Tratamento , GencitabinaAssuntos
Carboplatina/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Desoxicitidina/análogos & derivados , Desoxicitidina/uso terapêutico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Cuidados Paliativos , Idoso , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Feminino , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Taxa de Sobrevida , Resultado do Tratamento , GencitabinaAssuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Dor/tratamento farmacológico , Dor/etiologia , Cuidados Paliativos , Qualidade de Vida , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
GOALS OF WORK: The aims of the present study were to verify whether an innovative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of mild-moderate chronic cancer pain, passing directly from step I to step III of the WHO analgesic ladder, is more effective than the traditional three-step strategy and to evaluate the tolerability and therapeutic index in both strategies. METHODS: Patients aged 18 years or older with multiple viscera or bone metastases or with locally advanced disease were randomized. Pain intensity was assessed using a 0-10 numerical rating scale based on four questions selected from the validated Italian version of the Brief Pain Inventory. Treatment-specific variables and other symptoms were recorded at baseline up to a maximum follow-up of 90 days per patient. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients were randomized onto the study, and pain intensity was assessed over a period of 2,649 days. The innovative treatment presented a statistically significant advantage over the traditional strategy in terms of the percentage of days with worst pain > or =5 (22.8 vs 28.6%, p < 0.001) and > or =7 (8.6 vs 11.2%, p = 0.023). Grades 3 and 4 anorexia and constipation were more frequently reported in the innovative strategy arm, although prophylactic laxative therapy was used less in this setting. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary data would seem to suggest that a direct move to the third step of the WHO analgesic ladder is feasible and could reduce some pain scores but also requires careful management of side effects.
Assuntos
Analgésicos Opioides/uso terapêutico , Anti-Inflamatórios não Esteroides/uso terapêutico , Protocolos Clínicos , Neoplasias/complicações , Dor/tratamento farmacológico , Cuidados Paliativos/normas , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Algoritmos , Analgésicos Opioides/efeitos adversos , Analgésicos Opioides/classificação , Anti-Inflamatórios não Esteroides/efeitos adversos , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Dor/etiologia , Satisfação do Paciente , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Organização Mundial da SaúdeRESUMO
Although the overall cure rate for advanced germ cell tumor (GCT) is high, the prognosis for patients with cisplatin-refractory GCT remains poor. Gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and oxaliplatin have shown significant activity as single agents in these patients. We investigated the activity and tolerance of a weekly gemcitabine, paclitaxel, oxaliplatin chemotherapy regimen. From September 2000 to February 2002, 9 patients with cisplatin-refractory GCT were treated with gemcitabine 800 mg/m2, paclitaxel 70 mg/m2, and oxaliplatin 50 mg/m2, days 1, 8, and 15, every 4 weeks. Only 1 patient stayed on schedule. In 7 patients, chemotherapy treatment was modified due to grade 3-4 hematological toxicity, whereas in another patient, who received high-dose chemotherapy 2 months before, chemotherapy was administered biweekly. In total, 21 cycles were administered with a median of 2 cycles for each patient. One patient achieved a partial remission lasting 5 months, 1 had disease stabilization for 5 months, whereas 7 had progressive disease. This chemotherapy regimen was not feasible in our patient population. Recently, oxaliplatin at full doses, but not as weekly administration, has appeared to possess activity in cisplatin-refractory GCT. Thus, we plan a phase II study protocol of the oxaliplatin and gemcitabine combination at full doses every 3 weeks.