Archive for the 'Determining Efficacy' Category
Studies which measure or otherwise analyze the effectiveness of various treatments and the methods used to generate the information from which efficacy is determined (for instance, is MRI an effective method to measure chemotherapy results).
June 24th, 2008. Chemotherapy of malignant pleural mesothelioma: have we made any progress?
Besides first-line therapy, there are also data to support the efficacy of chemotherapy in pretreated patients. In spite of the various results of preclinical trials which support the prognostic significance of certain targeted structures of intra- and intercellular signal transduction, no relevant efficacy could be shown for targeted therapies in mesothelioma up to now.
June 11th, 2008. Pemetrexed plus carboplatin in elderly patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma: combined analysis of two phase II trials
Apart from slightly worse haematological toxicity, there was no significant difference in outcome or toxicity between age groups. The PC regimen is effective and well tolerated in selected elderly patients with MPM.
Posted in Carboplatin, Causation, Chemotherapy, Determining Efficacy, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Epidemiological, Full Archive, Immunohistochemistry or IHC, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Pemetrexed (Alimta), PET Scan, Pleural, Treatment, Type of Assessment: | No Comments »
June 11th, 2008. Cisplatin and vinorelbine first-line chemotherapy in non-resectable malignant pleural mesothelioma
6%). Cisplatin and intravenous vinorelbine is a highly active regimen in MPM with a response rate and survival comparable to the most active regimens so far reported.
June 6th, 2008. Long-term mortality from pleural and peritoneal cancer after exposure to asbestos: Possible role of asbestos clearance
The risk for pleural cancer, rather than showing an indefinite increase, might reach a plateau when a sufficiently long time has elapsed since exposure. The different trends for pleural and peritoneal cancer might be related to clearance of the asbestos from the workers' lungs.
Posted in Causation, Determining Efficacy, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Epidemiological, Full Archive, Imatinib Mesylate (Gleevec/Glivec), Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy, melphalan, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin), paclitaxel, PET Scan, Pleural, Pleural Catheters, Proton Beam Therapy, Staging, Symptoms & Symptom Management, Treatment, Type of Assessment: | No Comments »
June 4th, 2008. Ranpirnase as a potential antitumor ribonuclease treatment for mesothelioma and other malignancies
Most clinical studies have been conducted in patients with malignant mesothelioma, and a confirmatory Phase IIIb trial is currently underway for the treatment of this disease. Owing to its selective destruction of malignant cells and favorable toxicology profile, ranpirnase is a promising antitumor agent with ideal attributes that are generally lacking in conventional cytotoxic drugs.
June 4th, 2008. Malignant mesothelioma 2008
Novel therapies including intrapleural chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy and hyperthermic perfusion have also been used with some success. Finally there are several attempts at immunomodulating and targeted treatments, which are in phase I/II trials.
Posted in Causation, Chemotherapy, Determining Efficacy, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Full Archive, General, Immune-based Therapies, New & Novel, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), Radiation, Serum Marker/Blood Test, Survival, SV40, Treatment, Type of Assessment: | No Comments »
June 4th, 2008. Prophylactic radiotherapy for pleural puncture sites in mesothelioma: the controversy continues
thoracoscopic) pleural puncture sites and reserving treatments to symptomatic deposits may be more appropriate. This strategy would optimize patient care and minimize hospital visits, but allow prompt instigation of treatment if symptoms develop.
May 31st, 2008. mTOR Mediates Survival Signals in Malignant Mesothelioma Grown as Tumor Fragment Spheroids
We propose that mTOR mediates survival signals in many mesothelioma tumors. Inhibition of mTOR may provide a non-toxic adjunct to therapy directed against malignant mesothelioma, especially in those with high baseline expression of p-S6K.
May 28th, 2008. Phase I trial of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients undergoing cytoreduction for advanced intra-abdominal malignancy
Conclusions: We report that HIPEC with PLD following maximal cytoreduction in patients with advanced abdominal-only gastrointestinal or gynecologic malignancies is well tolerated. Encouraging survival after cytoreduction and HIPEC with PLD suggest that a phase II trial to verify activity is indicated.
May 20th, 2008. The efficacy and safety of weekly vinorelbine in relapsed malignant pleural mesothelioma
Weekly vinorelbine appeared to have a reasonable response rate with an acceptable toxicity profile in the second-line treatment of MPM. Its use should be prospectively evaluated in a randomised trial in the first or second-line therapy of MPM.
May 20th, 2008. Active symptom control with or without chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MS01): a multicentre randomised trial
Interpretation: The addition of chemotherapy to ASC offers no significant benefits in terms of overall survival or quality of life. However, exploratory analyses suggested that vinorelbine merits further investigation.
Posted in Chemotherapy, Cisplatin (Platinol ®), Determining Efficacy, Full Archive, mitomycin-C, Pleural, Radiation, Survival, Symptoms & Symptom Management, Treatment, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma:, Vinorelbine | No Comments »
May 15th, 2008. Ranpirnase (Onconase), a cytotoxic amphibian ribonuclease, manipulates tumour physiological parameters as a selective killer and a potential enhancer for chemotherapy and radiation in cancer therapy
Conclusion: In animal studies, improvements in tumour physiology (i.e., increased blood flow, inhibited oxygen consumption, increased oxygenation and decreased tumour hypertension) and selectively enhanced radiation responses (i.e., increased radiation sensitivity and inhibited repair of sublethal and potentially lethal damage) were observed after ranpirnase treatment in preclinical tumour models. Ranpirnase is a promising candidate as an enhancer for radiation- and chemotherapy. Ongoing clinical trials promise to further improve the treatment of mesothelioma and lung cancer.
May 14th, 2008. Molecular targets and targeted therapies for malignant mesothelioma
Alternative approaches are based on inhibitors of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and of histone deacetylases which, notwithstanding the functional divergence of the corresponding targets, share the ability to determine a wide modulation of the cancer cell phenotype that can lead to cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and sensitization to different antineoplastic treatments. A recombinant immunotoxin targeted to the membrane antigen mesothelin is an additional agent whose activity is being evaluated in mesothelioma patients.
May 6th, 2008. Overexpression and altered glycosylation of MUC1 in malignant mesothelioma
CA15-3 in effusions could differentiate malignant from benign effusions but were not specific for mesothelioma. Thus, as in other cancers, alterations in MUC1 biology occur in mesothelioma and these results suggest that specific MUC1 characteristics may be useful for mesothelioma diagnosis and should also be investigated as a potential therapeutic target.
May 2nd, 2008. What has the meta-analysis contributed to today’s standard of care in the treatment of thoracic malignancies?
Their results have been used as an effective tool for resolving various clinical questions, providing more reliable evidence for some clinical practice: (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for resectable NSCLC, radiochemotherapy for patients with unresectable limited NSCLC and limited SCLC, advantage of chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC and identification of the most active drugs. However, it is important to understand the limits of their methodology in order to avoid inappropriate interpretations.
May 2nd, 2008. Trimodality Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Conclusions: Trimodality treatment in malignant pleural mesothelioma seems to prolong survival in patients without lymph node metastasis. Novel techniques are needed for preoperative assessment of extrapleural lymph nodes.
Posted in Determining Efficacy, Epithelioid, Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP), Full Archive, Sarcomatoid, Surgery, Survival, Treatment, Trimodality Therapy, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
April 30th, 2008. The value of occult disease in resection margin and lymph node after extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant mesothelioma
Conclusions: In malignant pleural mesothelioma, the presence of occult disease in resection margins and lymph nodes can be identified by immunohistochemistry and significantly influences the prognosis. Cervical mediastinoscopy is useful in all patients considered for radical resection, but all specimens should be processed with immunohistochemical staining.
Posted in Biphasic or Mixed, Determining Efficacy, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Epithelioid, Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP), Full Archive, Immunohistochemistry or IHC, Pleural, Sarcomatoid, Staging, Surgery, Survival, Treatment, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
April 30th, 2008. Remarkable enhancement of cytotoxicity of onconase and cepharanthine when used in combination on various tumor cell lines
The mechanism of the observed synergism is unclear but it may be associated with the Onc activity in targeting microRNAs and/or NFkappaB and Cep activity also targeting NFkappaB. The data suggest that the combination of these two drugs, that individually express a low toxic profile, may have strong antitumor potential.
April 30th, 2008. VATS in Diagnostic and Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma on the Occasion of Advanced Pleural Mesothelioma
Conclusion: 1.Surgical treatment is decisive for diagnosis and treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma even in advanced cases and have evident positive effects. 2. Surgical methods improve patient's condition, even in inoperable cases. 3. VATS surgery is modern method for diagnosis and treatment and if it necessary we can continue by conventional operation for definitive treatment of mesothelioma.
Posted in CT or CAT scan, Determining Efficacy, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Full Archive, General, Pleural, Staging, Surgery, Survival, Treatment, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
April 25th, 2008. Individual versus standard quality of life assessment in a phase II clinical trial in mesothelioma patients: Feasibility and responsiveness to clinical changes
Conclusion: The SEIQoL assessment seems to be feasible within a phase II clinical trial, but may require more effort from staff. More distinctive QoL changes in accordance with clinical changes were measured with the RSCL. Our findings suggest that the two measures are not interchangeable: the RSCL is to favor when mainly information related to the course of disease- and treatment is of interest.
Posted in Chemotherapy, Determining Efficacy, Full Archive, Pleural, Pneumonectomy, Radiation, Surgery, Survival, Treatment, Trimodality Therapy, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
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