Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology
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Integration of palliative care with standard oncologic care improves quality of life and survival of lung cancer patients. We surveyed physicians to identify factors influencing their decisions for referral to palliative care. ⋯ Although palliative care consultation is increasingly available and recommended throughout the trajectory of lung cancer, our data indicate it is underutilized. Understanding factors influencing decisions to refer can be used to improve integration of palliative care as part of lung cancer management.
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Multicenter Study
A phase II trial of sorafenib in relapsed and unresectable high-grade osteosarcoma after failure of standard multimodal therapy: an Italian Sarcoma Group study.
After standard multimodal therapy, the prognosis of relapsed and unresectable high-grade osteosarcoma is dismal and unchanged over the last decades. Recently, mitogen-activated protein kinases were shown to be activated in osteosarcoma specimens, suggesting, therefore, they are suitable targets for the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib. Thus, we explored sorafenib activity in patients with relapsed and unresectable osteosarcoma. ⋯ Sorafenib demonstrated activity as a second- or third-line treatment in terms of PFS at 4 months with some unprecedented long-lasting responses. Sorafenib, the first targeted therapy showing activity in osteosarcoma patients, deserves further investigations.