Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Short-time infusion of oxaliplatin in combination with capecitabine (XELOX30) as second-line therapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer after failure to irinotecan and 5-fluorouracil.
The efficacy of oxaliplatin combined with capecitabine (XELOX) as second-line therapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (ACRC) resistant to irinotecan is not well established. Oxaliplatin induces acute, cold-induced neuropathy in most patients. The incidence is claimed to be infusion rate-dependent and therefore a 2-h infusion is recommended. ⋯ XELOX30 is a very convenient second-line regimen in ACRC with an activity and safety profile similar to other oxaliplatin schedules.
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Comparative Study
Patients' preference for administration of endocrine treatments by injection or tablets: results from a study of women with breast cancer.
Endocrine therapies for advanced breast cancer include tablets and intramuscular injections. When treatments have similar efficacy and tolerability profiles, addressing preferences about routes of administration is important. ⋯ The majority of breast cancer patients preferred hormone therapy via daily tablets rather than monthly injections. Information about side-effects or improved efficacy altered these preferences. Adherence to treatment cannot be assumed; patients' preferences about drug administration may influence this.
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To test the reliability, sensitivity to change in biomarkers associated with disease progression and response to treatment, and clinical meaningfulness of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep) in patients with hepatobiliary carcinoma. ⋯ The FACT-Hep is a reliable instrument that is responsive to clinical indicators of disease progression and response to treatment. The MID estimates can aid interpretation of HRQL data and facilitate sample size calculation in clinical trials.
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The goal of this study was to identify aspects of care (predictors) that can most easily be modified to produce an improvement in the score of patients' overall evaluations of the quality of care received. ⋯ This study identifies an efficient approach to improving the score of patients' overall perceptions of the quality of care received. By focusing on these aspects of care, hospitals may be able to improve the allocation of scarce resources when planning patient satisfaction improvement initiatives.
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Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is a distinct clinico-pathological subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The optimal treatment is unknown, with some studies suggesting a superior outcome with dose-intensive chemotherapy regimens, and the role of radiotherapy remains ill-defined. ⋯ In this single institution, population-based retrospective study, we found that PMBCL patients have excellent survival rates and a distinct plateau is observed in PFS, in striking comparison to DLBCL. The aaIPI was not predictive of survival in this population, suggesting that other prognostic models may be better suited for risk stratification. Dose-intensified chemotherapy with MACOPB or VACOPB demonstrated a trend to superior outcome over CHOP-type chemotherapy. However, further randomized studies are needed and the impact of rituximab on these comparisons must be considered. Finally, the routine addition of radiotherapy does not improve survival.