Anti-cancer drugs
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Control of nausea and vomiting by Navoban (tropisetron) in 131 children receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy.
One hundred and thirty-one children with a median age of 5 years were administered Navoban (tropisetron), a selective antagonist of the serotonin receptor (5-HT3), dosed once daily at 0.2 mg/kg (with a maximum of 5 mg daily) in a study aimed at evaluating the prevention of nausea and vomiting induced by anti-cancer chemotherapy. The most common malignancy (in 49% of patients) was acute lymphocytic leukaemia. Patients received Navoban during one or more courses of emetogenic chemotherapy for a total of 455 courses administered intravenously or intravenously and intrathecally (IV + IT). ⋯ Ninety-six per cent of the intravenous chemotherapy group and 97% of the IV + IT chemotherapy group had a complete (70% and 55% respectively) or partial (26% and 42% respectively) response during the first 24-hour period of the first course in which Navoban was used. The second and subsequent courses yielded similar percentages. Delayed emesis was observed mainly during those courses employing the most emetogenic chemotherapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Prostaglandins (PGs) with antiproliferative activity against tumor cells consist of the cyclopentenone PGs and the alkylidene cyclopentenone PGs. Such PGs are PGD2, PGJ2, delta 12-PGJ2, PGA1, delta 7-PGA1, and PGA2. Both PGJ2 and delta 12-PGJ2 are ultimate metabolites of PGD2 and have potent antiproliferative activity on tumor cells. delta 12-PGJ2 was identified in human urine, whereas delta 7-PGA1 has not been found in the human body. ⋯ Intravenous administration of lipo-methyl-delta 7-PGA1 could inhibit the growth of both HeLa S3 and Lovo colon cancer cells transplanted subcutaneously in nude mice. Lipo-methyl-delta 7-PGA1 by intraperitoneal administration could prolong the survival of scid mice bearing 2008C/13* cells resistant to cisplatin. The combined administration of cisplatin and lipo-methyl-delta 7-PGA1 prolonged the survival of nude mice bearing HRA cells compared with each single agent alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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In spite of progress made in surgical techniques and intensive care, only a slight improvement in the therapeutic control of gastric carcinoma has been achieved in the last 20 years. In this paper we present a review of controlled clinical trials on adjuvant chemotherapy and chemo-immunotherapy for gastric cancer and this topic is discussed in the light of our experience and that of the Gastrointestinal Group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. The results of adjuvant therapy are less satisfactory in Western countries than in Japan. ⋯ The therapeutic benefit reported in Japanese studies may be due to a chemotherapy started intraoperatively or during the immediate postoperative period and should also be considered in the light of a standardized surgical treatment. The new therapeutic trends, using recent chemotherapeutic associations tested in Phase I and II clinical trials or combining traditional chemotherapy with different types of immunostimulators, are discussed. Only when large-scale clinical studies have been made will it be possible to confirm their therapeutic efficacy.
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In vitro and in vivo effects of ginsenoside Rh2 on human ovarian tumor growth were examined by using a cell line (HRA) derived from ascites of a patient with serous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary. The HRA cell proliferation in vitro was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner with dosages of 10-100 microM of ginsenoside RH2. DNA, RNA and protein synthesis by the HRA cells was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner at more than 15 microM of ginsenoside RH2. ⋯ On the contrary, when cisplatin was administered together with 10 microM (but not 1 microM or 100 microM) ginsenoside RH2, the tumor growth was significantly inhibited 31 days after inoculation and the survival was also significantly prolonged, compared with not only the untreated group but also the groups given cisplatin alone or ginsenoside RH2 alone. This indicates synergistic effects between cisplatin and ginsenoside RH2. From monitoring of body weight and hematocrit, concentrations of ginsenoside RH2 used in this study did not seem to cause any adverse effect.