Gan to kagaku ryoho. Cancer & chemotherapy
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The most important prognostic factor in malignant gliomas is histopathological diagnosis of the tumor. The survival of patients with anaplastic astrocytoma is much longer than that of patients with glioblastoma. The median survival of the former has been improved up to almost 4 years by the recent progress of multidisciplinary treatment, whereas that of the latter has still remained in less than 1.5 years. ⋯ Radiotherapy has been proved to be associated with longer survival of patients with supratentorial anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma. Chemotherapy has not proved effective in prolonging the survival of patients with glioblastoma. Multidrug chemotherapy with CCNU, procarbazine and vincristine has proved to have significant survival advantage over BCNU alone, suggesting chemotherapy is also a prognostic factor in patients with anaplastic astrocytoma.
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Gan To Kagaku Ryoho · Apr 1996
Review[Impact of rapid advancement of international standardization on technical requirements for new drug registration].
Internationalization of new drug research and development is rapidly progressing. When mutual international acceptance of clinical trial data is realized, scientifically superior data will eradicate and replace all not so scientific data. This means that healthy competition would benefit the data of clinical trials. ⋯ The resolution of a number of daily stumbling blocks such as informing the patient that he or she is suffering from cancer is a prerequisite for conducting high-quality clinical trials. But every effort must be made so that it will not be said: "Data produced overseas are better. There is no need for Japan to use its knowledge and effort in the field of clinical development."
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Gan To Kagaku Ryoho · Apr 1996
Review[Recent advance in chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer].
Chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer is reviewed stressing the historical development of combination chemotherapy and the application of a new idea called biochemical modulation based upon a preclinical biochemical and molecular pharmacological rationale. While 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a key drug for more than three decades, many a combination chemotherapy with 5-FU and other drugs such as methyl-CCNU, vincristine, streptozocin, mitomycin C and so on has been studied extensively only to show no significant improvement compared with monotherapy with 5-FU. Recently, the mechanisms of 5-FU action have been recognized more in detail biochemically, and it enabled us to try the drug in a more optimal way. ⋯ It is also necessary to explore the clinical activity of the combination of low-dose cisplatin and 5-FU, chronotherapy, new dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase inhibitors and new TS inhibitors. We are facing a new era with a new treatment concept of biochemical modulation or an understanding of optimal administrative methods with the key drug, 5-FU. Obviously, we still seek new agents or new laboratory rationales which enable us to extend the survival of patients with advanced colorectal cancer.