Danazol is a synthetic steroid that inhibits the gonadotropin secretion. Its efficacy was tested in 27 patients with metastatic breast cancer at the dose of 200 mg three times daily. Characteristics ...of patients were as follows. The median age was 57 years (range, 44-85). All patients were postmenopausal, and all had previously received a median of two (range, 1-3) endocrine therapies. Estrogen receptor status was known in 12 (positive in five of 12; negative in seven of 12). Dominant sites of metastases were lung in seven, bone in ten, liver in three, and soft tissue in seven. Six of 27 patients were unevaluable for response (early death, four; lost to follow-up, two). Three of 21 patients showed an objective response, eight of 21 obtained stabilization of disease, and eight progressed. The therapy was well tolerated in the majority: gastric pain was observed in three and nausea in two. Danazol could have a role in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer as an alternative regimen when other treatment has failed.
This retrospective study analyzes overall survival and relapse-free survival after mastectomy and survival after recurrence of 302 patients with metastatic breast cancer. In the whole group the ...median survival after mastectomy is 99 months: 5-year survival rate is 68.4% and 10-year survival rate is 38.5%. The median survival from relapse was 36 months: 5-year and 10-year survival rates were respectively 26.8 and 18.9%. Various subsets of patients divided according to several prognostic factors have been analyzed.
The antitumoral activity and toxicity of a new daunorubicin analog (4-demethoxydaunorubicin, IMI 30, Idarubicin) was tested in 20 consecutive patients with non-small cell lung cancer mostly ...pretreated with chemotherapy. The drug was administered orally at a dose of 15 mg/m2 for three days every 3-4 weeks. There were no clinical responses. Hematological and nonhematological toxicities were mild.
Aminoglutethimide, a drug known to block adrenal steroidogenesis and peripheral aromatization of androgens to estrogens, has been found effective in the treatment of breast cancer. The drug has been ...used in our Institute to treat 71 consecutive metastatic breast cancer patients. Of 67 patients evaluable for response, 9 (13.4%) have achieved a partial response, 30 (44.7%) stable disease, and 28 (41.7%) progression of disease. Four patients were taken off the therapy because of drug-related toxicity.
Experimental data show that sequencing methotrexate (MTX) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) may result in synergistic antitumor activity. Moreover, the effect of 5-FU is increased by folinic acid (FA), and ...finally, cyclophosphamide (CPA) produces an expansion of tumor growth fraction, suggesting an increased cytotoxic effect of cycle-specific drugs subsequently administered. Based on these premises, we have performed a Phase II study with CPA (600 mg/m2 i.v., day 1), MTX (200 mg/m2 1-h i.v. infusion, day 7), 5-FU (600 mg/m2 i.v., day 8), and FA (500 mg/m2 2-h i.v. infusion, day 8 plus 15 mg p.o. every 6 h on days 8 and 9) administered every 3 weeks. Thirty-six patients with metastatic breast cancer were admitted into the study. Median age was 52 years, and all but two patients were postmenopausal. Dominant sites of metastases were soft tissues in 10 patients, bones in 7 patients, and viscera in 19 patients. All patients were pretreated with chemo- and/or hormone therapy. Sixteen patients achieved an objective response (44.5%: 1 complete response and 15 partial responses), 8 had stable disease (SD) (22.2%), and 12 progressed (33.3%). Twenty-one patients had previously received conventional CMF in an adjuvant setting (15 patients) or for metastases (6 patients): 1 complete response (CR) and 7 partial responses (PR) were obtained in the first group and 1 in the second. Major toxic effects were hair loss (56.4%), nausea and vomiting (72%), mucositis (52.5%), and leukopenia (61%). A randomized study could be useful to assess the role of sequential CMF versus conventional CMF in metastatic breast cancer patients.
Twenty-seven consecutive patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma were treated with low-dose cisplatin and etoposide. Out of 25 evaluable patients, 8% had a partial ...response, 56% had stable disease and 36% had disease progression. The overall median survival was 4 months. The survival of the two responding patients was 5 and 6.5 months. The patients showing stable disease or progression had a median survival of 6 and 3 months, respectively. Toxicity including myelosuppression, nephrotoxicity and gastrointestinal side effects was generally mild. In this trial the combination of low-dose cisplatin and etoposide did not yield the same positive results observed by other authors. The different selection of patients and criteria of response evaluation could represent the main reason for this disagreement in results.
Current trends of globalization have influenced the social, economic, and political framework of national media worldwide. In recent years, the field of media studies has focused on globalization as ...a phenomenon that has greatly impacted the production and reception of media formats. By reshaping local economies, diversifying societies, and introducing digital technologies, the globalization of media has enacted a process of re-definition of national and local broadcasting. Beyond Monopoly: Globalization and Contemporary Italian Media examines the impact of globalization on contemporary Italian media. By engaging both the production and reception levels of different media, this volume assesses the extent to which Italian media have been part of current trends of media flows and have responded to the centrifugal and centripetal forces of globalization. The contributors to this edited volume touch upon a wide diversity of issues, such as foreign ownership on Satellite TV, the effects of digital technology on media policy making, and the framing of "Otherness" in the news. Beyond Monopoly provides a unique case study of the complexity of national media in the era of globalization that will appeal to students as well as scholars of global and national media systems.
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