This study aimed to provide real-world safety and effectiveness data of everolimus (EVE) plus exemestane (EXE) in estrogen receptor positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (ER
.../HER2
) advanced breast cancer (aBC).
This prospective observational study was conducted by 19 hospital-based oncologists in Greece. Eligible patients were treated with EVE+EXE in the first-line setting; EVE was initiated according to the approved label.
Overall, 75 eligible patients (mean age: 66.9 years; visceral metastases: 49.3%; bone-only metastases: 37.3%) were included in the effectiveness analyses. Over a median (interquartile range) of 12.1 months (range=4.2-20.5 months) of EVE treatment, the median progression-free survival was 18.0 months and the overall response rate was 22.7%. Among patients that received ≥1 EVE dose (n=80), the incidence of EVE-related adverse events was 72.5% (serious: 55.0%); stomatitis (22.5%), fatigue (22.5%), pneumonitis (18.8%); and cough (18.8%) were the most common.
In the routine care in Greece, EVE demonstrates clinical benefit and a predictable safety profile.
The purpose of the Imadje study was to confirm the efficacy and safety of imatinib, following resection of kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST), in the adjuvant setting in the Greek ...population.
A total of 34 adult patients already receiving imatinib were enrolled. Recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival, as well as time to treatment failure and safety were assessed.
Overall survival could not be estimated in the present study, as no death occurred. Overall, 91.2% of patients were recurrence-free at 36 months, while the median time to treatment failure was 35 months. No new or unexpected safety findings were observed. Mutation analysis in 14 patients showed that the most frequent mutations were located in KIT exon 11 (64.3%) and exon 9 (28.6%). Univariate analysis showed that only surgical resection with a margin classification of R0 was associated with better RFS.
Adjuvant treatment with imatinib for 3 years in patients with intermediate to high risk of recurrence was proven to prolong RFS, while being well-tolerated and not exhibiting a negative impact on patient compliance with therapy.
In the recent Greek ages the most devastating epidemics were plague, smallpox, leprosy and cholera. In 1816 plague struck the Ionian and Aegean Islands, mainland Greece, Constantinople and Smyrna. ...The Venetians ruling the Ionian Islands effectively combated plague in contrast to the Ottomans ruling all other regions. In 1922, plague appeared in Patras refugees who were expelled by the Turks from Smyrna and Asia Minor. Inoculation against smallpox was first performed in Thessaly by the Greek women, and the Greek doctors Emmanouel Timonis (1713, Oxford) and Jakovos Pylarinos (1715, Venice) made relevant scientific publications. The first leper colony opened in Chios Island. In Crete, Spinalonga was transformed into a leper island, which following the Independence War against Turkish occupation and the unification of Crete with Greece in 1913, was classified as an International Leper Hospital. Cholera struck Greece in 1853-1854 brought by the French troops during the Crimean War, and again during the Balkan Wars (1912-13) when the Bulgarian troops brought cholera to northern Greece. Due to successive wars, medical assistance was not always available, so desperate people turned many times to religion through processions in honor of local saints, for their salvation in epidemics.
Posljednjih su stoljeća razarajuće za Grke bile epidemije kuge, boginja, gube i kolere. Godine 1816. kuga je pogodila otoke u Jonskom i Egejskom moru, kopnenu Grčku, Konstantinopol i Smirnu. Mlečani ...koji su vladali Jonskim otocima uspješno su se borili protiv kuge, za razliku od Osmanlija koji su upravljali ostalim regijama. Godine 1922. kuga se pojavila kod prognanika iz Patra, koje su Turci protjerali iz Smirne i Male Azije. Cijepljenje protiv malih
boginja najprije je provedeno u Tesali i izvodile su ga grčke žene, a grčki liječnici Emmanouel Timonis (1713., Oxford) i Jakovos Pylarinos (1715., Venecija) napisali su relevantne znanstvene publikacije. Prva kolonija gubavaca otvorena je na otoku Chiosu. Na Kreti je Spinalonga pretvorena u otok gubavaca koji je nakon rata za nezavisnost protiv turske okupacije i ujedinjenja Krete s Grčkom 1913. bio klasificiran kao Međunarodna bolnica za gubavce. Kolera je pogodila Grčku 1853. – 1854., a donijeli su je francuski vojnici tijekom Krimskog rata i opet tijekom balkanskih ratova (1912. – 1913.) kada su bugarske postrojbe donijele koleru u sjevernu Grčku.
Zbog uzastopnih ratova medicinska pomoć nije bila uvijek dostupna, tako da su se očajni ljudi više puta okretali religiji procesijama u čast lokalnih svetaca, za svoj spas u vrijeme epidemija.
Abstract Objectives To evaluate the role of secondary cytoreductive surgery in the management of patients with isolated nodal recurrence of epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods In this retrospective ...study, the data of 21 patients submitted to secondary cytoreductive surgery for isolated nodal recurrence were reviewed. All clinical characteristics at initial treatment and relapsing disease, operative and pathologic data of secondary cytoreduction and follow-up information were abstracted from the files and evaluated. Results Median age at initial treatment was 50 years; 15 patients (71%) had FIGO stage III/IV disease. Following primary surgical and systematic treatment, isolated nodal recurrence was diagnosed after a median DFI of 21 months (range 8–156). Location of nodal disease was pelvic in 4, paraaortic in 8, pelvic plus paraaortic in 4, inguinal in 4 and in the axilla in 1 of the patients. Median tumor size was 3 cm. CA-125 levels > 35 U/ml were present in 13 cases. Complete cytoreduction was achieved in 17 (81%) and optimal (≤ 1 cm) in another 2 (9.5%) of the patients. There was 1 incident of serious intraoperative bleeding. Median estimated blood loss was 200 ml and median hospital stay 5 days. After SCS all patients were treated with chemotherapy (20/21) and/or RT (4/21). At the end of a median follow-up of 45 months, 10 patients were alive and well, 6 alive with disease and 5 were dead. Median post-recurrence survival was 47 months and projected 5-year post-recurrence survival 68%. Median overall survival after initial diagnosis was 66 months. Conclusion In selected patients presenting with ILNR optimal cytoreduction is possible in most of the cases with low perioperative morbidity. Combined with post-operative treatment, SCS results in a favorable outcome. More data are needed to better define the role of surgery in these patients.
In human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER-2)-positive advanced breast cancer, taxanes plus trastuzumab are among the most widely applied options in the first-line setting. The addition of capecitabine ...to docetaxel significantly improves overall survival in anthracycline-pretreated metastatic breast cancer. We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of trastuzumab plus capecitabine and docetaxel regimen as first-line therapy.
HER-2-positive patients who had received adjuvant anthracyclines received docetaxel at 75 mg/m(2) on day 1 and capecitabine 950 mg/m(2)/day, days 1-14, every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Trastuzumab was administered at a dose of 6 mg/kg every 3 weeks. Time to progression (TTP) was defined as the primary end point.
Twenty-nine patients were evaluable (median age 52, range 34-70 years). The regimen achieved objective responses in 11 patients (38%), including complete response in three (10.3%) and partial response in eight (27.5%). The median overall survival time was 25.5 months, and the median progression-free survival time was 7.8 months. The safety profile of the combination was favorable and predictable, with a low incidence of grade 3/4 adverse events. The most common adverse events were hand-foot syndrome, and gastrointestinal toxicities. Severe myelosuppression was rare and cardiac toxicity did not occur.
These data confirm that the combination of trastuzumab plus capecitabine and docetaxel is highly active in patients with HER-2-overexpressing anthracycline-pretreated breast cancer, offering a significant survival benefit and is well tolerated.
Gemcitabine is an active agent in pancreatic cancer, showing clinical synergy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of ...gemcitabine and 5-FU in patients with advanced adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.
Forty-two patients (median age, 62 years), with advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, were enrolled in the study. The combination of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) and 5-FU (600 mg/m2) was administered on days 1, 8 and 15 and repeated every 28 days.
A total of 168 cycles (median 4 cycles per patient) were administered. Partial responses were observed in 6 patients (14.2%) and stable disease in 11 (26.2%). The overall clinical benefit was 40.4%. Symptom relief and improvement of performance status were observed in 18 (42.8%) patients. The median time to progression, median duration of response and the median overall survival, were 6, 7 and 13 months, respectively. The most common grade 3 to 4 toxicities were neutropenia, anaemia and diarrhoea.
The combination of gemcitabine and 5-FU is an active regimen for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer with an acceptable toxicity profile.
Biochemical abnormalities, increased efflux of soluble enzymes and muscle proteins, and altered permeability of muscle membranes imply the presence of a disorganized erythrocyte membrane in Duchenne ...muscular dystrophy (DMD). The purpose of the present study was to investigate this hypothesis of a generalized membrane defect.
Twenty-five patients with the disease were analyzed for their erythrocyte lipid composition and for alterations in their fatty acid content compared to twenty-five healthy subjects.
DMD patients showed a decreased concentration of total phospholipids compared to healthy volunteers, with striking fluctuations in concentrations of erythrocyte long chain fatty acids. Specifically, the unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic, linoleic and arachidonic acids were significantly decreased in the disease, whereas the saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid was increased in DMD patients compared to healthy controls.
Our findings suggest an abnormal fatty acid composition and disorganization of erythrocyte membrane in patients with DMD associated with possible functional alterations.
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