In today's airborne mapping applications, there is a strong push towards higher-resolution sensors for high-end digital systems. This large-format sensor development aims to reduce the data ...acquisition (flight) time and cost, leading to higher productivity for the end-user. Due to the increased sensor resolution, these new systems allow higher flight altitude for the same ground sampling distance (GSD), thereby covering substantially larger swath width (distance covered across track during flight). Alternatively, at similar altitude, the system will deliver higher ground resolution. The described sensor exceeds the highest pixel count of sensors used for aerial mapping applications reported in a recent survey paper 1.
Abstract Background The contribution of adjuvant tamoxifen in breast cancer patients after receiving adjuvant chemotherapy is not fully established. We investigated the impact of tamoxifen, given ...sequentially after completion of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with operable breast cancer. Patients and methods Between March 1991 and June 1999, 1863 women with stages I–IIIA operable breast cancer who had undergone surgery and completed six cycles of adjuvant combination chemotherapy with either CMF, CAF, CEF, FAC or FEC were randomised to receive either tamoxifen 20 mg daily for 3 years or no further treatment. Irrespective of menstrual status and hormone receptor content of the primary tumour, patients were stratified by institute, chemotherapy scheme and age (above 50 years or younger). The main end-point was to detect a 5% increase in the 5 year survival (from 80% to 85%) in favour of antioestrogen therapy. Secondary end-points were relapse free survival (RFS), local control, incidence of second primary breast cancer and correlation of results with hormone receptor content. Results After exclusion of all patients from three sites because of inadequate documentation, a total of 1724 patients (93%) were analysed (Tam 861 and Control 863). At a median follow-up of 6.5 years, 5-year RFS on tamoxifen was 73% versus 67% in controls ( p = 0.035). No difference was seen in overall survival. The benefit of tamoxifen therapy was mainly seen in the subgroup of patients with histologically documented positive axillary nodes (5-year RFS on tamoxifen 71% versus 64% in the control group, p = 0.044) and in patients with tumours expressing the ER and PR positive phenotype (5-year RFS on tamoxifen 77% versus 70% in the control group, p = 0.014). Conclusions Tamoxifen administered for 3 years after completion of adjuvant chemotherapy in this otherwise unselected group of patients for endocrine sensitivity had a limited impact on relapse and had no detectable effect on overall survival. The beneficial effect of tamoxifen is mainly confined to the subgroup of patients with node-positive disease and to patients with tumours expressing the ER and PR positive phenotype.
Byline: Stella Mook (1), Marjanka K. Schmidt (1), Giuseppe Viale (2,3), Giancarlo Pruneri (2,3), Inge Eekhout (1), Arno Floore (4), Annuska M. Glas (4), Jan Bogaerts (5), Fatima Cardoso (6), Martine ...J. Piccart-Gebhart (6), Emiel T. Rutgers (7), Laura J. Veer (1,4) Keywords: Node-positive breast cancer; Gene expression signature; Prognosis Purpose The 70-gene prognosis-signature has shown to be a valid prognostic tool in node-negative breast cancer. Although axillary lymph node status is considered to be one of the most important prognostic factors, still 25--30% of node-positive breast cancer patients will remain free of distant metastases, even without adjuvant systemic therapy. We therefore investigated whether the 70-gene prognosis-signature can accurately identify patients with 1--3 positive lymph nodes who have an excellent disease outcome. Methods Frozen tumour samples from 241 patients with operable T1-3 breast cancer, and 1--3 positive axillary lymph nodes, with a median follow-up of 7.8 years, were selected from 2 institutes. Using a customized microarray, tumour samples were analysed for the 70-gene tumour expression signature. In addition, we reanalysed part of a previously described cohort (n = 106) with extended follow-up. Results The 10-year distant metastasis-free (DMFS) and breast cancer specific survival (BCSS) probabilities were 91% (SE 4%) and 96% (SE 2%), respectively for the good prognosis-signature group (99 patients), and 76% (SE 4%) and 76% (SE 4%), respectively for the poor prognosis-signature group (142 patients). The 70-gene signature was significantly superior to the traditional prognostic factors in predicting BCSS with a multivariate hazard ratio (HR) of 7.17 (95% CI 1.81 to 28.43 P = 0.005). Conclusions The 70-gene prognosis-signature outperforms traditional prognostic factors in predicting disease outcome in patients with 1--3 positive nodes. Moreover, the signature can accurately identify patients with an excellent disease outcome in node-positive breast cancer, who may be safely spared adjuvant chemotherapy. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2) Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy (3) School of Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy (4) Agendia BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (5) European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Brussels, Belgium (6) Department of Medical Oncology, Jules Bordet Institute, Brussels, Belgium (7) Department of Surgical Oncology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (8) Article History: Registration Date: 08/07/2008 Received Date: 07/07/2008 Accepted Date: 07/07/2008 Online Date: 27/07/2008 Article note: Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: 10.1007/s10549-008-0130-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Abstract EORTC Headquarters plays a unique role in coordinating and supporting large-scale pan-European cancer clinical and translational research. Initially established to provide efficient ...methodological and coordinating services to the EORTC Research groups and to ensure professional involvement of the organization, it has grown over the years in step with an increasing number and complexity of cancer clinical trials. Recent advances in laboratories around the world have shed light on the biology of cancer, and EORTC Headquarters, armed with a competent and dedicated staff, continues to advance the state of cancer clinical research and implement the appropriate infrastructures to support the conduct of the next generation of cancer clinical trials.
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