We sought to determine whether a high-risk group could be defined among patients with operable breast cancer in whom a search of occult central nervous system (CNS) metastases was justified.
We ...evaluated data from 9524 women with early breast cancer (42% node-negative) who were randomized in International Breast Cancer Study Group clinical trials between 1978 and 1999, and treated without anthracyclines, taxanes, or trastuzumab. We identified patients whose site of first event was CNS and those who had a CNS event at any time.
Median follow-up was 13 years. The 10-year incidence (10-yr) of CNS relapse was 5.2% (1.3% as first recurrence). Factors predictive of CNS as first recurrence included: node-positive disease (10-yr = 2.2% for > 3 N+), estrogen receptor-negative (2.3%), tumor size > 2 cm (1.7%), tumor grade 3 (2.0%), < 35 years old (2.2%), HER2-positive (2.7%), and estrogen receptor-negative and node-positive (2.6%). The risk of subsequent CNS recurrence was elevated in patients experiencing lung metastases (10-yr = 16.4%).
Based on this large cohort we were able to define risk factors for CNS metastases, but could not define a group at sufficient risk to justify routine screening for occult CNS metastases.
To explore prognostic factors for locoregional failures (LRF) among women treated for invasive breast cancer within clinical trials of adjuvant therapies.
The study population consisted of 5,352 ...women who were treated with a modified radical mastectomy and enrolled in one of seven International Breast Cancer Study Group randomized trials. A total of 1,275 women with node-negative disease received either no adjuvant therapy or a single cycle of perioperative chemotherapy, and 4,077 women with node-positive disease received adjuvant chemotherapy of at least 3 months' duration and/or tamoxifen. Median follow-up is 12 to 15.5 years.
In women with node-negative disease, factors associated with increased risk of LRF were vascular invasion (VI) and tumor size greater than 2 cm for premenopausal and VI for postmenopausal patients. Of the 1,275 patients, 345 (27%) met criteria for the highest risk groups, and the 10-year cumulative incidences of LRF with or without distant metastases were 16% for premenopausal and 19% for postmenopausal women. For the node-positive cohort, number of nodes and tumor grade were factors for both menopausal groups, with additional prediction provided by VI for premenopausal and tumor size for postmenopausal patients. Of the 4,077 patients, 815 (20%) met criteria for the highest risk groups, and 10-year cumulative incidences were 35% for premenopausal and 34% for postmenopausal women.
LRFs are a significant problem after mastectomy alone even for some patients with node-negative breast cancer, as well as after mastectomy and adjuvant treatment for some subgroups of patients with node-positive disease. In addition to number of positive lymph nodes, predictors of LRF include tumor-related factors, such as vascular invasion, higher grade, and larger size.
Background: Current information on the prognostic importance of body mass index (BMI) for patients with early breast cancer is based on a variety of equivocal reports. Few have data on BMI in ...relationship to systemic treatment. Patients and methods: Patients (6792) were randomized to International Breast Cancer Study Group trials from 1978 to 1993, studying chemotherapy and endocrine therapy. BMI was evaluated with eight other factors: menopausal status, nodal status, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, tumor size, vessel invasion, tumor grade and treatment. BMI was categorized as normal (≤24.9), intermediate (25.0–29.9) or obese (≥30.0). Results: Patients with normal BMI had significantly longer overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) than patients with intermediate or obese BMI in pairwise comparisons adjusted for other factors. Subset analyses showed the same effect in pre- and perimenopausal patients and in those receiving chemotherapy alone. When assessed globally and adjusted for other factors, BMI significantly influenced OS (P = 0.03) but not DFS (P = 0.12). Conclusions: BMI is an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with breast cancer, especially among pre-/perimenopausal patients treated with chemotherapy without endocrine therapy.
Abstract Background Several attempts to increase the locoregional control in locally advanced lung cancer including concurrent chemotherapy, accelerated fractionation and dose escalation have been ...made during the last years. As the EGFR directed antibody cetuximab has shown activity concurrent with radiotherapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, as well as in stage IV NSCLC combined with chemotherapy, we wanted to investigate radiotherapy with concurrent cetuximab in locally advanced NSCLC, a tumour type often over expressing the EGF-receptor. Methods Between February 2006 and August 2007 75 patients in stage III NSCLC with good performance status (PS 0 or 1) and adequate lung function (FEV1 > 1.0) were enrolled in this phase II study at eight institutions. Treatment consisted of 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy, docetaxel 75 mg/m2 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 with 3 weeks interval. An initial dose of cetuximab 400 mg/m2 was given before start of 3D-CRT to 68 Gy with 2 Gy per fraction in 7 weeks concurrent with weekly cetuximab 250 mg/m2 . Toxicity was scored weekly during radiotherapy (CTC 3.0), and after treatment the patients were followed every third month with CT-scans, toxicity scoring and QLQ. Results Seventy-one patients were eligible for analysis as four were incorrectly enrolled. Histology: adenocarcinoma 49%, squamous cell carcinoma 39% and other NSCLC 12%. The majority had PS 0 (62.5%), median age 62.2 (42–81), 50% were women and 37% had a pre-treatment weight loss > 5%. Toxicity: esophagitis grade 1–2: 72%; grade 3: 1.4%. Hypersensitivity reactions grade 3–4: 5.6%. Febrile neutropenia grade 3–4: 15.4%. Skin reactions grade 1–2: 74%; grade 3: 4.2%. Diarrhoea grade 1–2: 38%; grade 3: 11.3%. Pneumonitis grade 1–2: 26.8%; grade 3: 4.2%; grade 5: 1.4%. The median follow-up was 39 months for patients alive and the median survival was 17 months with a 1-, 2- and 3-year OS of 66%, 37% and 29% respectively. Until now local or regional failure has occurred in 20 patients and 22 patients have developed distant metastases. Weight loss, PS and stage were predictive for survival in univariate as well as in multivariate analysis. Conclusion Induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent cetuximab and RT to 68 Gy is clearly feasible with promising survival. Toxicity, e.g. pneumonitis and esophagitis is low compared to most schedules with concurrent chemotherapy. This treatment strategy should be evaluated in a randomised manner vs. concurrent chemoradiotherapy to find out if it is a valid treatment option.
Retrospective studies have demonstrated a worse outcome in breast cancer patients not developing leukopenia during adjuvant chemotherapy. The SBG 2000-1 is the first randomised trial designed to ...compare individually dosed chemotherapy without G-CSF support based on grade of toxicity to standard-dosed chemotherapy based on body surface area (BSA).
Patients with early breast cancer were included and received the first cycle of standard FEC (fluorouracil 600 mg/m2, epirubicin 60 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2). Patients with nadir leukopenia grade 0–2 after first cycle were randomised between either 6 additional courses of tailored FEC with increased doses (E 75–90 mg/m2, C 900–1200 mg/m2) or fixed treatment with 6 standard FEC. Patients with grade 3–4 leukopenia were registered and treated with 6 standard FEC. Primary end-point was distant disease-free survival (DDFS).
The study enrolled 1535 patients, of which 1052 patients were randomised to tailored FEC (N = 524) or standard FEC (N = 528), whereas 401 patients with leukopenia grade 3–4 continued standard FEC and formed the registered cohort. Dose escalation did not statistically significantly improve 10-year DDFS (79% and 77%, HR 0.87, CI 0.67–1.14, P = 0.32) or OS (82% and 78%, respectively, HR 0.89, CI 0.57–1.16, P = 0.38). Corresponding estimates for the registered group of patients were DDFS 79% and OS 82%, respectively.
The SBG 2000-1 study failed to show a statistically significant improvement of escalated and tailored-dosed chemotherapy compared with standard BSA-based chemotherapy in patients with low haematological toxicity, although all efficacy parameters showed a numerical advantage for tailored treatment.
•Tailoring adjuvant chemotherapy dosage based on toxicity was feasible.•No significant benefit of dose escalation, except in grade 3 tumours.•Outcome implies that sufficient haematological toxicity is more important than dose.•Individually tailored dosage of chemotherapy needs further examinations.
Summary Background Early improvements in disease-free survival have been noted when an aromatase inhibitor is given either instead of or sequentially after tamoxifen in postmenopausal women with ...oestrogen-receptor-positive early breast cancer. However, little information exists on the long-term effects of aromatase inhibitors after treatment, and whether these early improvements lead to real gains in survival. Methods 4724 postmenopausal patients with unilateral invasive, oestrogen-receptor-positive or oestrogen-receptor-unknown breast cancer who were disease-free on 2–3 years of tamoxifen, were randomly assigned to switch to exemestane (n=2352) or to continue tamoxifen (n=2372) for the remainder of a 5-year endocrine treatment period. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival; overall survival was a secondary endpoint. Efficacy analyses were intention-to-treat. This study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number ISRCTN11883920. Results After a median follow-up of 55·7 months (range 0–89·7), 809 events contributing to the analysis of disease-free survival had been reported (354 exemestane, 455 tamoxifen); unadjusted hazard ratio 0·76 (95% CI 0·66–0·88, p=0·0001) in favour of exemestane, absolute benefit 3·3% (95% CI 1·6–4·9) by end of treatment (ie, 2·5 years after randomisation). 222 deaths occurred in the exemestane group compared with 261 deaths in the tamoxifen group; unadjusted hazard ratio 0·85 (95% CI 0·71–1·02, p=0·08), 0·83 (0·69–1·00, p=0·05) when 122 patients with oestrogen-receptor-negative disease were excluded. Conclusions Our results suggest that early improvements in disease-free survival noted in patients who switch to exemestane after 2–3 years on tamoxifen persist after treatment, and translate into a modest improvement in overall survival.
Extracapsular tumor spread (ECS) has been identified as a possible risk factor for breast cancer recurrence, but controversy exists regarding its role in decision making for regional radiotherapy. ...This study evaluates ECS as a predictor of local, axillary, and supraclavicular recurrence.
International Breast Cancer Study Group Trial VI accrued 1475 eligible pre- and perimenopausal women with node-positive breast cancer who were randomly assigned to receive three to nine courses of classical combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil. ECS status was determined retrospectively in 933 patients based on review of pathology reports. Cumulative incidence and hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using methods for competing risks analysis. Adjustment factors included treatment group and baseline patient and tumor characteristics. The median follow-up was 14 years.
In univariable analysis, ECS was significantly associated with supraclavicular recurrence (HR=1.96; 95% confidence interval 1.23–3.13; P = 0.005). HRs for local and axillary recurrence were 1.38 (P = 0.06) and 1.81 (P = 0.11), respectively. Following adjustment for number of lymph node metastases and other baseline prognostic factors, ECS was not significantly associated with any of the three recurrence types studied.
Our results indicate that the decision for additional regional radiotherapy should not be based solely on the presence of ECS.
We investigated tumor- and patient-related features that might influence the response to perioperative chemotherapy (PeCT) compared with no adjuvant therapy for patients with node-negative breast ...cancer.
A total of 1,275 patients were randomized to either no adjuvant treatment (427 patients) or PeCT (848 patients). The following variables thought to have prognostic significance were evaluated: grade, tumor size, estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) content (absent; low, 1 to 9 fmol/mg cytosol protein; or positive, > or = 10 fmol/mg cytosol protein), c-erbB-2 overexpression, menopausal status, and age. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the relative influence of these factors to predict the effect of PeCT on disease-free survival (DFS). Median follow-up was 13.5 years.
The 10-year DFS percentage for 692 premenopausal patients did not significantly differ between the PeCT and no-adjuvant-treatment groups: 61% and 59%, respectively (relative risk RR, 0.95; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.75 to 1.20; P = .70). No predictive factors were identified. For 583 postmenopausal patients, 10-year DFS percentages for the groups were 63% and 58%, respectively (RR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.93; P = .03). The absence of expression of ER, PgR, or both ER and PgR was the most important factor predicting improved outcome with PeCT among postmenopausal patients. The 10-year DFS percentages were 85% and 53% for the steroid hormone receptor-absent cohort of treated and untreated patients, respectively (RR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.49; P = .0009).
The role of PeCT should be explored for patients whose primary tumors do not express steroid hormone receptors, because it is likely that early initiation of treatment is exclusively relevant for such patients.
Gender dysphoria and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) co-occur at high rates. Yet, it is unknown whether gender dysphoria and ASD are associated with common or distinct neurobiological correlates or ...how they relate to experiences of gender-related body incongruence. Using the Social Responsiveness Scale, we assessed autistic traits in 99 transgender and 99 cisgender individuals and investigated their associations with gender-related body incongruence, measured via a visually based “Body Morph” test, and with cortical thickness in the brain. Autistic traits were significantly higher among transgender individuals, and those with higher autistic traits had higher body incongruence scoring. Among transgender individuals, higher autistic traits were linked with a thinner cortex bilaterally in the temporal pole and the superior and inferior temporal gyri. Autistic traits were only partly associated with cortical morphology patterns previously reported in transgender individuals; instead, they were primarily linked to temporal lobe areas mediating social cognition. While replicating the previous literature on the increased prevalence of autistic traits among transgender individuals, this study reports specific regions in the brains of transgender individuals where cortical thickness is associated with autistic traits.
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