Efficacy of Pre- and Postoperative Chemotherapy in Patients with Osteosarcoma of the Extremities

PURPOSE

We evaluated the treatment efficacy including survival and recurrence, and factors associated with recurrence in osteosarcoma patients treated with preoperative chemotherapy, surgery, and adjuvant chemotherapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty nine patients with osteosarcoma were treated with preoperative chemotherapy with intra-arterial cisplatin and adriamycin infusion for 3 cycles, followed by surgery. According to the pathologic response, if tumor was necrotized more than 90%, the same adjuvant chemotherapy was reintroduced for 3 cycles, and if the response was not enough, then the salvage regimen was introduced. Plain chest film and chest CT scan were taken monthly and every 3 months, respectively. When tumor recurred, the metastasectomy was performed whenever possible.

RESULTS

Forty three patients were evaluable with amedian follow up of 53 months. Five-year disease-free and overallsurvival rate was 47.0% and 66.9%, respectively. The recurrence was observed in 22 patients (51.2%) with median time of 12.5 months. Baseline alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was the only significant factor for recurrence (p=0.03) and the patients with the possibility of metastasectomy recurrence showed higher post-relapse survival compared to other treatment modalities (26 momths vs 5~12 months).

CONCLUSION

These results indicates that pre- and postoperative chemotherapy with intra-arterial cisplatin and adriamycin infusion showed comparable treatment efficacy and acceptable toxicities.

External validation of nomogram for the prediction of recurrence after curative resection in early gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Nomograms are statistics-based tools that provide the overall probability of a specific outcome. In our previous study, we developed a nomogram that predicts recurrence of early gastric cancer (EGC) after curative resection. We carried out this study to externally validate our EGC nomogram.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The EGC nomogram was established from a retrospective EGC database that included 2923 consecutive patients. This nomogram was independently externally validated for a cohort of 1058 consecutive patients. For the EGC nomogram validation, we assessed both discrimination and calibration.

RESULTS

Within the follow-up period (median 37 months), a total of 11 patients (1.1%) experienced recurrence. The concordance index (c-index) was 0.7 (P = 0.02) and the result of the overall C index was 0.82 [P = 0.006, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59-1.00]. The goodness of fit test showed that the EGC nomogram had significantly good fit for 1- and 2-year survival intervals (P = 0.998 and 0.879, respectively). The actual and predicted survival outcomes showed good agreement, suggesting that the survival predictions from the nomogram are well calibrated externally.

CONCLUSIONS

A preexisting nomogram for predicting disease-free survival (DFS) of EGC after surgery was externally validated. The nomogram is useful for accurate and individual prediction of DFS, patient prognostication, counseling, and follow-up planning.

Changing patterns of prognosticators during long-term follow-up of gastric cancer after D2–3 resection and adjuvant chemotherapy: 15-year follow-up at one Korean institution

4050

Background: Clinical outcome of long-term follow-up after 5 years of gastrectomy, such as recurrence or survival rate, recurrence patterns, and prognosticators, have not been studied well. We evaluated long-term natural history of gastric cancer with a median follow up duration of 15 years after D2–3 resection and adjuvant chemotherapy at a single institution. Especially in survived patients after 5 years of surgery, we analyzed risk factors for recurrence or survival. Methods: A total of 525 patients with stage IB to IVM0 (AJCC 2002) were accrued between 1984 and 1996. As a standard surgery, radical gastrectomy with D2–3 lymphadenectomy was performed. All the patients had adjuvant 5-FU plus adriamycin chemotherapy and 160 of them had also immunotherapy with poly A:U. Results: The median follow-up duration was 191 months. 15 patients (2.9%) were lost to follow-up with median follow-up of 45 months. 15-year disease-free and overall survival rates were 49.5% and 42.9%, respectively. In survivors after 5 years, recurrence rate was 16.0% (11.3% between 5 and 10 years; 4.7% after 10 years). The dominant recurrence patterns were distant metastasis (29.0%) between 5 and 10 years and secondary cancer (53.9%) after 10 years of surgery. Stage (IB vs II vs IIIA vs IIIB vs IVM0) was a clear-cut prognosticator during 5 years of gastrectomy, but its significance was lost between 5 to 10 years. At this time, only stage IVM0 was a significant poor prognosticator for gastric cancer-specific recurrence (HR = 6.61; P = 0.000) and cancer-specific death (HR = 7.04, P = 0.000). However, stage did not represent any significance after 10 years of surgery. Conclusions: In gastric carcinoma with D2–3 resection and adjuvant treatment, late recurrences after 5 years of surgery were not rare. Prognosticators were different in survivors after 5-years, 5–10 years and more than 10 years of surgery.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

A phase II study of oral S-1 with pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenomic investigation in advanced or recurrent gastric cancer

4072

Background: Present study describes the first phase II study of S-1 including pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenomic evaluation for extra-Japanese Asian population with advanced gastric cancer. Methods: Chemo-naive advanced gastric cancer with measurable disease was enrolled. Initial dose of S-1 was b.i.d. at 35, then 40 mg/m2 according to devised dosing method (range, 90–160 mg/day) for 28 days every 6 weeks. Pharmacokinetic study was performed after 28-day administration at cycle 1 and 3. Microarray based CGH was performed with genomic DNA from peripheral mononuclear cells to detect the toxicity-related genetic changes. Results: When first 31 patients were enrolled, protocol was amended to conduct the study by two steps for additional patients at 40 mg/m2 without dose escalation in initial 31 patients of 35 mg/m2, because these patients showed neither significant nor cumulative toxicity. Of 62 patients enrolled, median relative dose intensity was 0.99. Overall response rate was 19.3% (95% CI, 9.2–29.5). With 558-day follow-up duration, median TTP and OS were 126 and 264 days, respectively. One-year survival rate was 33.9%. Toxicity increased with dose escalation, but there was no grade 4 toxicity. The most common significant toxicity was anemia. Pharmacokinetics parameters were similar to those of Japanese population. In microarray-CGH, we selected 18 genes with different copy numbers of 13 amplified and 5 deleted genes in patients with anemia. Conclusions: Our phase II study showed the feasibility of S-1 in gastric cancer at the dose of 35 mg/m2, and we suggested that selected 18 genes might be candidate markers for predicting anemia with S-1 treatment.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Irofulven as first line therapy in recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer: a phase II multicenter study by the Cancer Therapeutics Research Group (CTRG)

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of irofulven, a DNA interacting acylfulvene analog, as first line therapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twenty-three patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer received irofulven at a dose of 0.45 mg/kg administered intravenously over 30-min infusion (up to a maximum of 50 mg), on days 1 and 8, every 3 weeks.

RESULTS

The median number of cycles delivered per patient was 2 (range 1-6). Two patients (9%) had >or= 1-week delay in administration of subsequent cycle of chemotherapy. For the day 8 chemotherapy, dose reductions were required in seven patients (30%); dose omitting occurred in five patients (22%). Grade 3/4 anemia and neutropenia occurred in 22 and 17% of patients, respectively. There was no grade 4 thrombocytopenia and no neutropenic fever was observed. Of the 20 evaluable patients, there were no responses observed, 3 patients had stable disease after 2 cycles of treatment which was not confirmed by a further assessment. Median overall survival was 6.05 months (95% CI 4.55-9.39).

CONCLUSIONS

Irofulven was tolerated at the dose of 0.45 mg/kg on days 1 and 8, every 3 weeks but showed no evidence of antitumor activity in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with infusional 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (iFAC) in locally advanced breast cancer: an early response predicts good prognosis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (iFAC) in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eighty-two LABC patients were treated with neoadjuvant iFAC chemotherapy including infusional 5-FU (1000 mg/m2, continuous intravenous infusion, days 1-3), adriamycin (40 mg/m2, intravenous bolus, day 1) and cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2, intravenous bolus, day 1) every 3 weeks until maximum tumor response. Patients subsequently received surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy as appropriate.

RESULTS

Downstaging occurred in 71 of the 82 patients (86.6%). Seventy-two patients (67 patients with downstaging and five patients without downstaging) were resectable (resectability rate, 87.8%). The clinical response rate was 84.2%, with a complete response (CR) rate of 17.1% and a pathological CR rate of 7.8%. During 891 cycles of chemotherapy, the most common grade 3/4 hematological toxicity was leukopenia (36.0%). There were no treatment-related deaths. The median follow-up period was 51 months, with a median overall survival (OS) of 66 months, and a 5 year OS rate of 50.9% for all patients. The 5 year OS and disease-free survival (DFS) rates of the 64 patients who underwent surgery were 55.8% and 44.7%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with iFAC had a comparable response rate and DFS to the conventional bolus FAC regimen, with an acceptable toxicity in LABC using the AJCC 2002 staging system. An early response to neoadjuvant iFAC was a favorable prognostic factor.

Different role of functional domains of hTR in DNA binding to telomere and telomerase reconstruction

Even if template sequence of hTR played an essential role in telomere binding, a 326 nucleotide fragment of hTR containing template, pseudoknot, and CR4-5 domains is critical for both binding with telomeric DNA and reconstitution of telomerase activity. A functional study with antisense oligonucleotides suggested that targeted disruption of the template region efficiently abrogated both telomeric DNA binding and telomerase activity, whereas disruption of the CR4-5 region induced only loss of telomerase activity. hTR interacts with telomeric DNA via structural region composed of the template, pseudoknot, and CR4-5 domains, however, each structural domain plays a distinct role in telomere binding and telomerase activity reconstitution.

Treatment of advanced gastric cancer by palliative gastrectomy, cytoreductive therapy and postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

The treatment options for the 10-20 per cent of patients with gastric cancer who present with peritoneal dissemination are extremely limited and no standard approach exists.

METHODS

The feasibility of using intraperitoneal chemotherapy to treat gastric cancer with intra-abdominal gross residual lesions after palliative gastrectomy with maximal cytoreduction was investigated. Early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy started on the day of operation with 5-fluorouracil 500 mg/m2 and cisplatin 40 mg/m2 (days 1-3) over a 4-week interval.

RESULTS

Of the 53 patients enrolled between July 1994 and December 1998, 49 were eligible. The progression-free survival (PFS) was 7 months and the overall survival was 12 months. In multivariate analysis, performance status was the only significant defining factor for PFS (P = 0.009). The predominant toxicity was neutropenia and nausea/vomiting. The relative dose intensity of 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin was 89 and 63 per cent respectively.

CONCLUSION

Performance status emerged as a major determining factor for prognosis and patient selection for early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer after maximally cytoreductive surgery.

Monthly 5-days 5-fluorouracil and low-dose leucovorin for adjuvant chemotherapy in colon cancer

We investigated the dose-related effect of the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/leucovorin regimen on survival in 139 colon cancer patients with Dukes' B2 and C2 stage disease. Chemotherapy consisted of 400 mg/m(2) of 5-FU and 20 mg/m(2) of leucovorin injected daily for 5 days in every 4 weeks for a maximum of 12 cycles. The total dose of 5-FU administered per body surface area had a significant effect on the 5-year disease-free survival and 5-year overall survival in stage B2 and C2 colon cancer patients (P=0.0018, P=0.0011). Analysis with reference to the median DSDI demonstrated that there was a significant difference in 5-year survival in Dukes' C2 (P=0.0016), but survival was not affected by the dose intensity. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that only the total dose of 5-FU administered per surface area affected the 5-year disease-free survival and 5-year overall survival (P=0.0016, P=0.0007, respectively). It can be concluded that the total dose of 5-FU administered is important in planned dosage schedule of adjuvant chemotherapy in colon cancer.

Adjuvant 5-fluorouracil plus doxorubicin in D2-3 resected gastric carcinoma: 15-year experience at a single institute

BACKGROUND

The authors evaluated the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus doxorubicin in gastric carcinoma after D2-3 curative resection. They also evaluated the effect of dose-related factors (delivered total dose/m(2), actual dose intensity [ADI], relative dose intensity [RDI]) of this regimen on patient survival.

METHODS

A total of 301 patients with Stage II to IV (en bloc resected T4b; 1984 American Joint Committee on Cancer staging) were accrued between 1984 and 1996. Chemotherapy was started within 4 weeks of surgery according to the following schedule: intravenous bolus injection of doxorubicin 40 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for 12 cycles and 5-FU 400 mg/m2 weekly for 60 weeks. The toxicity and survival were evaluated.

RESULTS

The median follow-up duration was 58 months. Sixty-four percent of the total patients and 71.7% of the patients who did not experience recurrence during the chemotherapy finished the protocol completely with acceptable toxicities. The 5- and 10-year disease free survival rates of total 301 patients were 58.4% and 46.5%, and the overall survival rates were 62.1% and 50.5%, respectively. Treatment completion group showed survival benefit over the early termination group in 5-year survival (75.2% vs. 52.9%; P = 0.0005). The median ADI of 5-FU and doxorubicin were 349 and 11 mg/m2/week, and the median RDIs of 5-FU and doxorubicin were 0.87 and 0.83, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that completion of chemotherapy is an independent prognostic factor of both disease free and overall survival. However, ADI and RDI did now show any effect on survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-FU plus doxorubicin for 60 weeks after D2-3 dissection induced promising survival duration with acceptable toxicities. Full administration of the planned dosage of the combined drugs is recommendable as opposed to early termination of the chemotherapy in gastric carcinoma.

Effect of vinorelbine, ifosfamide, and cisplatin combination chemotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is being tried in the treatment of nonoperable cases of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the prognosis is unfavorable and to improve survival, clinical studies using various combinations of a variety of drugs as well as experimental material are in progress. We compared the efficacy and toxicities of combination chemotherapy using different doses of vinorelbine and ifosfamide with a constant dose of cisplatin in this study. Patients diagnosed with inoperable stage III or IV NSCLC between June 1997 and December 1998 were included. Cisplatin was administered at a constant dose of 80 mg/m2 on day 5, whereas vinorelbine on days 1 and 5 and ifosfamide on day 5 were administered in one of two different doses. In arm A, vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 and ifosfamide 3.0 g/m2 were administered. In arm B, vinorelbine 20 mg/m2 and ifosfamide 2.5 g/m2 were administered. Also, we reviewed for phase II and III studies that test 1) cisplatin, 2) vinorelbine monotherapy, and 3) vinorelbine/cisplatin/ifosfamide combination chemotherapy for stage IIIb-IV non-SCLC. Summation dose intensity (SDI) was calculated in each published and current study. Twenty patients in arm A and 35 patients in arm B were available for evaluation. There was no difference in patient activity, pathologic diagnosis, and differentiation or stage between the two arms. The median number of cycles was four in both arms. The response rate was 50% in arm A and 30% in arm B. The median survival times for arm A and B were 40 and 42 weeks, respectively, whereas the SDI was 1.94 and 1.7, respectively. More than grade III leukopenia was observed in 28.9% in arm A, which is more frequent than the 17.2% in arm B. There was a significant correlation between the SDIs and response rates and median survival (r2 = 0.629, p = 0.001; r2 = 0.453, p = 0.001, respectively). Although the follow-up period is relatively short, the survival time was similar in both arms. Because a high response rate may not be followed by a high survival time in combination chemotherapy of NSCLC, further studies on the appropriate dose of individual agents with regard to the relationship between response rate, severity, and incidence of toxicities and survival rate should be carried out.