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2002 Abstracts

New Abstracts of interest from a MEDLINE search (colon OR colorectal) AND cancer. ENTERED next to an item means that item has been entered on the main pages of the website.

Last Updated: 3/9/02

  1. Chemotherapy
  2. Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy
  3. Surgery
  4. RF Ablation
  5. Miscellaneous


Chemo

  • >>>>>>2/24/02 Randomized phase II study of irinotecan plus mitomycin C vs. oxaliplatin plus mitomycin C in patients with advanced fluoropyrimidine/leucovorin-pretreated colorectal cancer Cancer Invest 2002;20(1):60-8 PMID: 11853004 CONCLUSIONS: Both mitomycin C combination regimens seem to provide an acceptable therapeutic index in patients with fluoropyrimidine/leucovorin-pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer. In view of the increasing need for a broader chemotherapeutic armentarium for second-line therapy of this common malignant disease, both regimens may be worthwhile to undergo further clinical investigation

  • 2/4/02 Incidence and severity of hand-foot syndrome in colorectal cancer patients treated with capecitabine: a single-institution experience Cancer Invest 2002;20(1):3-10 PMID: 11853000 CONCLUSIONS: HFS is common in patients treated with capecitabine, and usually starts within the first two cycles of therapy.

  • >>>>>>2/24/02 Intratumoral cancer chemotherapy and immunotherapy: opportunities for nonsystemic preoperative drug delivery J Pharm Pharmacol 2002 Feb;54(2):159-80 PMID: 11848280 The recent literature documents the growing interest in local intratumoral chemotherapy as well as systemic preoperative chemotherapy with evidence for improved outcomes using these therapeutic modalities. Nevertheless, with few exceptions, the conventional wisdom and standard of care for clinical and surgical oncology remains surgery followed by radiation and/or systemic chemotherapy, as deemed appropriate based on clinical findings. This, in spite of the fact that the toxicity of conventional systemic chemotherapy and immunotherapy affords limited effectiveness and frequently compromises the quality of life for patients. Indeed, with systemic chemotherapy, the oncologist (and the patient) often walks a fine line between attempting tumour remission with prolonged survival and damaging the patient's vital functions to the point of death

  • >>>>>>2/24/02 Capecitabine and oxaliplatin in advanced colorectal cancer: a dose-finding study Ann Oncol 2001 Dec;12(12):1737-41 PMID: 11843252 CONCLUSION: The recommended dose for further phase II studies is capecitabine 2,500 mg/m2/d with intermittent schedule and oxaliplatin 120 mg/m2 every three weeks. The toxicities were mainly gastrointestinal: diarrhea, stomatitis and vomiting. This combination should be studied in phase II trials in advanced colorectal.

  • 2/4/02 Future treatment options with capecitabine in solid tumours. Eur J Cancer 2002 Feb;38 Suppl 2:21-5 PMID: 11841932 The oral fluoropyrimidine, capecitabine is attracting great interest in the context of tumour-selective therapy and rationally designed combination regimens. Agents such as taxanes upregulate thymidine phosphorylase (TP), and there is therefore a clear rationale for their combination with capecitabine. Preclinical studies of capecitabine/taxane combination therapy demonstrated synergistic antitumour activity and phase I studies showed encouraging efficacy.

  • 2/15/02 Capecitabine as first-line treatment in colorectal cancer. pooled data from two large, phase III trials. Eur J Cancer 2002 Feb;38 Suppl 2:15-20 PMID: 11841931 Analysis of all randomised patients demonstrated a significantly superior overall response rate as assessed by the investigator for capecitabine compared with 5-FU/leucovorin (25.7% versus 16.7%, P<0.0002), reinforcing the individual trial results. Median time to disease progression, overall survival and duration of response were equivalent in the two treatment groups. Furthermore, capecitabine showed a superior safety profile compared with 5-FU/leucovorin, with a significantly lower incidence (P<0.001) of diarrhoea, stomatitis, nausea and alopecia, together with a reduced treatment-related hospitalisation rate. In addition, the incidence of neutropenic fever/sepsis was significantly lower in patients receiving capecitabine

  • 2/15/02 Rational development of capecitabine Eur J Cancer 2002 Feb;38 Suppl 2:3-9 PMID: 11841929 Phase I studies have determined the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of capecitabine and identified a number of dosage regimens, which were subsequently evaluated in a randomised, phase II study as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. This established an intermittent regimen of capecitabine 1250 mg/m(2) twice daily for 14 days followed by a 7-day rest period as the most appropriate regimen for further clinical development.

  • >>>>>1/21/02 Conventional cytotoxic and novel therapeutic concepts in colorectal cancer. : Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2001 Jun;10(6):1011-9 Adjuvant chemotherapy administered for six months after surgery for Dukes C colon cancer improves absolute survival by 5 - 10% [3]. However, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in Dukes B colon or Dukes B/C rectal tumours is still controversial and is only recommended within the scope of a randomised clinical trial

  • >>>>> 1/21/02 [Prevention of oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy by carbamazepine: A pilot study] CONCLUSIONS: These observations demonstrate that oxaliplatin-induced sensory neuropathy more than grade 1 may be prevented by carbamazepine. Prevention of oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity by carbamazepine would possibly enable chemotherapy with considerable higher doses of oxapliplatin and thus enhance activity. A multicenter trial will elucidate if more serious distal neurotoxicities, which occur after application of higher cumulative doses of oxaliplatin, can also be prevented by carbamazepine

    Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

  • >>>>> 1/21/02 Surgical debulking and intraperitoneal chemotherapy for established peritoneal metastases from colon and appendix cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 2001 Dec;8(10):787-95 BACKGROUND: Aggressive treatment of peritoneal metastases from colon cancer by surgical cytoreduction and infusional intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy may benefit selected patients. We reviewed our institutional experience to assess patient selection, complications, and outcome.

  • >>>>>1/21/02 Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. J Surg Oncol 2002 Jan;79(1):46-61 Adjuvant early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy is worthwhile for consideration as treatment option after resection of high-risk colorectal cancer. In the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy leads to inadequate exposure of the peritoneal surface. Only an intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy performed with direct cytotoxic drugs such as MMC and cisplatin overcome this problem. The limited drug penetration in tissue implies the need for extensive cytoreductive surgery. The results of phase II studies suggest that an increased median survival can be achieved with this approach

    Surgery

  • >>>>> 2/4/02 Resection of hepatic and pulmonary metastases in patients with colorectal cancer Am J Clin Oncol 2001 Dec;24(6):607-9 PMID: 11801764 The resection of liver and lung metastases is now regarded as valid therapy, although the surgical procedure of both metastatic sites has not been clearly defined. Nine consecutive patients who underwent resection of both liver and lung metastases from colorectal cancer (5 Dukes' stage B, 3 C, 1 D) between 1986 and 1999 were studied retrospectively No operative or hospital deaths occurred, and mean postoperative hospital stay per procedure was 12 days. Mean survival after resection of the primary colorectal tumor was 66.3 (range: 26-96) months. The median interval was 24.2 (range: 2-39) months from resection of the liver metastasis and 30.4 (range: 3-45) months from resection of the lung metastasis. At the last follow-up, 6 patients were still alive, 4 of whom were free of recurrence 59, 69, 74, and 76 months, respectively, after resections. Three patients died with metastases. Aggressive treatment of liver and lung secondaries from colorectal cancer was performed without hospital mortality and acceptable morbidity. Longer survival times warrant the use of this alternative therapy for selected patients. In association with new effective chemotherapies, it will be possible to select patients who will benefit from surgery.

  • 2/15/02 Clinical predictors of recurrence site after hepatectomy for metastatic colorectal cancer. Hepatogastroenterology 2001 Nov-Dec;48(42):1680-4 PMID: 11813600 All patients with three or more tumors experienced recurrence. Location of liver tumors lying adjacent to the hepatic vein, which was confirmed by preoperative imaging techniques, was the only significant and independent predictor of recurrence in the lung (P = 0.020).

  • >>>>> 2/24/02 Impact of surgery on survival in palliative patients with metastatic colorectal cancer after first line treatment with weekly 24-hour infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid. Ann Oncol 2001 Dec;12(12):1721-7 PMID: 11843250 In palliative first-line treatment of colorectal cancer, the secondary resection of distant metastases after downstaging has constantly gained in importance CONCLUSION: In this phase II study, we have been able to show prospectively that, after downstaging by palliative treatment using a weekly 24-h infusion of high-dose 5-FU and folinic acid, secondary curative metastatic resection was technically feasible in 11% of the patients. For some of these patients, long-term survival is therefore possible

    RF Ablation

  • 2/15/02 Radiofrequency ablation for unresectable hepatic tumors Am J Surg 2001 Dec;182(6):552-7 PMID: 11839316 RFA.Methods: Patients who underwent RFA of hepatic tumors with curative intent were included in this study. At laparotomy, RFA was performed using intraoperative ultrasound guidance. Computed tomography scans were obtained in the immediate postoperative period and every 3 to 6 months thereafter.Results: Forty patients underwent RFA for 122 hepatic tumors. Thirty-one patients had metastatic lesions from colorectal cancer; 9 had other liver tumors. Complications occurred in 8 patients. With 9.5 months median follow-up, 6 patients had local recurrence of their ablated tumors

    Miscellaneous

  • 2/15/02 5-Fluoroindole-3-acetic acid: a prodrug activated by a peroxidase with potential for use in targeted cancer therapy Biochem Pharmacol 2002 Jan 15;63(2):265-272 PMID: 11841802 Unexpectedly, 5-fluoroindole-3-acetic acid, which is oxidized by horseradish peroxidase compound I 10-fold more slowly than indole-3-acetic acid, is much more cytotoxic towards V79 hamster fibroblasts in the presence of peroxidase than the unsubstituted indole

  • >>>>>>2/24/02 Effect of p53 status on tumor response to antiangiogenic therapy Science 2002 Feb 22;295(5559):1526-8 PMID: 11859195 The p53 tumor suppressor gene is inactivated in the majority of human cancers. Tumor cells deficient in p53 display a diminished rate of apoptosis under hypoxic conditions, a circumstance that might reduce their reliance on vascular supply, and hence their responsiveness to antiangiogenic therapy

  • >>>>> 2/24/02 Relevance of biologic markers in colorectal carcinoma Cancer 2002 Feb 1;94(3):647-657 PMID: 11857296 To assess biologic markers of primary CRC that may improve clinical staging and provide useful information for the application of novel therapeutic strategies, the authors investigated a panel of markers that included transforming growth factor-[alpha] (TGF-[alpha]), epithelial growth factor receptor (EGF-R; the protein product of the c-erb B2/HER-2 oncogene), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and angiogenesis, as evaluated by microvessel density (MVD).

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