Search

Background and objective Due to the various inter-individual differences in the biological characteristics of tumor cells, as well as issues on the efficacy, adverse reactions, and defects of existing drugs, we compared the clinical efficacy and toxicity of pemetrexed and gemcitabine combined with cisplatin for the treatment of previously untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods 251 patients were randomly divided into pemetrexed combined with cisplatin group (PP group) with 127 cases and gemcitabine combined with cisplatin group (GP group) with 124 cases. PP group received pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 iv infusion d1 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 iv infusion d1, whereas GP group received gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 iv infusion d1,8 and cisplatin 75 mg/m2 iv infusion d1. The treatment cycle was once every three weeks. In addition, folic acid, vitamin B12, and dexamethasone were administered in both groups. Results The total clinical effective rates in PP group and GP group were 25.20% and 17.74%, respectively. The total efficiencies of non-squamous cell carcinoma were 27.62% and 16.00%. The tumor progression duration in these two groups was 6.5 and 5.6 months, respectively. The median survival time in the two groups was 16.9 and 17.0 months, respectively, with 59.62% and 65.87% survival rates of 1 year and 27.28% and 27.93% survival rates of 2 years, respectively. The total efficacy of non-squamous cell carcinoma in the PP group was significantly higher than that in GP group. The results were statistically significant. However, there were no significant differences in total response rates, tumor progression duration, and median survival rates of 1 and 2 years. The rate of adverse reactions, including white blood cell reduction, lower platelet count, lower hemoglobin, and hair loss in the PP group was significantly lower than that in the GP group. The results were statistically significant. Conclusion The clinical efficacy of pemetrexed and gemcitabine combined with cisplatin for the treatment of previously untreated advanced NSCLC was roughly the same, but the adverse reactions decreased significantly in the PP group compared with those in the GP group. Therefore, pemetrexed combined with cisplatin can be used as a safe and effective drug for clinical first-line treatment for previously untreated NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective The Expand Access Program (EAP) of Iressa(gefitinib, ZD1839) in China was initiated in 2001 with the aim of providing gefitinib to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who failed to respond to standard treatment or who could not tolerate chemotherapy. The primary objective was to describe the quality of life (QoL), tumor control status, drug safety, and clinical/genomic features of active long-term survivors enrolled in the EAP. The secondary objective was to determine the clinical characteristics of long-term survivors in the EAP program. Methods In this descriptive observational study, data were collected based on epidemiological research methods. The data of patients who were actively participating in the EAP and still undergoing gefitinib treatment were collected in a cross-sectional manner to reflect the current status of each patient. Meanwhile, the data of patients who had been on gefitinib treatment for more than three years and had already been terminated from the EAP or those who were fast progressors were collected retrospectively. Results A total of 934 patients were screened in the EAP database. Among these patients, 25 were active long-term survivors still enrolled in the EAP and 34 were long-term survivors who had been terminated from the program. These 59 patients were enrolled in 15 different centers in China, and the remaining 875 patients were fast progressors. The median scores for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L), Trial Outcome Index (TOI), and Lung Cancer Subscale (LCS) of the 25 long-term survivors were 64.5, 37 and 12.5, respectively. The performance status 0-1 accounted for 91.6% of the data observed during the cross-sectional survey. For active long-term survivors, the objective response rate was 37.5%, the disease control rate was 87.5%, and the median duration of response time was almost 68 months. In the long-term survivor group, no serious and new adverse events were reported. Patients who were aged under 65 years (68.5%), affected with adenocarcinoma (81.4%), female (55.9%), or had never smoked (71%) accounted for majority of the long-term survivors. The percentage of females was significantly higher in the long-term survivor group than in the fast progressor group (P=0.02). Three tissue samples were collected from each of the 24 active long-term survivors, and one patient was found to be positive of EGFR mutation. Twenty-two blood samples were also collected, and one patient tested positive for EGFR mutation. The Ki67 protein expression was also tested in three tissue samples, and two of these were found positive for Ki67 protein expression, with a response duration time of over 73 months. Conclusion A 250 mg dose of gefitinib offers good QoL and is safe for advanced NSCLC long-term survivors even after more than three years of treatment. According to the evaluation of the current tumor control statuses of patients, gefitinib demonstrates good efficacy in these active long-term survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxycodone hydrochloride controlled-release (CR) tablets (Oxycontin®, Mundipharma International Limited, Cambridge, UK), 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg, and 40 mg in relieving moderate to severe non-cancer pain. Method: Two multi-center, open-label, prospective, self-controlled clinical trial, used identical protocols. All the subjects were patients with moderate to severe non-cancer pain. The clinical data were collected in the natural course of clinical treatment. Results: Treatments with oxycodone CR tablets was associated with fast onset on pain relief; 85.2% of patients in study 1 and 91.8% of patients in study 2 achieved pain relief within 1 hour of drug administration. Clinical efficacy: Both studies demonstrated that oxycodone CR tablets showed good clinical efficacy for relieving both moderate and severe non-cancer pain. Patients experienced sustained pain relief from the first week of treatment. Patients in both study 1 and study 2 experienced a dramatic pain score reduction (as assessed by VAS) after the first week of treatment. Safety profile: During oxycodone CR treatment, use of concomitant medications decreased significantly. A few patients developed ADRs in the first week, which decreased significantly as the treatment continued. Constipation was the most common ADR in the first week, which decreased to 10% of patients from the second week of treatment. Conclusion: Oxycodone CR tablets demonstrated fast onset of pain control and superior efficacy for relieving both moderate and severe non-cancer pain, as well as significant reductions in the number of concomitant medications, demonstrating a good safety profile. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]