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Aim: The goal of this study is to evaluate possible factors affecting the survival of patients treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues. Methods: Demographic characteristics, treatment modalities, overall survival (OS) and the possible factors affecting the survival a total of 554 premenopausal breast cancer patients in Turkey evaluated retrospectively. Results: The median duration of GnRH analogues use was 22 ± 13.6 (range, 1–87) months. Patients were divided into three groups according to the duration of GNRH analogues use; 4–12 months (Group A), 13–24 months (Group B) and ≥25 months (Group C). Overall, 530 patients were analyzed; 23.2%, 45.8%, 30.9% of the patients were in Group A, B and C, respectively. The median follow-up duration was 34 ± 30.3 (range, 4–188) months. The OS in patients ≤35 years of age was found to be significantly longer than that of patients >35 years of age in Group B (log rank, P = 0.023). The disease-free survival of the patients in Group A was significantly shorter than that of patients in Group C (log rank, P = 0.003). The OS of Group A patients was significantly shorter in comparison to that of Group B and Group C patients (log rank, P = 0.000) and the OS of Group B patients was significantly shorter than Group C (log rank, P = 0,000). Conclusion: There is currently no definite data on the optimal duration of GnRH analogues use. One of the important results of this study that will provide an insight to the future studies is the improvement gained in OS by the increase in the duration of GnRH analogues use. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

We compared the efficacy and safety of low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) in patients with cancer who are at low risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Patients were treated by medical oncologists in Turkey at 15 sites, where they were enrolled and followed up for a period of 12 months. Due to the study design, there was no specific treatment protocol for LMWH. Primary end points were efficacy and the time to change in VTE status. Of the included 250 patients, 239 (95.6%), 176 (70.4%), 130 (52.0%), and 91 (36.4%) completed their day 15, month 3, month 6, and month 12 visits, respectively. Number of patients treated with enoxaparin, bemiparin, and tinzaparin were 133, 112, and 5, respectively. Anticoagulant therapy provoked thrombus resolution in 1.2% and 12.7% of patients using enoxaparin and bemiparin, respectively ( P = .004). Thrombus resolution was observed in 81 more patients at month 3 visit. This ratio was 35 (40.2%) of 87 and 46 (54.1%) of 85 patients administered enoxaparin and bemiparin at the third visit, respectively ( P = .038). Thrombus resolution was observed in 21 more patients during month 6 visit. This ratio was 5 (7.7%) of 65 and 15 (23.4%) of 64 patients administered enoxaparin and bemiparin at the fourth visit, respectively ( P = .022). The LMWH was discontinued in only 2 patients due to gastrointestinal bleeding. This pioneering study shows bemiparin is more effective than enoxaparin in thrombosis resolution and has a similar tolerability profile.

WOS:000455820300004, PubMed ID: 30683024, Introduction: Sleep quality is known to be associated with the distressing symptoms of cancer. The purpose of this study was toanalyze the impact of cancer symptoms on insomnia and the prevalence of sleep-related problems reported by the patients with lung cancer in Turkey. Materials and Methods: Assesment of Palliative Care in Lung Cancer in Turkey (ASPECT) study, a prospective multicenter study conducted in Turkey with the participation of 26 centers and included all patients with lung cancer, was re-evaluated in terms of sleep problems, insomnia and possible association with the cancer symptoms. Demographic characteristics of patients and information about disease were recorded for each patient by physicians via face-to-face interviews, and using hospital records. Patients who have difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep (DIMS) is associated with daytime sleepiness/fatigue were diagnosed as having insomnia. Daytime sleepiness, fatigue and lung cancer symptoms were recorded and graded using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. Results: Among 1245 cases, 48.4% reported DIMS, 60.8% reported daytime sleepiness and 82.1% reported fatigue. The prevalence of insomnia was 44.7%. Female gender, patients with stage 3-4 disease, patients with metastases, with comorbidities, and with weight loss 5 kg had higher rates of insomnia. Also, patients with insomnia had significantly higher rates of pain, nausea, dyspnea, and anxiety. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that patients with moderate to severe pain and dyspnea and severe anxiety had 2-3 times higher rates of insomnia. Conclusion: In conclusion, our results showed a clear association between sleep disturbances and cancer symptoms. Because of that, adequate symptom control is essential to maintain sleep quality in patients with lung cancer., Giriş: Uyku kalitesinin, kanser semptomlarının şiddetiyle ilişkili olduğu bilinmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de akciğer kanseri hastalarında uyku ile ilişkili sorunların prevalansı ve kanser semptomlarının insomnia üzerine etkisinin araştırılması amaçlandı. Materyal ve Metod: Türkiye’de 26 merkezin katılımıyla gerçekleştirilen, akciğer kanserli olguların dahil edildiği çok merkezli bir çalışma olan ASPECT çalışması verileri, bu hastalarda görülen uyku sorunları, insomni ve bunların kanser semptomları ile ilişkisi yönüyle yeniden değerlendirildi. Hastaların demografik özellikleri ve hastalıkları hakkında bilgi, hasta ile yüz yüze görüşülerek ve hastane kayıtları aracılığıyla derlendi. Uykuyu başlatma ve sürdürme zorluğu (DIMS) ile gündüz artmış uyku hali veya yorgunluk tanımlayan olgular insomni olarak değerlendirildi. Gündüz uyku hali, yorgunluk ve akciğer kanseri semptomları Edmonton Semptom Değerlendirme Skalası kullanılarak kaydedildi. Bulgular: Katılan 1245 olgunun, %48.4’ünde DIMS, %60.8’inde gündüz uyku hali ve %82.1’inde yorgunluk mevcuttu. Insomni prevalansı %44.7 olarak bulundu. Kadın cinsiyet, evre 3-4 hastalık, metastatik hastalık, komorbid hastalıklar ve kilo kaybı 5 kg olan olgularda insomnia oranı anlamlı olarak daha yüksekti. Diğer yandan insomnisi olan hastalarda ağrı, bulantı, dispne ve anksiyete semptomları anlamlı düzeyde yüksek bulundu. Multivariate lojistik regresyon analizi, orta ileri şiddetli ağrısı ve dispnesi olan, ayrıca ciddi anksiyetesi olan hastalarda insomni sıklığının 2-3 kat fazla olduğunu ortaya koydu. Sonuç: Çalışmamız, kanser semptomları ile uyku kalitesi arasında yakın bir ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bu nedenle, akciğer kanserli hastalarda kaliteli bir uyku için, kanser semptomların yeterince kontrol edilmesi gereklidir.

e21656 Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the most important causes of death in cancer patients, with VTE risk being 4-7 times higher among these patients compared to normal population. TREBECA is an observational study on cancer outpatients with low risk VTE treated with LMWH. Methods: Patients were treated by medical oncologists in Turkey at 15 sites, where they were enrolled and followed-up for a period of 12 months. Each center used their own treatment protocol. Primary endpoints were efficacy and the time to a change inVTE status (dissolution of thrombosis). The doses of LMWHs have been calculated according to patients’ body weights based on the dosage scheme and administered subcutaneously once or twice daily. Results: Data for 250 patients who met the study inclusion criteria were examined and analyzed. Of the included patients; 239 patients (95.6%) completed their Day 15 visit, 176 (70.4%) completed their Month 3 visit, 130 (52.0%) completed their Month 6 visit, and 91 (36.4%) completed the entire study. The mean age of the patients was 60.2 ± 13.7, while 53.2% (n = 133) of the patients were women. Colorectal (21.2%), lung (16.8%) and breast (14.8%) cancers were the most common forms of cancer. One hundred thirty-three patients were treated with enoxaparin, 112 patients were treated with bemiparin and 5 patients were treated with tinzaparin. Bemiparin resulted thrombosis resolution in more patients than enoxaparin, during day 15, month 3 and month 6 visits (table 1; p < 0.05). Conclusions: The observation that bemiparin is more effective in resolution of thrombosis was noteworthy. Thrombosis could not be effectively treated within the first 15 days in a significant number of patients, but could effectively be treated in most patients by Month 3. We can conclude that a treatment of at least 3 months is appropriate for cancer patients, even among those who are at low risk for venous thromboembolism. [Table: see text]

WOS: 000391457100008, PubMed ID: 27780164, Objective: To investigate the symptoms of lung cancer in Turkey and to evaluate approaches to alleviate these symptoms. Subjects and Methods: This study included 1,245 lung cancer patients from 26 centers in Turkey. Demographic characteristics as well as information regarding the disease and treatments were obtained from medical records and patient interviews. Symptoms were evaluated using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and were graded on a scale between 0 and 10 points. Data were compared using the. 2, Student t, and Mann-Whitney U tests. Potential predictors of symptoms were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Results: The most common symptom was tiredness (n = 1,002; 82.1%), followed by dyspnea (n = 845; 69.3%), appetite loss (n = 801; 65.7%), pain (n = 798; 65.4%), drowsiness (n = 742; 60.8%), anxiety (n = 704; 57.7%), depression (n = 623; 51.1%), and nausea (n = 557; 45.5%). Of the 1,245 patients, 590 (48.4%) had difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep. The symptoms were more severe in stages III and IV. Logistic regression analysis indicated a clear association between demographic characteristics and symptom distress, as well as between symptom distress (except nausea) and well-being. Overall, 804 (65.4%) patients used analgesics, 630 (51.5%) received treatment for dyspnea, 242 (19.8%) used enteral/parenteral nutrition, 132 (10.8%) used appetite stimulants, and 129 (10.6%) used anxiolytics/antidepressants. Of the 799 patients who received analgesics, 173 (21.7%) reported that their symptoms were under control, and also those on other various treatment modalities (dyspnea: 78/627 [12.4%], appetite stimulant: 25/132 [18.9%], and anxiolytics/antidepressants: 25/129 [19.4%]) reported that their symptoms were controlled. Conclusion: In this study, the symptoms progressed and became more severe in the advanced stages of lung cancer, and palliative treatment was insufficient in most of the patients in Turkey. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel

Aim: Metaplastic breast cancer has poor prognosis and is usually triple negative. Although it is morphologically more heterogeneous than triple negative breast cancers, expression profile is more homogeneous. In this study, we investigated our metaplastic breast cancer cases regarding their pathology and clinical characteristics. Material and Method: 16 metaplastic breast cancer cases from four different center were included in the study. Pathology and clinical characteristics of the cases were evaluated retrospectively. Results: All the cases are female and median age is 48 (39-45). Tumor is commonly localized to the outer quadrant and mean diameter of the mass is 37.5 (15-100) mm. Tumor diameter is ≤20 mm in 3 (15.8%), >20-≤50 mm in 11 (57.9%) and >50 mm in 3 (10.51%) of the cases. Only 4 (16.1%) patients have axillary lymph node involvement. When considering histological subtypes, five of the cases has squamous cell, five of them has spindle cell, one of them has mucoepidermoid, and in five cases the subtype was not identified. Considering hormone receptor status ER and PR was negative in 78.9%, 63.2% respectively. HER2 protein expression was positive by immunohistochemical staining in 1 (5.3%) case. CK5/6 and CK17 was both positive in 7 (36.8%) cases. EGFR expression was positive in 4 (21.1%) cases, was negative in 5 (26.3%) cases and not identified in 7 (36.8%) cases. Three of the cases were offered neoadjuvant chemotherapy. As neoadjuvant chemotherapy, anthracycline and taxane combination (n:2 TAC, n:1 AC-paclitaxel) was preferred. Mean follow-up was 41 months. Mean survival was 42.4 months in EGFR negative patients and 47.5 months in EGFR positive patients. This difference was not statistically significant. During follow-up 3 cases had recurrence. Discussion: EGFR expression is seen in metaplastic breast cancer. Although EGFR expression is related to poor prognosis, it is not a predictive marker. Therefore, predictive molecular markers are required for new approaches in treatment.

Mucosal melanoma (MM) is a rare type of cancer that differs significantly from cutaneous melanoma. In this study, we aimed to evaluate clinical and demographical characteristics, prognoses and factors influencing survival, treatment alternatives, and features of different subtypes of the patients. The patients were followed up with and treated in different centers due to their diagnoses of MM. We retrospectively analyzed data of 107 patients who were diagnosed with MM in 14 different institutions in Turkey. The mean age of the patients was 64.5 years. Of the patients, 47 % were female and 53 % were male. The median overall survival (OS) was 17 months, and the mean follow-up duration was 27 months. The 2-year survival rate was 42 %, and the 5-year survival rate was 23 %. The best survival rate appeared in those patients with MM in the head-neck region (median survival rate was 27 months, P = 0.034). The most common anatomical site was the head-neck region. In a univariate analysis, variables including age ≥65 years, the anatomical site of the primary lesion other than head and neck region, the metastatic stage of the disease, high levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) of ≥1 were found to be associated with poor survival (P < 0.05). However, in a multivariate analysis, only advanced stage disease (HR = 2.70; 95 % CI, 1.64–4.45; P = 0.000) and high LDH levels (HR = 2.31; 95 % CI, 1.40–3.80; P = 0.001) were determined to be adverse prognostic variables. Primary MM presents a more aggressive behavior and offers a poorer prognosis compared to cutaneous melanoma. Because the disease is rarely seen, is heterogeneous, and lacks randomized studies, issues concerning optimal treatment approaches and management and clinical characteristics of the disease have not been clarified yet. © 2016, International Society of Oncology and BioMarkers (ISOBM).

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine risk factors for brain metastasis as the first site of disease recurrence in patients with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer (EBC) who received adjuvant trastuzumab. Methods Medical records of 588 female patients who received 52-week adjuvant trastuzumab from 14 centers were evaluated. Cumulative incidence functions for brain metastasis as the first site of disease recurrence and the effect of covariates on brain metastasis were evaluated in a competing risk analysis and competing risks regression, respectively. Results Median follow-up time was 36 months. Cumulative incidence of brain metastasis at 12 months and 24 months was 0.6% and 2%, respectively. HER2-enriched subtype (ER− and PR−) tumor ( p = 0.001, RR: 3.4, 95% CI: 1.33–8.71) and stage 3 disease ( p = 0.0032, RR: 9.39, 95% CI: 1.33–8.71) were significant risk factors for development of brain metastasis as the first site of recurrence. Conclusions In patients with HER2 positive EBC who received adjuvant trastuzumab, HER2-enriched subtype (ER− and PR−) tumor and stage 3 disease were associated with increased risk of brain metastasis as the first site of disease recurrence.

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Background: Medication errors in oncology may cause severe clinical problems due to low therapeutic indices and high toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents. We aimed to investigate unintentional medication errors and underlying factors during chemotherapy preparation and administration based on a systematic survey conducted to reflect oncology nurses experience. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 18 adult chemotherapy units with volunteer participation of 206 nurses. A survey developed by primary investigators and medication errors (MAEs) defined preventable errors during prescription of medication, ordering, preparation or administration. The survey consisted of 4 parts: demographic features of nurses; workload of chemotherapy units; errors and their estimated monthly number during chemotherapy preparation and administration; and evaluation of the possible factors responsible from ME. The survey was conducted by face to face interview and data analyses were performed with descriptive statistics. Chi-square or Fisher exact tests were used for a comparative analysis of categorical data. Results: Some 83.4% of the 210 nurses reported one or more than one error during chemotherapy preparation and administration. Prescribing or ordering wrong doses by physicians (65.7%) and noncompliance with administration sequences during chemotherapy administration (50.5%) were the most common errors. The most common estimated average monthly error was not following the administration sequence of the chemotherapeutic agents (4.1 times/month, range 1-20). The most important underlying reasons for medication errors were heavy workload (49.7%) and insufficient number of staff (36.5%). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the probability of medication error is very high during chemotherapy preparation and administration, the most common involving prescribing and ordering errors. Further studies must address the strategies to minimize medication error in chemotherapy receiving patients, determine sufficient protective measures and establishing multistep control mechanisms.

Lapatinib is the first dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2/neu) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The present study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of the combination of lapatinib and capecitabine in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who progressed after therapy with trastuzumab, a taxane and/or anthracycline. A total of 203 patients with a median age of 48 years (range: 25-82 years) were evaluated retrospectively in 11 centres between September 2007 and May 2011. All the patients had HER2-positive MBC progressing after trastuzumab and chemotherapy including an anthracycline and/or taxane. All patients were treated with the combination of lapatinib (1250 mg/day, continuously) and capecitabine (2000 mg/m(2) on days 1 through 14 of a 21-day cycle). Data on demographics, clinical outcome, and toxicity were collected for descriptive analyses. The median follow-up was 10.7 months (range: 1-40 months). An overall response rate (ORR) of 33.4% was achieved including 7 complete responses (CR, 3.4%), 61 partial responses (PR, 30.0%), and 44 stable disease (37.9%). Clinical benefit rate of 71.3% was achieved. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7 months (95% CI: 6-10 months), with a median overall survival (OS) of 15 months (95% CI: 12-18 months). The most common side effects were hand-foot syndrome (46.8%), nausea (42.3%), fatigue (42.2%), anorexia (38.5%), diarrhea (31.5%), and rash (29.6%). Grade 3-4 toxicities were identified as hand foot syndrome (7.9%), diarrhea (6.9%), fatigue (5.9%), and rash (5.4%). There were no symptomatic cardiac events. Lapatinib and capecitabine combination therapy is effective and well tolerated in patients with MBC who had progressive disease after trastuzumab, taxane, and/or anthracycline therapy, as evidenced by this retrospective evaluation. Toxicity was mild to moderate with low grade 3-4 toxicity.

e20051 Background: Mucosal melanoma is a rare disease that is clearly distinct from cutaneous melanoma in clinical course and prognosis. We aim to evaluate patients with mucosal melanoma of differe...

e11542 Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Approximately 60% of breast cancer are hormone receptor positive. The goal of this study is to evaluate the possible factors affecting the survival of patients treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Methods: Demographic characteristics, treatment modalities, overall survival and the possible factors affecting the survival a total of 539 premenoposal breast cancer patients from 16 different centers in Turkey analysed retrospectively. Results: Median age was 36±6.3 (19-53). The median tumour size was 2.5±1.8 (0.5-13) cm. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positivity rates were 92.0%, 90.4% 31.4% respectively. Histology of the tumors were as follows; invasive ductal carcinoma in 85.3%, invasive lobular carcinoma in 4.6%, mixed in 4.6%, and other subtypes in 5.3%. T staging were T1, T2, T3, T4 in 25.8%, 49.9%, 13.4%, 1,7% respectively. Lymph node involvement was in...

Primary metastatic breast cancer (PMBC) comprises 3-10 % of all BCs. PMBC is a heterogeneous disease. To date, little is known about the tumor characteristics, treatment results, and overall survival (OS) of patients with PMBC. Patients were considered to have PMBC if distant metastasis was evident within 3 months of the initial diagnosis of BC. Between September 2007 and April 2013, 466 PMBC patients were included in this study and analyzed retrospectively. The median age of the patients was 50 (18-90) years. Bone/soft tissue metastases were more frequent in the hormone receptor (HR)(+) human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)2(-) group compared with the HR(-)HER2(-) and HR(-)HER2(+) groups (p < 0.001), whereas visceral organ metastasis was more frequent in the HR(-)HER2(-) and HR(-)HER2(+) groups (p < 0.001). The OS was affected by Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, tumor histology, receptor status, and the site of metastasis (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.011, respectively). According to the first-line systemic treatment choices of the patients, the longest median OS was observed in the HR(+)HER2(+) group who received hormonotherapy combined with trastuzumab after chemotherapy (86 months, 95 % CI 23.8-148.1) and the shortest median OS was observed in the HR(-)HER2(-) group who received chemotherapy only (24 months, 95 % CI 17.9-30.0) (p < 0.001). Bisphosphonate therapy or radiotherapy had no significant effect on OS (p = 0.733, 0.603). In multivariate analysis, hormonotherapy, chemotherapy + trastuzumab, trastuzumab + hormonotherapy following chemotherapy, and surgery were the most important prognostic factors for OS, respectively (p < 0.001, p = 0.025, p = 0.027, p = 0.029). The general characteristics of the primary tumor are important for the prognosis and survival of patients with PMBC. Interestingly, patients who underwent primary breast tumor surgery, even those at the metastatic stage upon admission, had the longest survival. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Purpose To evaluate the incidence, clinicopathological characteristics, treatment outcomes, prognostic factors, and survival of gastric cancer patients with bone metastases. Materials and Methods Of 4,617 gastric cancer patients who were treated between 2001 and 2013, 176 patients with bone metastases were analyzed. Results The incidence of bone metastasis was 3.8%. The most common histopathological subtype was adenocarcinoma (79%) with poor differentiation (60.8%). The median interval from the diagnosis to bone metastasis was 11 months. The median survival time after bone metastasis was 5.4 months. Factors that were associated with longer median survival times included the following: isolated bone metastasis (P=0.004), well-differentiated tumors (P=0.002), palliative chemotherapy (P=0.003), zoledronic acid treatment (P

Background: The overall prognosis for cancers of unknown primary (CUP) is poor, median overall survival (OS) being 6-12 months. We evaluated our multicentric retrospective experience for CUP administered docetaxel and cisplatin combination therapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 29 patients that were pathologically confirmed subtypes of CUP were included in the study. The combination of docetaxel (75 mg/m 2 , day 1) and cisplatin (75 mg/m 2 , day 1) was performed as a first line regimen every 21 days. Results: The median age was 51 (range: 27-68). Some 17 patients had multimetastatic disease on the inital diagnosis. Histopathological diagnoses were well-moderate differentiated adenocarcinoma (51.7%), undifferentiated carcinoma (27.6%), squamous cell cancer (13.8%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (3.4%) and neuroendocrine differentiated carcinoma (3.4%). Median number of cycles was 3 (range: 1-6). Objective response rate was 37.9% and clinical benefit was 58.6%. Median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 6 months (range: 4.3-7.7 months) and 16 months (range: 8.1-30.9 months), respectively. Fourteen patients (60.8%) were treated in a second line setting. There was no treatment related death. Most common toxicities were nausia-vomiting (44.6%) and fatigue (34.7%), serious cases (grade 3/4) suffering nausia-vomiting (10.3%), neutropenia (13.8%) and febrile neutropenia (n=1). Conclusion: The combination of cisplatin and docetaxel is an effective regimen for selected patients with CUP.

Background: The objective of this study was to identify prognostic factors affecting the recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients who received a 52-week trastuzumab therapy for HER2-positive early stage breast cancer (EBC). Patients and Methods: The medical records of all patients with EBC from 10 centers were analyzed. Pathologic and clinical tumor characteristics were evaluated in 424 female patients who received 52 weeks of adjuvant trastuzumab for HER2-positive EBC. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analyses of RFS were performed with the log-rank test. Independent prognostic and predictive factors affecting RFS were assessed by Cox regression analysis. Results: Median follow-up time was 33.1 months (range 9.2-75.9 months). 3-year RFS and overall survival were 87 and 97%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, patients aged 70 years or over (p = 0.017, relative risk (RR) 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-6.13), patients with > 9 positive lymph nodes (p = 0.001, RR 2.52, 95% CI 1.42-4.46), and those with progesterone receptor-negative tumors (p = 0.006, RR 2.33, 95% CI 1.27-4.27) had worse RFS. Conclusion: In spite of a 52-week adjuvant trastuzumab treatment, classic poor prognostic factors for invasive EBC remained as such in patients with HER2-positive EBC.

Background: Surgery is the only curative treatment for operable non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) and the importance of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage IB patients is unclear. Herein, we evaluated prognostic factors for survival and factors related with adjuvant treatment decisions for stage I and IIA NSCLC patients without lymph node metastasis. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 302 patients who had undergone curative surgery for prognostic factors regarding survival and clinicopathological factors related to adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: Nearly 90% of the patients underwent lobectomy or pneumonectomy with mediastinal lymph node resection. For the others, wedge resection were performed. The patients were diagnosed as stage IA in 35%, IB in 49% and IIA in 17%. Histopathological type (p=0.02), tumor diameter (p=0.01) and stage (p

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of long-term, low-dose oral etoposide as an advanced treatment option in patients with platinum resistant epithelial ovarian cancer. Materials and Methods: For the purposes of this study, 51 patients with histologically-confirmed, recurrent or metastatic platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) treated at six different centers between January 2006 and January 2011 were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were treated with oral etoposide (50 mg/day for a cycle of 14 days, repeated every 21 days). Results: Among the 51 platinum-resistant patients, 17.6% demonstrated a partial response and 25.5% a stable response. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 3.9 months (95% CI, 2.1-5.7), while the median overall survival was 16.4 months (11.8–20.9). No significant relationship was observed between the pre-treatment CA 125 levels, post-treatment CA-125 levels and the treatment response rates (p=0.21). Among the 51 patients who were evaluated in terms of toxicity, grade 1 or 4 hematologic toxicity was observed in 19 (37.3%); and grade 1-4 gastrointestinal toxicity occurred in 15 patients (29.4%). Conclusions: Chronic low-dose oral etoposide treatment is generally effective and well-tolerated in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients.