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Purpose: Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) administered prophylactically after chemotherapy reduces the duration and severity of neutropenia. This randomized crossover study was designed to assess whether a lower dose of G-CSF is as effective as a standard dose of 5 microg/kg daily., Patients and Methods: Patients who received standard-dose chemotherapy regimens expected to cause neutropenia received G-CSF (lenograstim) that started the day after chemotherapy for 14 days or until the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) recovered to greater than 10 x 10(9)/L. The lenograstim dose was randomly allocated to be 2 or 5 microg/kg daily in the first cycle of chemotherapy and crossed over to the alternate dose for the second cycle. The study was designed to accrue 40 assessable patients to provide a power of 80% to detect a difference in duration of neutropenia of 1 day. Fifty-two patients were randomized to treatment and 43 patients completed two cycles of identical chemotherapy., Results: There was little neutropenia irrespective of the dose used. Twenty-three patients (53%) had no grade III or IV neutropenia and 30 patients (70%) had no grade IV neutropenia. Crossover trial methodology was used to assess the difference in outcome caused by the lower dose compared with the standard dose (estimated treatment effect). There was no significant difference in the measures of neutropenia, hospitalization, or other clinical outcomes. The 95% confidence interval (one-sided) for the additional duration of neutropenia caused by the lower dose of lenograstim was 0.43 days or less for grade III or IV neutropenia and 0.34 days or less for grade IV neutropenia., Conclusion: Lenograstim 2 microg/kg provides similar protection to 5 microg/kg against neutropenia that complicates standard-dose chemotherapy. The use of a lower dose has important implications for the cost-effectiveness of prophylactic G-CSF therapy.

The Australian Leukaemia Study Group has performed a randomized trial of interferon alpha-2A (Roferon-A) as a co-induction agent together with intensive combination chemotherapy and as maintenance following completion of 12 cycles of induction treatment. When used as a co-induction agent, interferon-alpha did not improve response rates, time-to-treatment failure, or overall survival. Patients who had interferon together with intensive combination therapy (PCAB: prednisone 60 mg/m2 days 1-5, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 day 1, BCNU 30 mg/m2 day 1, doxorubicin 30 mg/m2 day 1, repeated every 28 d for a total of 12 cycles) had more leucocyte and granulocyte toxicity and received a lower dose intensive of cytotoxic drugs than those patients who received PCAB without interferon. There was a trend towards prolongation of plateau phase which did not reach significance. Interferon, however, did improve the survival of patients who achieved plateau; for those patients interferon was associated with a 33% decrease in the rate of death after adjusting for initial beta-2 microglobulin level.

Background: Selection of patients for a clinical trial is affected by awareness of the existence of the trial, interest in the study question and clinical practices and views of the clinicians., Aims: To investigate the selectivity that may have occurred at Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (PMCI) during the ANZ Lymphoma Group trial of MACOP-B vs CHOP in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)., Methods: NHL patients at PMCI in the study period were assessed against the trial's eligibility criteria. Comparisons were made between eligible (except for consent) non-trial patients and all patients actually randomised into the trial., Results: Of 497 patients presenting during the trial period, 320 (64%) did not meet the specified eligibility criteria, 102 (21%) were unsuitable on other grounds (age and medical) and 75 (15%) were eligible. Of those eligible, 43 (57%) were entered into the trial and 32 (43%) were not. Four non-trial patients had inappropriate application of eligibility criteria and 13 unknown reason. Eligible non-trial patients were similar to trial patients in most patient and tumour characteristics and overall survival. Significantly more non-trial patients had higher stage disease (p = 0.02). More non-trial patients had lower grade histology, but this was not significant., Conclusions: Physician selectivity occurred with respect to patient entry, but trial and non-trial patients were similar in most characteristics. Eligibility criteria should specify that patients can withstand all trial drugs and patient availability for treatment and follow-up. PMCI trial accural could have been up to 33% greater. These results suggest the trial accrual period could have been 25% shorter. Patient entry into this trial by PMCI clinicians compared favourably with other centres.

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of dose and dose intensity (DI) of induction and consolidation chemotherapy on relapse rates in 264 de novo patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). Patients were randomised to receive cytosine arabinoside (ARAC) 100 mg/m2 continuous infusion for 7 days and daunorubicin (DNR) 50 mg/m2 IV day 1-3 (7-3) or the same drugs with the addition of etoposide 75 mg/m2 IV days 1-7 (7-3-7). Cox proportional hazards regression models were used throughout to identify prognostic factors, including dose delivery parameters, influencing the rate of relapse. Of 152 patients who achieved a complete remission (CR), 104 have relapsed with a median duration of CR of 15.8 months. Actual dose delivered was prospectively documented. Cox regression analysis identified the most significant prognostic factors jointly influencing duration of CR as performance status groups (p < 0.0001), percentage peripheral blasts (p = 0.0015), 7-3-7 arm (p = 0.0075), age < 40 years (p = 0.022) and induction dose ARA-C plus DNR (p = 0.029). In this analysis patients randomized to the 7-3-7 arm had an estimated 43% reduction in the relapse rate and each 10% reduction of doses ARA-C and DNR was associated with an estimated 45% increase in the relapse rate. The number of induction courses, delays in treatment and induction dose intensity did not significantly influence the duration of CR nor did any of the consolidation treatment parameters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy, without cisplatin, were randomised to receive four doses of either domperidone 60 mg or prochlorperazine 25 mg suppositories every 4 h, starting 30 min before the chemotherapy. They were crossed over for the next chemotherapy cycle. To enable analysis of 100 patients who had received identical chemotherapy in each course, 136 patients were randomised. Patients experienced a higher grade of nausea on domperidone (P = 0.05). Only 18% of patients vomited on domperidone and 14% on prochlorperazine, but the number of vomits was higher on domperidone (P = 0.003) and the duration was significantly increased (P = 0.02). Patients experienced significantly more diarrhoea on domperidone (P < 0.0001), although it was predominantly mild. Patients were significantly more sedated on prochlorperazine on the second course (P = 0.006), but not on the first course (P = 0.9). More patients preferred their second course (P < 0.0001), and were significantly less anxious (P = 0.0002). Patients reported tolerating their treatment similarly for both antiemetics, but more patients preferred prochlorperazine (P = 0.003), mainly due to reductions in nausea and vomiting and other side-effects, particularly diarrhoea.

A total of 22 patients with superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, uncontrolled cystoscopically and unsuitable for or having failed intravesical therapy, received 50 mg. oral methotrexate per week for 12 months. Of the patients 7 (32%) achieved or remained in complete remission and 5 achieved a partial response, while 4 remained stable, 3 had progression and 3 were not evaluable. Patients who were still alive had a median followup of 2.5 years. Two patients with complete remission had relapse at 16 and 26.4 months, and 5 were disease-free at 34.5, 31.3, 18.6, 17.8 and 16.8 months, respectively. The methotrexate was generally well tolerated but 2 patients discontinued therapy because of dyspnea (1 subsequently died of respiratory failure that was possibly related to the methotrexate) and 1 because of persistent grade 2 mucositis. Grade 3/4 toxicities occurred in 3 patients: 1 each with reversible increases in creatinine and aspartate aminotransferase, and 1 with gastric bloating. There was little hematological toxicity. Reversible skin lesions developed in 4 patients. This oral treatment may provide an effective alternative to intravesical therapy but can be associated with severe toxicity.

Sixty-seven patients with advanced breast cancer were prospectively entered into a Phase II trial of cyclophosphamide 100 mg/m2 orally on days 1-14, methotrexate 40 mg/m2 intravenously (i.v.) on day 1, 5-fluorouracil 600 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, and prednisolone 40 mg/m2 orally on days 1-14 (CMFP) rapidly alternating with doxorubicin 25-30 mg/m2 i.v. on day 8 and vincristine 1.4 mg/m2 i.v. on day 8 (AV). Complete responses (CR) were seen in 7 patients, partial responses (PR) in 25 (CR + PR, 48%), stable disease in 24, and progressive disease in 9. The median time to disease progression was 9.8 months, and the median survival 19.4 months. Neutropenia was the major toxicity with WHO grade 3 or 4 neutropenia in 50% of patients. CMFP/AV is a well-tolerated, effective regimen in advanced breast cancer but does not appear to be superior to CMFP alone.