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Background: Non-melanoma skin tumours (NMSC) are one of the most frequent types of cancer, accounting for nearly one third of newly diagnosed tumours. NMSC are frequently diagnosed in elderly patients and while mortality rates are low, NMSC can be associated with significant morbidity in terms of cosmetic and functional impairment., Objective: Surgical excision is nowadays considered the standard treatment for NMSC, although this approach might not be suitable for all the patients. Good rates of local control and cosmetic outcome are achieved by using high-dose-rate (HDR) plesiotherapy., Methods: Nine consecutive patients with 11 NMSC were treated with custom-made moulds and HDR plesiotherapy reaching a fi nal dose of 44-48 Gy in 11-12 fractions of 4 Gy over 4 weeks., Results: No local or distant relapses have been observed after a mean follow-up of 15 months (range 4-36 months). Acute toxicity was acceptable and cosmetic result was considered as excellent/good in 7 patients., Conclusions: This modality of treatment offers an alternative for those patients not candidates for surgical procedures because of medical contraindications or risk of disfigurement or functional impairment.

Purpose: To examine the potential radiosensitising properties of trabectedin (ET-743, Yondelis)., Methods and Materials: In vitro chemosensitivity was assessed in four tumour cell lines (DU145, HeLa, HT29, HOP62) by the crystal violet method. IC10s and IC50s were established for 1-h, 24-h and 7-day (continuous) exposure times. Radiosensitisation was evaluated by conventional colony assay. BrdUrd DNA-labelling and flow cytometry were used to analyse cell cycle kinetics. The rate of apoptotic induction was assed by annexyn-V labelling., Results: Mean IC50s were 18.8 nM (10.5 - 30), 2.5 nM (1.5 - 5) and 0.25 nM (0.2-0.8) for 1 h, 24 h and continuous exposure times, respectively. HT29 and HOP62 were the most sensitive cells lines to trabectedin. Radiosensitisation was observed in DU145 and HeLa cells with a dose enhancement factor (DEF) of 1.92 and 1.77 at IC50 dose level, respectively. Trabectedin induced early S phase arrest in all cell lines studied., Conclusions: Trabectedin, at pharmacologically appropriated concentrations, harbours a significant in vitro radiosensitising effect and induces cell cycle changes and apoptosis in several human cancer cell lines. Further studies to define the clinical potential of the combination of trabectedin and radiotherapy are needed.

Purpose: To compare, in a randomized trial, 5-fluorouracil (FU) plus leucovorin (LV) (FU+LV) vs. oral uracil and tegafur (UFT) plus LV (UFT+LV) given concomitantly with preoperative irradiation in patients with cT3-4 or N+ rectal cancer., Methods and Materials: A total of 155 patients were entered onto the trial. Patients received pelvic radiotherapy (4500-5,040 cGy in 5 to 6 weeks) and chemotherapy consisting of two 5-day courses of 20 mg/m(2)/d LV and 350 mg/m(2)/d FU in the first and fifth weeks of radiotherapy (77 patients) or one course of 25 mg/d oral LV and 300 mg/m(2)/d UFT for 4 weeks beginning in the second week of radiotherapy (78 patients). The primary endpoints were pathologic complete response (pCR) and resectability rate. Secondary endpoints included downstaging rate, toxicity, and survival., Results: Grade 3-5 acute hematologic toxicity occurred only with FU+LV (leukopenia 9%; p = 0.02). There were no differences in resectability rates (92.1% vs. 93.4%; p = 0.82). The pCR rate was 13.2% in both arms. Tumor downstaging was more frequent with UFT+LV (59.2% vs. 43.3%; p = 0.04). Three-year overall survival was 87% with FU+LV and 74% with UFT+LV (p = 0.37). The 3-year cumulative incidences of local recurrence were 7.5% and 8.9%, respectively (p = 0.619; relative risk, 1.46; 95% confidence interval 0.32-6.55)., Conclusion: Although this study lacked statistical power to exclude clinically significant differences between both groups, the outcome of patients treated with UFT+LV did not differ significantly from that of patients treated with FU+LV, and hematologic toxicity was significantly lower in the experimental arm.