Phase III, randomized, open-label study of triweekly docetaxel versus biweekly docetaxel as treatments for advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer: Findings from an interim safety analysis of the Finnish Uro-oncological Group Study 1-2003

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Background: Docetaxel (T) administered at every three weeks is standard treatment for advanced HRPC. We compared 2-weekly to 3-weekly T as first- or second-line chemotherapy of advanced HRPC in this prospective randomized multicenter trial.

Methods: 360 pts were randomly allocated to receive T 75 mg/m2 i.v. d1 q3 wks (tT) or 50 mg/m2 i.v. d1 and d 14, q4 wks (bT) from March 2004 to May 2009. Prednisolon 10 mg/day was administered in both groups. The groups were well balanced according to the WHO performance status, mean age (70 vs. 68, range 45–87), and the median serum PSA level at study entry (109 vs. 98 μ g/L, range 11–1,490). The primary endpoint was TTF. Study identifier: NCT00255606 .

Results: 158 pts (tT, 79; bT, 79) were included in this preplanned interim safety analysis. 567 and 487 cycles were administered in the tT and bT groups, respectively. The most common grade 3–4 adverse events (expressed as %/cycles) in tT /bT were neutropenia 20%/14%, infection with/without neutropenia 8%/3%, fatigue 3%/ 3%, febrile neutropenia 2%/1%, and bone pain 2%/1%. Serious adverse events occurred more frequently in tT (n=60, 10.6% of cycles) than in bT (n=29, 6.0%, p=0.012). One pt. died from coronary infarction and one was diagnosed with ALL (both in bT group). 30 pts (38%) in bT group and 22 pts (28%) in tT group were receiving treatment at 6 months. (p=0.176).

Conclusions: Biweekly T has been better tolerated than the conventional triweekly T with fewer serious adverse events and may be associated with similar efficacy.

[Table: see text]

Docetaxel versus docetaxel alternating with gemcitabine as treatments of advanced breast cancer: final analysis of a randomised trial

Background: Alternating administration of docetaxel and gemcitabine might result in improved time-to-treatment failure (TTF) and fewer adverse events compared with single-agent docetaxel as treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Patients and methods: Women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer were randomly allocated to receive 3-weekly docetaxel (group D) or 3-weekly docetaxel alternating with 3-weekly gemcitabine (group D/G) until treatment failure as first-line chemotherapy. The primary end point was TTF.

Results: Two hundred and thirty-seven subjects were assigned to treatment (group D, 115; group D/G, 122). The median TTF was 5.6 and 6.2 months in groups D and D/G, respectively (hazard ratio 0.85, 95% confidence interval 0.63–1.16; P = 0.31). There was no significant difference in time-to-disease progression, survival, and response rate between the groups. When adverse events were evaluated for the worst toxicity encountered during treatment, there was little difference between the groups, but when they were assessed per cycle, alternating treatment was associated with fewer severe (grade 3 or 4) adverse effects (P = 0.013), and the difference was highly significant for cycles when gemcitabine was administered in group D/G (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The alternating regimen was associated with a similar TTF as single-agent docetaxel but with fewer adverse effects during gemcitabine cycles.

Serum creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase during cardiac irradiation

Thirty patients irradiated to a major part of the heart had serial determinations of serum total creatine kinase (S-CK), creatine kinase subunit B (S-CK-B), total lactate dehydrogenase (S-LD) and lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme 1 (S-LD-1) activity at the beginning, at the end and 1-4 months after radiotherapy. One patient had an elevated total S-CK activity three months after radiotherapy, but none of the patients had an elevated S-CK-B activity during follow-up. Three patients had elevated serum LD before irradiation, two patients during and two patients after radiotherapy, but only one patient had an elevated S-LD-1 activity, which decreased during irradiation. We conclude that the heart muscle is not injured by cardiac irradiation to such an extent that CK, CK-B, LD and LD-1 activities rise in serum, if moderate doses (39-62 Gy, NSD 1,137-1,775 rets) are delivered to the heart.

The FinXX trial: Safety results in 600 patients (pts) randomized to either docetaxel (T) followed by cyclophosphamide (C) + epirubicin (E) + 5-FU (F) (CEF) or T + capecitabine (X) followed by CEX as adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer (BC)

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Background: Adding X to T extends survival in pts with metastatic BC. The primary objective of the FinXX trial is to compare recurrence-free survival with XT→CEX vs T→CEF as adjuvant therapy in pts with early stage BC. Secondary objectives were comparison of safety and overall survival. Methods: Between Jan 2004 and May 2005, 600 of a planned 1,500 pts were randomized to receive T x 3 → CEF x 3 (T 80 mg/m2 d1 → C 600 mg/m2 d1, E 75 mg/m2 d1, F 600 mg/m2 d1) or TX x 3 → CEX x 3 (T 60 mg/m2 d1 + X 900 mg/m2 bid d1–15 → C 600 mg/m2 d1, E 75 mg/m2 d1, X 900 mg/m2 bid d1–15) q3 wks. Results: Grade 3/4 toxicities (CTCAE, v3) in >5% of pts are shown below. 62 pts required G-CSF. Nos. of cycles with G-CSF were: T 34; XT 15; CEF 17; CEX 15. Adverse events (AEs) led to interruption of T in 7 pts (2%) and XT in 50 pts (16%). Median dose intensities at cycle 3 were T: 95%; XT: 84/97%; CEF: 98/97/98%; CEX: 98/98/84%. T dose reductions of =20% in cycle 3 were needed in 18% and 8% of pts receiving T and XT, respectively. 4 pts died during treatment: pulmonary embolism (n=1) with T and suicide, sudden death and colitis/sepsis (each n=1) with XT. Conclusions: XT→CEX is generally well tolerated. Treatment interruptions were more common with XT→CEX, but were effective in reducing development of grade 3/4 AEs. Neutropenic infections were less frequent with XT vs T and infrequent with XT, CEF and CEX. Rates of grade 3/4 diarrhea and HFS were acceptable with XT and minimal with CEX. Accrual is nearly complete; efficacy data are expected in 2009. [Table: see text]

[Table: see text]

Intensity of diagnostic and treatment activities during the end of life of patients with advanced breast cancer

The aim of this study was to assess the intensity of diagnostic testing and cancer treatment of 335 women with advanced breast cancer during their last 6 months before death between 1995 and 1998 in the Pirkanmaa and Satakunta health care districts and to compare it to the practice in earlier decades, the 1970s and 1980s. Data for 1990s material were collected from medical records in 30-day periods starting from the patient's death backwards. In this material 46.9% of all laboratory tests and 40% of radiological tests during the last 6 months of life were made during the last 2 months prior to death. In the last month 63.9% of patients continued on endocrine therapy and 19.7% on chemotherapy. Patient symptoms and deterioration in general condition showed the appropriate point to discontinue cancer-related treatment and concentrate on palliation of symptoms to be about 2 months prior to death. Resources devoted to diagnostic investigations and treatment of cancer in terminally ill patients could be better used for their care. This would be more likely to improve patients' quality of life and save resources.

Epirubicin/docetaxel regimen in progressive breast cancer-a phase II study

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of 6 months' treatment with the combination of epirubicin and docetaxel in metastatic breast cancer. Thirty-eight women (mean age 51 years, range 35-72) with metastatic breast cancer were treated with a regimen of epirubicin 75 mg/m and docetaxel 75 mg/m every 3 weeks, given 4 times if progression was seen upon evaluation after 4 courses or 8 times in responding/stable patients. The patients received 285 cycles of combination treatment and two treatments with docetaxel or epirubicin alone. When neutropenia with fever was observed, further cycles were given with dose reduction. The median cumulative docetaxel dose was 462 mg/m (range 199-600) and that of epirubicin 476 mg/m (range 199-740). The overall response rate was 54% (95% CI 37-71), with a median duration of response of 14.8 months (95% CI 8.8-27.8). Median time to progression was 12 months, median survival 26 months. Neutropenia below 0.5 x 10 /l occurred following 113 (39%) of the total of 285 cycles given; 21 patients (55%) were hospitalized for febrile neutropenia. We conclude that dose tailoring is required in treatment with an epirubicin and docetaxel regimen to avoid grade 3/4 adverse effects in a significant number of patients treated for metastatic breast cancer.

Delayed diagnosis and large size of breast cancer after a false negative mammogram

The aim of this prospective, multicentre study was to investigate the effects of a false negative mammogram on treatment delay and tumour size. Among 306 consecutive women with histologically diagnosed, invasive breast cancer, the frequency of a false negative mammogram was small (13%) among women aged over 50 years, but 35% among those aged 50 or younger (P < 0.0001). Forty-five per cent of the women with a false negative mammogram had a longer than 2-month and 29% a longer than 6-month interval from mammography to surgery as compared with only 2 and 0% of women, respectively, who had a true positive mammogram (P < 0.0001 for both). Women with a false negative mammogram and a longer than 2-month interval to surgery had larger primary tumour size (60 versus 26% pT2-4, P = 0.005) and more often positive axillary nodes (60% versus 32% pN+, P = 0.03) at the time of surgery than those with a shorter delay. We conclude that a false negative mammogram is common in women younger than 50, and may lead to treatment delay and advanced clinical stage.

A flow cytometric analysis of 23 carcinoid tumors

Twenty-three carcinoid tumors were investigated from paraffin-embedded tissue with flow cytometry (FCM) in order to correlate the DNA ploidy with clinical variables. DNA aneuploidy was found in ten tumors (45%) and one tumor was classified as tetraploid. Diurnal urinary excretion of 5-hydroxy indolic acetic acid (5-HIAA) was known to be elevated in seven of eight diploid tumors and in four of seven aneuploid carcinoids with distant metastases. Six (55%) of the diploid tumors had not given rise to metastases at the time of diagnosis, compared with three (30%) of the aneuploid tumors. Six of seven patients with an aneuploid tumor and three of five patients with a diploid tumor, observed for at least 10 years, died of the disease. It was concluded that, unlike in earlier studies with static DNA cytometry, DNA aneuploidy is common in human carcinoid tumors and may occur in tumors secreting biogenic amines.

Combination chemotherapy with dacarbazine and lomustine in disseminated malignant melanoma

Thirty-eight patients with disseminated malignant melanoma (stage IV) who had not received previous chemotherapy were given lomustine 50 to 80 mg/m2 orally on day 1 and dacarbazine 400 mg intravenously on days 1 to 3 with intervals of 6 weeks. Three of the 36 evaluable patients showed complete response (8%), 4 partial response (11%), and 5 had stable disease for at least 3 months (13%). The responding patients had metastases confined to cutaneous, nodal or pulmonary sites. None of the patients with liver, osseous or cerebral metastases, or patients with Karnofsky's status of less than 80, responded. Patients with more than two years from the diagnosis to the start of the chemotherapy were more likely to achieve objective response (p less than 0.05). Eighty-four per cent of the patients had nausea or vomiting, but otherwise toxicity was minimal.