• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.148-155
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• 2018

Background: Although targeted therapy and immuno-oncology have shifted the treatment paradigm for lung cancer, platinum-based combination is still the standard of care for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Pemetrexed continuation maintenance therapy has been approved and increasingly used for patients with nonsquamous NSCLC. However, the efficacy of this strategy has not been proven in patients without driving mutations. The objective of this study was to compare the clinical benefit of pemetrexed continuation maintenance to conventional platinum-based doublet in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-negative lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: A total of 114 patients with EGFR-negative lung adenocarcinoma who were treated with platinum doublet were retrospectively enrolled. We compared the survival rates between patients received pemetrexed maintenance after four-cycled pemetrexed/cisplatin and those received at least four-cycled platinum doublet without maintenance chemotherapy as a first-line treatment. Results: Forty-one patients received pemetrexed maintenance and 73 received conventional platinum doublet. Median progression-free survival (PFS), which was defined as the time from the day of response evaluation after four cycles of chemotherapy to disease progression or death, was significantly higher in the pemetrexed maintenance group compared to conventional group (5.8 months vs. 2.2 months, p<0.001). Median overall survival showed an increasing trend in the pemetrexed maintenance group (22.3 months vs. 16.1 months, p=0.098). Multivariate analyses showed that pemetrexed maintenance chemotherapy was associated with better PFS (hazard ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.87). Conclusion: Compared to conventional platinum-based chemotherapy, premetrexed continuation maintenance treatment is associated with better clinical outcome for the patients with EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.66-69
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• 2017

Approximately 40% of patients with colorectal cancer have metastatic lesions at the time of diagnosis, and chemotherapy is generally prescribed for these patients. Though several drugs are used, 5-FU has long been the backbone of chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Capecitabine is an oral 5-FU prodrug approved by the FDA in 2005 and is used alone or in combination for treatment of colorectal cancer. Recently, capecitabine has been used for a number of off-label indications, including the treatment of advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer. Here, we report a rare case of a 59-year-old woman, diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer who first presented with abdominal discomfort and dyspepsia. She showed a partial response to palliative first line FOLFOX chemotherapy, which had to be stopped due to peripheral neuropathy, as a side effect. She was next put on a second line chemotherapy regimen with capecitabine alone, since then she showed good treatment response without any disease progression.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.283-289
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• 1998

Purpose : This study was performed to analyze the efficacy of induction chemotherapy fellowed by radiation therapy in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer Materials and Methods : Eighty patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated from 1989 to 1995 at Pusan Paik hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-one patients were treated with induction chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy and Fifty-nine Patients were treated with radiation therapy alone. Chemotherapy regimen consisted of cisplatin-based combination (2 or 3 drugs). All patients were treated by Co-60 or 6 MV linear accelerators. Radiation dose ranged from 50 Gy to 80 Gy (median 64.8 Gy). We evaluated response rate, survival rate, and pattern of failure in both treatment groups. Results : Overall response rate in induction chemotherapy group and radiotherapy alone group were 48% and 45%, respectively. Of the 80 patients, 46 patients were evaluable for pattern of failure. Initial failure pattern in induction chemotherapy group was as follows: 8 (67%) at locoregional, 4 (33) in distant metastasis. Radiation alone group was 21 (71%) and 5 (29%), respectively. Results showed no difference of distant failure between induction chemotherapy group and radiation alone group. The 1 and 2 year survival rate in induction chemotherapy group were 43% and 14%, respectively and in radiotherapy alone group, 31% and 7%, respectively (p=0.135). Conclusion : In stage III non-small cell lung cancer, induction chemotherapy and radiation therapy showed increased tendency in survival with no statistical significance Induction chemotherapy seems to have no effect of decreasing distant failure and no survival advantage compared with radiotherapy alone.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.221-227
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• 2001

Purpose: We have carried out prospective randomized clinical trial to compare survival benefit and side effect among three postoperative adjuvant chemotherapeutic regimens in serosa-negative gastric cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Total 317 cases were recognized as serosa negative and randomized into three groups at operating room. Out of them, 172 cases were excluded because of various reasons and 135 cases were analyzed finally; Group A 36 cases, Group B 49 cases, Group C 50 cases. Group A were treated with intravenous FP combination therapy, group B with MF combination therapy and group C with oral $UFT^{(R)}$ (mixture of Tegafur and Uracil) for one year. The median follow-up period was 30 months. Results: $88.9\%$ of Group A, $83.7\%$ of Group B and $90.4\%$ of Group C received adequate chemotherapy. The complication rates of Group A ($44.4\%$) was significantly higher than group B ($20.4\%$) and group C ($24.0\%$)(P<0.05). Most frequent complications were nausea and vomiting. The 3-year survival rates and disease-free survival rates were $92.2\%$ and $89.9\%$ respectively (Group A: $96.6\%,\;87.8\%$, B: $90.3\%,\;87.7\%$, C: $95.7\%,\;93.8\%$). There were no significant differences in survival rate and disease-free survival rate among the three groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study might suggest that the survival benefit of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and therefore it may be a useful adjunct tool for detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in combination with other conventional techniques.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.143-149
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• 2005

We have demonstrated previously on a replication incompetent recombinant adenoviral vector, AdLPCD, in which the expression of cytosine deaminase (CD) gene is driven by the tumor-specific L-plastin promoter. The object of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of AdLPCD together with 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) in suppression of the growth of established human tumor cells of ovary, Consistent with the knowledge that infection of OVCAR-3 cells with AdLPCD resulted in expression of a functional intracellular CD enzyme capable of converting 5-FC to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (Chung and Deisseroth, 2004), statistically significant differences in cytotoxicity were observed when AdLPCD infected cells were also exposed to 5-FC for 6 days (p=0.05), 9 days (p<0.0005) and 12 days (p<0.005), compared to 5-FC exposure alone, These results indicate that the CD gene delivered by adenoviral vector could efficiently sensitize OVCAR-3, otherwise non-toxic 5-FC. On the other hand, SKOV-3 cells, an ovarian carcinoma cell line, were more resistant to the CD/5-FC strategy compared with OVCAR-3 cells under the same condition. The results of present study suggest that the replacement of 5-FU with CD/5-FC in combination chemotherapy would be less toxic and much greater cytotoxicity than the conventional combination chemotherapy in some patients.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.83-89
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• 2008

We have compared the antitumor effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT), using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) as the photosensitizer, combined with cisplatin (CDDP) on AMC-HN3 human squamous cell carcinoma. AMC-HN3 cells were cultured and then incubated with various concentrations of CDDP and ALA. 632 nm diode laser was given at $6.0J/cm^2$ followed by incubation for 24 hours. The evaluation of cell viability was done by MTT assay. In vivo CDDP was injected intraperitoneally 24 hours prior to PDT. The anti-tumor effects of each treatment were measured by tumor volume change. Cell viability were 44.29% for the cisplatin-mediated chemotherapy group $(6.25{\mu}g/ml)$, 77.22% for ALA-PDT group, and 15.06% for the Combination therapy group. In vivo, the antitumor effect of photodynamic therapy was enhanced by combination of Cisplatin-mediated chemotherapy. Photodynamic therapy combined with administration of Cisplatin appears to enhance antitumor effect and to be a useful treatment modality.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.268-276
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• 2018

Although patients with breast cancer receive standard treatments, they often experience recurrence or metastasis of tumors. Therefore, patients seeking treatment with traditional Korean medicine (TKM) in addition to conventional treatment have increased. We present a case of 46-year-old female with recurring breast cancer. She underwent surgeries and various hormone therapies since being diagnosed in 2007. Upon follow-up examination, she had metastatic lesions on the lung and multiple bones in 2015 and 2016. She received TKM treatments from May 2017 with Aromasin and Afinitor. However, hepatic metastasis was found after two months, so she started Capecitabine with TKM. After about two months, the liver nodules disappeared and a seeding nodule in the right paracolic gutter was decreased. After two months, the tumor response was stable disease. Back pain due to bone metastasis was improved. We suggest that combination treatment of TKM and chemotherapy is a promising method for treating breast cancer.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 2018

Background: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) tends to grow more rapidly and spread much faster than non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A concurrent combination of chemotherapy and thoracic radiotherapy is suggested as the standard conventional treatment, but it is more challenging for elderly patients having pulmonary and cardiovascular comorbidities. Case presentation: Here we present a case of an 80-year-old male, current smoker diagnosed with SCLC in limited stage T3N0M0 (36mm right upper lobe, satellite nodule) in Dec, 2015. The standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy was not available for his comorbidities, which included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and angina pectoris. Furthermore, he and his family refused the recommended chemotherapy or radiotherapy exclusively. Alternatively, he received various non-conventional treatments including local radiofrequency hyperthermia, mistletoe, and Traditional Korean medicine including acupuncture, moxibustion and herbs since Jan. 2016. Despite the progression in primary tumor size, there have been no other distant relapse so far, and the patient has been in stable condition ever since. Conclusion: We suggest that a combination of various alternative treatments could be a candidate for elderly patients intolerable to conventional cytotoxic treatments.

• Kosin Medical Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.438-445
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• 2018

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare chronic B cell leukemia morphologically characterized by cells with an abundant cytoplasm and hair-like projections that can be found in the peripheral blood and bone marrow. The treatment for HCL is splenectomy or chemotherapy with the purine analogs pentostatin and cladribine. However, patients continue to relapse. Retreatment with the same or alternate purine analogs produces lower response rates and a shorter duration of response. Fludarabine is another purine analog widely used in treating indolent lymphoid cancers, often in combination with rituximab. Here, we report a case of HCL variant in a 60-year-old man who experienced multiple relapses after splenectomy and retreatment with cladribine. The patient was then treated with fludarabine and rituximab combination chemotherapy. After the treatment, he achieved complete remission that continued for 35 months.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2453-2459
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• 2013

Bevacizumab has been approved for use in combination with chemotherapy to treat many types of cancer but associated neutropenic events, including febrile neutropenia, have been reported. To estimate the incidence and relative risk of neutropenic events in cancer patients treated with bevacizumab combination therapy, we searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science literature databases, as well as abstracts presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conferences, to identify relevant studies published from January 1966 to December 2011. Studies that compared bevacizumab plus chemotherapy or biological therapy with chemotherapy or biological therapy alone, and that had adequate safety data profiles, were selected for analysis. Statistical analyses were conducted to calculate the summary incidence rates, relative risks (RRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using fixed- or random-effects models. A total of 22 clinical trials involving 15,056 patients were included in the analysis. The summary incidences of high-grade neutropenia (HGN) and high-grade febrile neutropenia (HGFN) in patients receiving bevacizumab was 27.3% (95% CI: 26.4%-28.3%) and 3.91% (95% CI: 3.51%-4.37%), respectively. The risks of HGN (RR=1.10; 95% CI: 1.02-1.19; P=0.02) and HGFN (RR=1.31; 95% CI: 1.08-1.59; P=0.005) were significantly increased in bevacizumab-treated patients, compared to those who did not receive bevacizumab. The RR of bevacizumab-associated HGN, but not HGFN, varied significantly with tumor types (P=0.005). The increased risk of bevacizumab-associated neutropenic events was dose-dependent, as the RR was greater at a dose of 5 mg/kg/week than at 2.5 mg/kg/week. Our findings suggest that bevacizumab addition to cancer therapy significantly increases the risk of serious neutropenic events, and this risk may be dose-dependent.