For the study of prognostic factors, the medical researchers have access to a number of advanced statistical techniques available in standard program packages. A tradition has developed where survival or time to relapse is analysed on the basis of statistical materials with few patients but a large number of possible explanatory variables. In statistical "fishing expeditions" the p-values are used

A systematic review of chemotherapy trials in several tumour types was performed by The Swedish Council of Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU). The procedures for the evaluation of the scientific literature are described separately (Acta Oncol 2001; 40: 155-65). This overview on chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian cancer is based on a total of 176 scientific reports. Five meta-analyses incl

PURPOSE: Adjuvant chemotherapy versus observation and chemotherapy at progression was evaluated in 162 patients in a prospective randomized multicenter study. We also evaluated DNA-measurements as an additional prognostic factor.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients received adjuvant carboplatin AUC 7 every 28 days for six courses (n = 81) or no adjuvant treatment (n = 81). Eligibility included surgicall

This article examines the impact of prognostic factors, adjuvant therapy, and randomized trials on the overall survival of patients with endometrial cancer. The potential role of radiation therapy as an adjuvant therapy, as well as the role of lymph node dissection, in the treatment of endometrial carcinomas is reviewed.

PURPOSE: To calculate the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of late radiation effects on the rectum and bladder from repetitive CT scans during fractionated high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) of the uterine cervix and compare the NTCP with the clinical frequency of late effects.METHODS AND MATERIALS: Fourteen patients with cancer of the uterine ce

This report by The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) reviews, classifies, and grades the scientific literature on cancer chemotherapy in some major tumour types, describes the practice of chemotherapy in Sweden, compares practice with scientific knowledge, and analyses the costs and cost-effectiveness of chemotherapy. The report is intended primarily for decision-makers

BACKGROUND: Owing to the wide spread perception of a possible benefit from paclitaxel in the second-line situation the Nordic Gynecologic Oncology Group (NGOG) conducted two prospective phase II studies of paclitaxel single agent treatment (175 mg/m2, three-hour i.v. infusion with standard pre-medication every third week) in patients with relapsing or progressing epithelial ovarian cancer followin

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced emesis is one of the most disturbing side effects of cancer therapy. Control of acute emesis has improved substantially during recent years, but control of delayed emesis and nausea remains a challenging problem. The role of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in the treatment of delayed emesis is disputed.METHODS: Tropisetron, a highly specific 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, w

A trial of decentralised cytostatic (carboplatin + cyclophosphamide) treatment of advanced ovarian cancer under centralised supervision, carried out in the southern health care region, yielded good results. As carboplatin and cyclophosphamide cause myelosuppression which is commonly most manifest two weeks after treatment, increasing dosage intervals and reducing dosages is often necessary. Howeve

BACKGROUND: The locoregional failure rate remains high in advanced cervical carcinoma. Chemotherapy (CT) was added to radiotherapy (RT) in order to increase disease control and to improve 5-year survival.METHODS: CT + RT included cisplatin administered 100mg/m2, d.1 plus 5-fluorouracil 1000 mg/m2 D.1 to 5, ci (120 hrs), q every 3rd week for 3 cycles, followed by RT. RT included external beam irrad

In a controlled prospective randomized study the regimen doxorubicin (A) 40 mg/m2 + melphalan (M) 0.4 mg/kg was compared with A + M + cisplatin (C) 50 mg/m2 given every four weeks in advanced ovarian cancer, FIGO stage III or IV and with serous or anaplastic histology. From 1981 to 1983, 300 patients entered the study and 295 patients were evaluable for response, toxicity and long-term survival. A

A large, consecutive series of 562 patients with endometrial adenocarcinomas was investigated with respect to prognostic factors. In the histopathologic evaluation the World Health Organization (WHO) classification system was used. In addition to that, in moderately differentiated (MD) tumors small areas of solid growth were identified and the proportions of these out of the whole areas of tumor (

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Navoban (tropisetron) three different Nordic multicentre trials were conducted during the period 1988-92. In all, 1050 patients were recruited from 15 centres. In the first study, Navoban monotherapy was compared with a high-dose metoclopramide cocktail. In the second, Navoban +/- dexamethasone was evaluated for those patients not fully protected by Navoban a

There have been no controlled clinical trials supporting the use of primary cytoreductive surgery. The question remains as to whether the observed survival benefits for patients subjected to primary cytoreductive surgery are an effect of surgical skill or tumour biology. The proponents of tumour biology claim that cytoreductive surgery is a selective procedure, choosing patients with better progno

An open, noncomparative, Nordic multicenter study was carried out during 1991-1992 to evaluate the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron (Navoban) as an antiemetic agent for various types of cancer chemotherapy. A total of 630 patients were recruited from 15 centers in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Gynecological cancers (60%), breast cancer (15%), and lung cancer (10%) were the main diagnoses. Pri

BACKGROUND: The morphologic spectrum of ovarian mucinous tumors is well known, but the features that predict aggressive behavior are still controversial.METHODS: Ninety-two cases of primary ovarian mucinous tumors with atypical epithelial proliferation and/or stromal invasion were analyzed histologically and by DNA flow cytometry, and the results were correlated with clinical findings.RESULTS: The

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy-induced emesis is one of the most disturbing side effects in cancer therapy. Thus, antiemetic treatment is a mandatory adjunct in emetogenic chemotherapy.METHODS: Tropisetron (Navoban, Sandoz Pharma Ltd., Basel, Switzerland), a new 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, was compared in a randomized multicenter trial with a high-dose metoclopramide-dexamethasone cocktail for the preven