1. |
- Fernö, Mårten, et al.
(author)
-
Cathepsin D, both a prognostic factor and a predictive factor for the effect of adjuvant tamoxifen in breast cancer. South Sweden Breast Cancer Group
- 1994
-
In: European Journal of Cancer. - 1879-0852. ; 30a:14, s. 2042-2048
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cathepsin D is a lysosomal protease implicated in cancer metastasis. Its concentration in breast tumours has also been shown to be of prognostic importance, although to what extent this is subject to lymph node status, the use of adjuvant therapy and menopausal status has not been clearly evaluated. At a cut-off level of 45 pmol/mg protein (61% of the 623 samples were classified as high cathepsin D tumours; immunoradiometric assay), we found cathepsin D to be of prognostic importance only among breast cancer patients with lymph node-positive (N+) disease not treated with adjuvant tamoxifen. When the series was stratified according to cathepsin D content of their tumours, progesterone receptor (PgR) status and lymph node involvement, adjuvant tamoxifen was found to have a significant beneficial effect only among patients with N+ and PgR-positive breast cancer whose tumours had a high cathepsin D content.
|
|
2. |
- Malmström, P U, et al.
(author)
-
Increasing survival of patients with urinary bladder cancer : A nationwide study in Sweden 1960-1986
- 1993
-
In: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 29A:13, s. 1868-1872
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Survival rates were analysed in 29,055 patients with urinary bladder cancer diagnosed in Sweden from 1960 to 1986 and followed up until 1987. The 2-, 5- and 10-year relative survival rates were 79, 70 and 64% for men and 75, 68 and 63% for women, respectively. Patients with a history of bladder cancer for at least 15 years ran a negligible risk of dying from their disease. Prognosis was consistently better in younger than in older patients; below 50 years of age the 5-year relative survival rate was 90%, as compared with 60% in patients aged 70-79 years. Patients diagnosed between 1960 and 1964 had a 60% 5-year relative survival, as compared to 71% in those diagnosed between 1980 and 1984. Multivariate analyses further confirmed that age but not sex is an important prognostic factor in bladder cancer and, further, that a substantial improvement in survival rates took place during the 1960-1986 period. Compared with 1960-1964 the risk of dying of bladder cancer within 5 years in patients diagnosed between 1980 and 1984 was 51% lower in men [relative risk (RR) = 0.49; 95% confidence interval (C.I.) 0.42-0.57] and 44% lower in women (RR = 0.56; 95% C.I. 0.45-0.70).
|
|
3. |
- Tiensuu Janson, Eva, et al.
(author)
-
Octreotide and interferon alfa : a new combination for the treatment of malignant carcinoid tumours
- 1992
-
In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 28A:10, s. 1647-1650
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 24 patients with malignant carcinoid tumours received octreotide and interferon alfa (IFN-alpha). All the patients initially received octreotide 50-100 micrograms, twice daily. When progressive symptoms or increasing biochemical markers were observed, the daily dose was raised to a median 300 micrograms. If the initial dose proved ineffective or if no improvement was seen after escalation, IFN-alpha was added (median 9 MU subcutaneously per week). After the addition of IFN-alpha, 17 of the 22 patients (77%) with elevated urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid showed a significant (> 50%) reduction. Only 1 patient progressed and 4 had continuously stable biochemical disease. No significant reduction in tumour size was noted; in 5 patients, the tumour continued to grow despite decreasing hormone levels. 18 patients had carcinoid syndrome when IFN-alpha was added in 10 (56%) symptoms ameliorated. Thus, the addition of IFN-alpha is beneficial for patients with malignant carcinoid tumours that progress and/or who do not respond to octreotide.
|
|
4. |
- Åvall Lundqvist, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
-
Initial experiences with serum alkaline DNase activity in monitoring the effects of therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix.
- 1991
-
In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 27:10, s. 1313-1315
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The objective was to evaluate if variations in serum alkaline DNase activity (SADA) can predict the effects of therapy in women with early stages of primary cervical carcinoma. 29 out of 33 patients had no evidence of disease after therapy. Only 5 out of the 29 women showed increased SADA levels after therapy compared with the pretreatment SADA value. Of the 4 women with evidence of disease after therapy, 3 had unchanged or decreased SADA levels. We conclude that serum alkaline DNase activity seems to have little to offer in predicting the effects of treatment in stage I and stage II cervical carcinoma.
|
|
5. |
- Åvall-Lundqvist, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
-
Prognostic significance of pretreatment serum levels of squamous cell carcinoma antigen and CA 125 in cervical carcinoma.
- 1992
-
In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 28A:10, s. 1695-1702
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serum levels of squamous cell carcinoma antigen SCC, carcinoembryonic antigen CA 125, and tissue polypeptide antigen were determined in 142 patients with primary cervical carcinoma, 60 patients with precancerous lesions and in 129 healthy women. With regard to elevated tumour marker levels, specificity ranged from 94.6% to 97.7%. Sensitivity was highest (44.4%) for SCC. A stage relation was found for all tumour markers except for carcinoembryonic antigen. In stage Ib, SCC levels increased according to tumour volume. SCC, CA 125 or both markers were elevated in 7 of 8 patients with pelvic lymph node metastases compared with only 17 of 58 patients with negative nodes (P = 0.005). In a multivariate analysis, pretreatment serum levels of SCC and CA 125 were found to be significantly related to patient survival, in addition to stage. In cervical SCC, the risk of a fatal outcome increased 16 times with SCC levels > or = 4.5 ng/ml, compared with SCC levels < or = 1.3 ng/ml. We conclude that pretreatment serum levels of SCC may be of value as an adjunct to clinical staging. In addition, serum determinations of SCC and CA 125 seem to be useful in predicting the risk of pelvic lymph node metastases and as prognostic risk factors for disease outcome.
|
|