BACKGROUND A phase I study to evaluate combined therapy with irinotecan (CPT-11), mitomycin-C (MMC), and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was performed in patients with gynecological malignancy, especially non-squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eligibility for the study included patients with previously untreated, chemotherapy-naïve cervical and ovarian carcinoma. CPT-1...

Crizotinib is a standard treatment for advanced ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We undertook this study to investigate the pharmacokinetics of crizotinib and clinical and pharmacogenomic factors that may increase the risk of adverse events (AEs). We defined clinically significant AEs as grade 4 hematological toxicity, grade ≥3 non-hematological toxicity, and any grade of inters...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of oral taurine supplementation on the incidence of chemotherapy-induced adverse drug reactions during chemotherapy in young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty young adult (aged over 16 years) with ALL, at the beginning of maintenance course of their chemotherapy, were recruited to the study...

BACKGROUND Amrubicin hydrochloride (AMR) is a key agent for lung cancer. NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) metabolizes the quinone structures contained in both amrubicin (AMR) and amrubicinol (AMR-OH). We hypothesized that NQO1 C609T polymorphism may affect AMR-related pharmacokinetics and clinical outcomes. METHODS Patients received AMR doses of 30 or 40 mg/m(2)/day on days 1-3. Plasma s...

Background Patients with unresectable or inoperable esophageal carcinoma are usually treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy. The present standard regimen is radiation with concurrent chemotherapy with cisplatin and fluorouracil. However, significant toxicities have been observed. The efficacy and safety of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with weekly docetaxel for head-and-neck squamous cell car...

Rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed against CD20, has become a part of the standard therapy for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma either in combination with other drugs or as a single agent. The CD20 antigen is expressed on 95% of B-cell lymphoma cells and normal B-cells but, is not found on precursor B-cells or stem cells. Rituximab is now approved for patients with diffuse l...

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare and incurable subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that generally affects older individuals. However, the use of high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplant has improved significantly the prognosis of this hematological malignancy, but at the cost of increased toxicities, such as acute toxic death and secondary malignancies. But thanks to a rising und...

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the main curative therapy for hematological malignancy such as leukemias, lymphomas, or multiple myelomas and some other hematological disorders. In this therapy, cure of hematological diseases relies on graft-versus-malignancy effects by allogenic immune cells. However, severe posttransplant treatment-associated complications su...

Topotecan, a water-soluble semisynthetic analogue of camptothecin, is the first topoisomerase I inhibitor to undergo evaluation in pediatrie patients with refractory malignancies. A phase I and pharmacokinetic study was performed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and dose-limiting toxicities, the incidence and severity of other toxicities, and the pharmacokinetics of topotecan in ch...

BACKGROUND Many physicians are reluctant to treat elderly glioblastoma (GBM) patients as aggressively as younger patients, which is not evidence based due to the absence of validated data from primary studies. We conducted a meta-analysis to provide valid evidence for the use of the aggressive combination of radiotherapy (RT) and temozolomide (TMZ) in elderly GBM patients. METHODS A systemati...