Patients with melanoma and tyrosinase mRNA detected in the blood during adjuvant interferon therapy had a worse prognosis compared with patients with undetected tyrosinase mRNA during treatment. Further investigation into the detection of circulating melanoma cells as a surrogate marker of response to adjuvant interferon therapy is warranted.

To evaluate serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a prognostic factor in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with metronomic (weekly) paclitaxel.Design: Before-and-after trial.Patients: A total of 33 consecutive patients were enrolled. Patients with recurrent and/or metastatic cancer of the head and neck refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy met inclusion criteria.Setting: Tertiary referral center.Intervention: Patients were treated weekly with 80 mg/m 2 of paclitaxel for 6 weeks.Main Outcome Measures: Blood samples were collected after each dose and analyzed for serum VEGF using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Nonparametric tests were used to analyze serum VEGF levels.

The global prognosis and that of some stages have improved in recent years with case RGC patients treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Gene polymorphisms of DPYD and CDA predict survival of gastric cancer patients treated with 5-fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy.