The eLEcTRA trial compared efficacy and safety of letrozole combined with trastuzumab to letrozole alone in patients with HER2 and hormone receptor (HR) positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Patients were randomized to either letrozole alone (arm A, n = 31) or letrozole plus trastuzumab (arm B, n = 26) as first-line treatment. Additional 35 patients with HER2 negative and HR positive tumors received letrozole alone (arm C). Median time to progression in arm A was 3.3 months compared to 14.1 months in arm B (hazard ratio 0.67; p = 0.23) and 15.2 months in arm C (hazard ratio 0.71; p = 0.03). Clinical benefit rate was 39% for arm A compared to 65% in arm B (odds ratio 2.99, 95% CI 1.01-8.84) and 77% in arm C (odds ratio 5.34, 95% CI 1.83-15.58). The eLEcTRA trial showed that the combination of letrozole and trastuzumab is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with HER2 positive and HR positive MBC.

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One hundred patients with bleeding oesophageal varices were randomized into two treatment groups after resuscitation. One group was managed by tamponade only (group 1); the other group (group 2) was treated by endoscopic injection of oesophageal varices. The patients in group 2 were further subdivided into 25 patients (group 2a), who had tamponade applied immediately after sclerotherapy, and 25 patients (group 2b), who had sclerotherapy without subsequent tamponade. Injection of varices controlled the acute bleeding episode more effectively than tamponade (74 per cent in group 2 v. 42 per cent in group 1). There was no significant difference in the overall mortality rate of the two groups, but group 2 had a significantly higher proportion of Child's grade C patients (38/50 v. 29/50 = 76 v. 58 per cent). If only Child's grade C patients are considered, 16 out of 29 (55 per cent) died in group 1, whereas only 12 out of 38 (32 per cent) died in group 2 (P less than 0.05). Tamponade applied after sclerotherapy had no demonstrable effect on the outcome of sclerotherapy. The long term follow-up of patients (maximum 4 years) showed that recurrence of bleeding was less in the sclerotherapy group (8.1 per cent) than in the tamponade only group (27.6 per cent; P less than 0.05).

Background: Letrozole (LET) and trastuzumab (TRA) are established agents for the treatment of hormone-receptor (HR) positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients and HER2 positive disease, respectively. The “eLEcTRA” trial was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of LET combined with TRA to LET alone in patients that are both HER2 and HR positive. Furthermore, LET alone was compared in patients with HER2 and HR positive disease vs. those with HER2 negative, HR positive tumors.Methods: In this multicenter trial, 92 pts from 32 sites in 7 countries were enrolled from 2003 to 2007. Initially, enrollment of 370 pts was planned, however, due to slow recruitment the trial was prematurely closed in 2007. Patients with HER2 and HR positive MBC were randomized to either LET alone (Arm A, n=31) or LET + TRA (Arm B, n=26) as first-line treatment. In addition, 35 patients with HER2 negative and HR positive tumors were assigned to receive LET alone as first-line treatment (Arm C). Tumor response assessments were based on RECIST. Primary endpoint was time to progression (TTP), secondary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR) and clinical benefit rate (CBR).Results: Median age in the three arms was 61 (arm A), 61,5 (arm B), and 70 years (arm C), respectively. Median TTP in the LET alone arm (A) was 3.3 months compared to 14.1 months in the LET + TRA combination arm (B) (hazard ratio=0.67; p=0.23) and 15.2 months in arm C (hazard ratio=0.71; p=0.03). CBR was 39% for arm A compared to 65% in arm B (odds ratio 3.15, CI 1.07-9.26) and 77% in arm C (odds ratio 5.34, CI 1.83-15.58), respectively. ORRs were 13% for arm A, 27% for arm B, and 11% for arm C.LVEF as cardiac safety parameter showed no change from baseline to the minimum value during the treatment for arms A and C and a slight decrease by 5% for arm B.The incidence of other cardiac adverse events was comparable in all arms (10%, 8%, and 9%). Gastrointestinal disorders or musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders were slightly more frequent for patients receiving LET and TRA (arm B).Conclusion: The results of the eLEcTRA trial show that the combination of letrozole and trastuzumab can be safely administered and is superior to letrozole alone as first-line therapy in patients with HER2 and HR positive MBC. Our results also confirm earlier evidence that aromatase-inhibitor therapy alone is only associated with a rather short TTP in HER2 and HR positive MBC. In contrast, outcome in letrozole-treated patients with HER2 negative HR positive tumors is significantly better compared to that associated with tumors with both HR and HER2 expression.(Trial was sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals) Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 4094.

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The complications of injection sclerotherapy were retrospectively studied in 122 patients with acute variceal bleeding. Initial control of bleeding was achieved in 72.5 per cent of patients and the final success rate of sclerotherapy was 86.1 per cent. The overall morbidity rate was 30.3 per cent. Minor complications occurred in 13.9 per cent of patients and major complications were recorded in 16.4 per cent. Twenty patients developed complications directly attributable to sclerotherapy: 14 minor and 6 major. The overall mortality rate was 21.3 per cent, and 7.4 per cent of the patients died due to complications. Pulmonary complications occurred in 15 patients and resulted in 3 deaths. Retrosternal pain developed in 8 patients, but dysphagia and oesophageal ulceration were rare. No stricture was recorded. The incidence of liver failure in 17 Child's grade C cases was almost certainly a complication of the underlying disease rather than the injection therapy. It is suggested that injection sclerotherapy is an effective and relatively safe treatment for variceal bleeding.

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SUMMARY The effect of pharmacological constriction of the lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) on oesophageal varices was investigated in an experimental study followed by a controlled clinical trial. In the experimental study intravariceal pressure was measured just above the LOS in 11 patients before and after constricting the LOS by intravenous pentagastrin. Intravariceal pressure fell from a mean of 23 (range 12-36)