CE at the oral dose administered was well tolerated by these patients with CACS. No differences in patients' appetite or QOL were found either between CE, THC, and PL or between CE and THC at the dosages investigated.

Summary Amplification of the CCDNI gene encoding cyclin DI was examined by Southern blotting and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and occurred in 8 of 53 patients (15%) with primary resected nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These tumours and 17 additional tumours with a normal gene copy number showed overexpression of cyclin Dl (25/53, 47%), as assessed by immunostaining using a monoclonal antibody. In 22/25 cases, cyclin DI was localised in the cytoplasm, but some (7/25) had simultaneous nuclear staining. This result is in marked contrast to that reported in breast, hepatocellular and colorectal carcinoma studies where immunostaining was invariably nuclear. Examination of a restriction fragment length polymorphic (RFLP) site within the 3'untranslated region of the cDNA following reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR (29/53 informative cases) showed a strong association between cytoplasmic staining and imbalance in allele-specific message levels. Cyclin Dl overexpression was associated with a poorly differentiated histology (P=0.04), less lymphocytic infiltration of the tumour (P=0.02) and a reduction in local relapse rate (P =0.01). The relative risk of local relapse was 9.1 in tumours without cyclin Dl overexpression (P = 0.01, Cox regression analysis). We conclude that genetic alteration of cyclin Dl is a key abnormality in lung carcinogenesis and may have diagnostic and prognostic importance in the treatment of resectable NSCLC.

Anorexia/cachexia of male cancer patients affects the cooking at home, a couple's daily eating routines, and their spousal relationship. Identification of ERD may trigger targeted psychosocial interventions.

On the basis of this population-based cohort of stage IV colorectal cancer patients, palliative primary tumor resection was associated with improved overall and cancer-specific survival. Therefore, the dogma that an asymptomatic primary tumor never should be resected in patients with unresectable colorectal cancer metastases must be questioned.

The reduction of BEACOPP to the 4 + 4 regimen did not substantially reduce severe toxicity but might decrease efficacy. Our results do not support the omission of consolidation RT for patients with residual disease. Alternative strategies for improving the risk-to-benefit ratio for patients with advanced HL are needed.

DC-based multi-epitope immunotherapy with repeated boosting in men with hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma is feasible and generates efficient cellular antitumor responses.

BACKGROUND: This analysis was initiated to define the predictive value of the area under the curve of high-dose methotrexate (AUC HD-MTX ) in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 55 patients with PCNSL and available pharmacokinetic (PK) data from the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG) no. 20 trial, randomised to HD-MTX (n ¼ 30) or HD-MTX and high-dose cytarabine (HD-AraC) (n ¼ 25). Individual AUC HD-MTX from population PK analysis was tested on drug toxicity and clinical outcome using multivariate logistic regression analysis and Cox hazards modelling. RESULTS: AUC HD-MTX , the IELSG score and treatment group were significant predictors for treatment response (complete or partial) in the adjusted model. The AUC HD-MTX did not predict toxicity, with the exception of liver toxicity and neutropaenia. A high AUC HD-MTX was associated with better event-free survival (EFS) (P ¼ 0.01) and overall survival (OAS) (P ¼ 0.02). Both the AUC HD-MTX and the IELSG score were significant predictors of EFS and OAS in the adjusted model, with a hazard ratio of 0.82 and 0.73, respectively, per 100 mmol l À1 h À1 increase in AUC HD-MTX .

Direct viral forms of Neuro-Chikungunya seem to occur particularly in infants and elderly patients, while autoimmune forms have to be also considered in middle-aged, previously healthy patients, especially after an asymptomatic interval. This knowledge will help to identify future Neuro-Chikungunya cases and to improve outcome especially in autoimmune-mediated conditions. The genetics of Chikungunya virus might play a key role in determining the course of neuropathogenesis. With further research, this could prove diagnostically significant.