Small cell lung cancer: an update on therapeutic aspects.

Small cell lung cancer comprises approximately 20% of all lung cancers and continues to be a difficult management issue. More than two-thirds of cases present with extensive disease, which has spread beyond the himithorax and regional ipsilateral nodes. While response rates to chemotherapy are relatively high, durable responses are rare, and long-term survival rates are anecdotal. Although many attempts have been made to develop new therapies, a combination of etoposide with either cisplatin or carboplatin remains the most widely used first-line therapy for extensive disease. For those with limited disease, chemotherapy with concomitant radiotherapy (given with the first or second cycles of chemotherapy) is considered the standard of care. Over the last decade, several new drugs and targeted agents have been identified with the aim to improve outcome of this malignancy. In this review we highlight recent developments in the management of this tumour.

Quality of life measures in lung cancer.

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Survival has not improved significantly in spite of newer therapies. In view of the high-symptom burden and severe morbidity, evaluation of quality of life (QOL) becomes important in these patients. Several instruments are now available for this purpose, and have demonstrated good correlation with performance status, symptoms, and survival. Quality of life assessments also help in comparing different therapeutic regimes, thus allowing selection of the appropriate modality. Problems of inconsistent interpretability and high-patient dropout rate poses a challenging problem that needs to be tackled. In spite of these drawbacks, QOL is now considered to be an essential component of lung cancer management and should be performed routinely. Such a practice will help the physician plan appropriate treatment strategies and set practical therapeutic goals.

Clinical features and prognostic factors of early breast cancer at a major cancer center in North India.

BACKGROUND: Data on the clinical profile of early breast cancer (EBC) from India is scant. Due to differences in genetics, environment, lifestyle, socio-demographic structure and ethnicity, the presentation and behavior of breast cancer in India may be different. AIMS: To analyze the clinical presentation and outcome of EBC patients. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A single center retrospective study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 487 EBC patients registered and treated at our institute from 1993 through 1999 were analyzed. Cox's multivariate regression test was used to determine prognostic factors for overall and disease-free survival (OS & DFS). RESULTS: The median age was 47 years and 49.7% patients were pre-menopausal. Ninety-six per cent patients presented with a lump. Stages I, IIa, and IIb comprised 7.8%, 38.8%, and 47.6% respectively. Only 11.3% patients opted for breast-conserving surgery (BCS) while the remaining 88.7% underwent modified radical mastectomy (MRM). Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to 275 (56.5%), and radiotherapy to 146 (29.9%). Estrogen receptor status was known in 173, of whom 93 (53.7%) were positive. Most patients were prescribed Tamoxifen for 5 years. At a median follow-up of 48 months, 126 (25.9%) patients had relapsed (systemic 107, loco-regional 19) and 94 (19.3%) had died. Five-year DFS and OS were 73% and 78%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, four positive nodes adversely influenced survival (P< 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The median age at presentation was 47 years, significantly lower than most Western figures. The majority (86.4%) had a lump size > two cm. BCS was done in only 11% and the rest underwent MRM. Nodal involvement was the significant prognostic factor.

Germ cell tumours of the testis: clinical features, treatment outcome and prognostic factors.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with germ cell tumours of the testis has Improved over the past two decades following cisplatinum-based chemotherapy. Currently, staging and risk assessment of the disease is crucial in order to provide curative therapy for patients with poor risk features and not over-treat good risk patients. METHODS: We reviewed the case records of 71 men diagnosed to have germ cell tumours between January 1993 and October 1999. Their clinical characteristics, staging, treatment outcome and prognostic factors for response and survival were analysed. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 30 years (range: 3-65 years); 69% were in the third and fourth decades. Sixty-one patients (86%) had a primary testicular tumour while in 10 (14%) the tumour was extragonadal. Histopathologically, 53 patients (75%) had non-seminomatous germ cell tumours and 15 (21%) had a seminoma. Twenty-seven patients (62%) had evidence of metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. On prognostication, non-seminomatous germ cell tumour patients could be divded into good, intemediate and poor prognostic groups comprising 41%, 17% and 40% of patients, respectively. All patients with a seminoma were in the good prognostic subgroup. Fifty-eight patients were evaluable for response. Overall, 91% of patients responded: complete response 71% and partial response 20%. Complete response rates were signiflcantly higher for the good risk (95%) compared to the intermediate (49%) and poor risk (47%) categories (p< 0.003). At a median follow up of 26 months, the 2-year overall and progression-free survival for all patients was 70% and 57%, respectively. The predictors for decreased overall and progression-free survival were age >35 years, presence of poor risk features and mediastinal primary disease. CONCLUSION: The outcome for germ cell tumours in men with good risk is excellent. A protocol consisting of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin is effective. Tailoring of chemotherapy In good risk patients to minimize toxicity and Improving results in poor risk patients are areas that need further work.