Quality of life (QOL) in patients suffering from locally advancedstage nasopharyngeal cancer before, during and after receiving carboplatin with concurrent chemoradiotherapy

Objective: To compare the quality of life (QOL) in patients suffering from locally advanced-stage nasopharyngeal cancer before, during and after treatment with carboplatin concurrent with radiation.Materials and methods: Fifty patients diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer stage III or IV and who were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), were included in our study. The Thai version of the World Health Organization’s brief quality of life assessment (WHOQOLBREF- THAI), consisting of 26 indicators, was used for self-Assessment before, during and 1 month after completion of treatment. Data were analysed using Mcnema test.Results: Two-thirds of the patients were male, 44% were stage III and 56% were stage IV in nasopharyngeal cancer, respectively. The association between the physical parameters of QOL before and 1 month after treatment completion was statistically significant (p

Tumor marker for colorectal cancer

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and Cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) are the two most common tumor markers for colorectal cancer that are currently utilized clinically for investigation. Simultaneous use of the two markers is useful in evaluating the therapeutic effect and monitoring the recurrence of advanced colorectal cancer.

Renal and liver impairment in patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy

Chemotherapeutic agents can affect the glomerulus, renal tubules, interstitium ormicrovasculature. In renal impairment, drug excretion pathways by glomerular filtration and tubular secretion are inhibited, leading to increased systemic toxicity. Dose reductions were required in many drugs based on an estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and clinical signs of drug toxicity. Also, cytotoxic chemotherapy affected liver function by direct chemical reaction such as intrinsic hepatotoxicity or idiosyncratic reactions or immune mediated hypersensitivity. Therefore, liver function should be carefully assessed both prior to treatment and during therapy because an alteration of metabolism and excretion of chemotherapeutic drugs can lead to higher or more persistent drug levels, resulting in increased systemic toxicity (particularly myelosuppression) or worsening of chemotherapyinduced hepatotoxicity.