Innovations in chemotherapy and radiation therapy: Implications and opportunities for the Asia-Pacific Rim.

New cases of invasive cancer in the United States occur among nearly 1.5 million people annually. In 2007, more than 1,500 people died per day with this diagnosis. Cancer is responsible for nearly one in every four deaths reported in the country. Enormous amounts of money and research have been, and are being spent, in an attempt to improve these numbers. While prevention and early detection remain the key to long-term success, treatment in the neo-adjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic settings still centre around two main treatment modalities - radiation therapy and chemotherapy. This article will review the advances that have been made in both areas that are making these treatments more precise and convenient, as well as less toxic, for the patient. In the field of radiation therapy this involves the development of new therapy planning and delivery systems, such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and positron emission and computed tomography, PET-CT. Chemotherapy has also evolved with the development of targeted chemotherapy for the treatment of specific malignancies as well as improved supportive care agents which allow for the administration of dose-dense chemotherapy when appropriate.

ViVACCy--a drug schedule based on G2 blockade and prolonged infusion of multiple tubulin-binding agents. A pilot study.

A drug schedule has been devised based on a strategy of G2 blockade followed by prolonged infusion of tubulin-binding agents. The regimen consists of doxorubicin 32 mg/m2 i.v. and cyclophosphamide 320 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1 followed by vinblastine (0.3 to 1.2 mg/m2/day), cisplatin (3 to 12 mg/m2/day), and vincristine (0.04 to 0.16 mg/m2/day) by continuous intravenous infusion on days 5 to 12. Courses are repeated every 28 days. Eighteen patients with advanced solid tumors received 37 courses of chemotherapy in a pilot study to determine safe drug concentrations for the three-drug infusion for 7 days. Dose limiting toxicity was myelosuppression. Patients who received prior mitomycin-C experienced more profound thrombocytopenia than those who did not. Nonhematologic toxicities included mild nausea, vomiting, and transient elevations of serum alkaline phosphatase and serum creatinine. One patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus who erroneously received vincristine 0.8 mg/m2 instead of 0.08 mg/m2 for 4 1/2 days developed transient myalgia, ileus, and a transient peripheral neuropathy; the patient achieved a sustained complete remission for 15 months and died of unrelated causes. Minor responses and stable disease were seen in two patients with renal cell carcinoma (1 and 2.5 months), three patients with colorectal carcinoma (1.5, 2, and 4 months), and one patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (2 months). The ViVACCy drug regimen can be given without undue toxicity and may be active in solid tumors.