Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0011168 (dysphagia)
 15,644 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Thirty-five patients with nonmetastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus were treated with chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, cisplatin) and concomitant split-course radiation therapy. All of the patients presented with dysphagia. Treatment consisted of two courses of chemotherapy with 5-FU (1 g/m2/day in continuous infusion for 5 days [days 1 to 5 and days 29 to 33] ) and cisplatin (70 mg/m2 intravenous bolus at days 2 and 30). Radiation therapy was concomitant in two courses delivering 20 Gy in 5 days (days 1 to 5 and days 29 to 33). On the first day of treatment, endoscopic peroral dilation or Nd-YAG laser therapy was usually carried out. At the end of the treatment, all of the patients were capable of oral nutrition. Histoendoscopic confirmation was made 8 weeks after the beginning of the therapy. Twenty-five of the 35 patients had a complete response with negative biopsy findings. There was only one serious complication (fatal myelosuppression) in the only patient who received more than two courses of chemotherapy. Sixteen patients died and 19 were still alive at 3 to 42 months after the beginning of treatment. Overall median survival for the 35 patients is 17 months. Actuarial survival was 55 +/- 18% at 1 year and 41 +/- 21% at 2 years. The median survival of the Stage I and II patients is 28 months. These results confirm that concomitant chemoradiotherapy is capable of producing a very high histoendoscopic complete response rate and improved 1-year and 2-year survival. The use of concentrated split-course radiotherapy enabled the authors to reduce the total length of the treatment to two periods of 5 days, with results that are similar to previous studies using classic radiotherapy for a 5-week to 7-week period.
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PMID:Inoperable nonmetastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus managed by concomitant chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil and cisplatin) and radiation therapy. 236 7

In order to study the usefulness of treatment with vinblastine (VLB) in the prevention of cancer metastasis in squamous cell lung cancer, 50 patients with locoregional disease were randomized to receive either locoregional RT alone (group A) or a weekly intravenous bolus injection of VLB (6 mg/m2) concurrently with and after locoregional radiotherapy (RT) (55 Gy in 6 weeks) until the appearance of metastases (group B). Neither the incidence of death with metastases, metastasis-free survival (MFS) nor overall survival (S) were significantly affected by treatment with the drug. However, due to the limited number of patients in each group, the power of the statistical test was such to allow only the detection of differences in MFS and S to or more than 80 per cent at the P = 0.05 level. Local tumor response was significantly superior in group B (P less than 0.05). Acute toxicity (dysphagia, myelosuppression) during RT was significantly worse in group B. During long-term therapy with VLB, mild polyneuropathy developed in the majority of patients in group B. Furthermore, seven patients discontinued treatment with VLB during maintenance due to compliance (4) and excessive neurotoxicity (3). This treatment schedule with VLB is not recommended for patients with locoregional squamous cell lung cancer as significant toxicity is present during and after RT and significant increase in MFS and S is lacking. Because of an apparent increase in local response, the combination of VLB and RT merits further investigation in those tumors where local tumor control is crucial.
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PMID:Is adjuvant treatment with vinblastine effective in reducing the occurrence of distant metastasis in limited squamous cell lung cancer? A randomized study. 333 80

Scleromyxedema is a rare fibromucinous connective tissue disorder characterized by papular skin lesions associated with sclerosis and a serum monoclonal gammopathy. Little is known about either the natural history or the systemic manifestations of this disease. We reviewed the medical records of 19 patients with biopsy-proven scleromyxedema seen from 1950 to 1985 for evidence of systemic disease. There were 10 males and 9 females with a median age at diagnosis of 53 years. Monoclonal gammopathy was present in 13 patients. Eight patients complained of dysphagia; 3 had proximal esophageal dysfunction and 1 had total esophageal aperistalsis on barium swallow. Proximal muscle weakness was noted in 5, with an inflammatory myopathy in 3. Six patients complained of dyspnea on exertion. Of these, 5 had reduced diffusing capacity, 3 had reduced volumes, and 2 developed cor pulmonale. Pathologic changes characteristic of "scleroderma kidney" were demonstrated in 1 patient at postmortem. One patient had Raynaud's phenomenon and 2 had arthralgias/arthritis with noninflammatory synovial fluids. Although 8 of 12 patients treated with melphalan noted regression of their skin changes, no consistent improvement in the extracutaneous manifestations was demonstrated. Furthermore, 2 patients died of sepsis related to melphalan-induced myelosuppression, and 4 developed hematological malignancies following melphalan therapy. In conclusion, systemic manifestations in scleromyxedema are more prevalent than previously recognized, and can resemble those of scleroderma. Significant toxicity occurred with the use of alkylating agents in these patients, with treatment-related complications developing in 45% of patients treated with melphalan. The lack of definitive data regarding the natural history of this disease complicates the question of optimal therapy, but the use of alkylating agents should be reserved for those patients with severe debilitating skin disease.
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PMID:Scleromyxedema: a scleroderma-like disorder with systemic manifestations. 333 81

Twenty-eight patients with advanced measurable gastric carcinoma were treated with leucovorin (dl-CF; folinic acid; dl-5-formyltetrahydrofolic acid) 500 mg/m2 administered as a two-hour infusion and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 600 mg/m2 intravenous (IV) push midinfusion. Treatment was administered weekly for 6 weeks followed by a 2-week rest. Twenty-five patients were evaluable for response. Twelve of them had received previous combination chemotherapy that included 5-FU. Median age was 59 years, and median Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status was 2. Three patients had partial responses and two of them had been treated previously with 5-FU. Twelve patients had stable disease. Five of these patients had subjective improvement with improved performance status and/or decreased dysphagia. The 95% confidence interval for response is 3% to 32%. Median survival time for all 28 patients enrolled in the study was 22 weeks. Toxicity was moderate and consisted primarily of diarrhea. Myelosuppression, skin rash, and increased lacrimation also occurred. Plasma concentrations of the active reduced folates, I-CF and 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid (5-CH3FH4), were greater than the 10 mumol/L levels that potentiate 5-FU activity in in vitro models, for more than four hours in all five patients in whom pharmacokinetics were studied. 5-FU and high-dose dl-CF has activity in patients with gastric carcinoma including patients who had previously progressed on 5-FU-containing combinations. Further study in a larger patient population is necessary to determine the usefulness of this regimen in gastric carcinoma.
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PMID:A phase II trial of 5-fluorouracil and high-dose intravenous leucovorin in gastric carcinoma. 349 14

This report describes a complete response to a chemoradiotherapy regimen in a child with an advanced and unresectable squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. An 8-year-old girl had stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (T4N2M0), causing severe trismus and dysphagia. She received hyperfractionated external beam radiotherapy (total 74.4 Gy) and concomitant intravenous infusion of hydroxyurea (0.313 mg/m2 per min) for 43 days. Grade 3 mucositis and myelosuppression were the main toxicities. There was marked symptomatic improvement, and the patient achieved a complete response. She is disease-free 24 months after treatment, and all the acute symptoms have resolved. The regimen was well tolerated with acceptable toxicity and led to a complete objective response. This regimen needs further evaluation to confirm its efficacy and to ascertain its long-term effects in children.
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PMID:Stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in a child: complete response to chemoradiotherapy. 1190 7

The low surgical cure rate in patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer has prompted an exploration of multimodality treatment strategies. Mature results are presented from a phase II trial of accelerated hyperfractionated radiation therapy, concurrent paclitaxel/cisplatin chemotherapy and surgery for these patients. Between 1994 and 1997, 45 patients with surgically demonstrated stage III non-small cell lung cancer underwent induction treatment with a 96 h continuous cisplatin infusion (20 mg/m(2) per day) and a 24 h infusion of paclitaxel (175 mg/m(2)) given concurrently with accelerated hyperfractionated radiation therapy (1.5 Gy twice daily) to a total dose of 30 Gy. Induction was completed in ten treatment (12 total) days. Surgical resection was scheduled 4 weeks later with a second identical course of chemoradiotherapy given 4-6 weeks post-operatively, to a total radiation dose of 60-63 Gy. Thirty-five patients had stage III(A) disease and ten had stage III(B) disease (eight with N(3) tumors). Induction toxicity included nausea in 89%, dysphagia in 89%, and neutropenia <1000/mm(3) in 84% which required hospitalization for fever in 40%. There were no toxic deaths during induction. About 40 of the 45 patients (89%) were operable and 32 (71%) were resectable for cure. A pathologic response was identified in 22 patients (49%); five patients (11%) had no residual disease. Fourteen patients (31%) were downstaged to mediastinal node negativity. With a median follow-up of 60 months, the Kaplan-Meier projected 5-year overall survival was 29%; locoregional control 79%; and distant metastatic disease control 38%. The projected 5-year survival for the 14 patients downstaged to mediastinal node negativity was 50%. For the 19 patients with residual ipsilateral mediastinal node involvement at surgery it was 32%. This short-course of paclitaxel and cisplatin chemotherapy and concurrent accelerated fractionation radiation is tolerable despite significant myelosuppression. Locoregional control is excellent and survival is better than historical expectations. Patients downstaged to mediastinal node negativity have a prognosis similar to those with de novo stage I(B) and II disease. Distant metastases are the major cause of treatment failure.
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PMID:Accelerated hyperfractionated radiation, concurrent paclitaxel/cisplatin chemotherapy and surgery for stage III non-small cell lung cancer. 1195 51