Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0043352 (xerostomia)
 4,250 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The breakthrough discovery of the anti-angiogenic effects of thalidomide gave impetus to a series of clinical trials in patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Thalidomide has been shown to block the activity of angiogenic substances like bFGF, VEGF and interleukin 6. This drug also down-regulates TNF alpha. Thalidomide has shown clinical antitumor activity in single-agent, phase II clinical trials in AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma, glioma, multiple myeloma refractory to chemotherapy, and hormone-refractory prostate cancer. In contrast, thalidomide was inactive in breast, lung and kidney cancer. The dose-limiting toxicity of thalidomide is sedation. Other adverse effects include skin rash, constipation, dry mouth and liver function abnormalities, along with peripheral neuropathy and the drug's well-known teratogenic potential. The advantages of thalidomide include the convenience of the oral route of administration, the drug's toxicity profile--substantially milder than that of chemotherapy--and its low cost. The potential role of thalidomide in the treatment of human neoplasia will be confirmed by means of randomized clinical trials.
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PMID:[Thalidomide. Clinical trials in cancer]. 1118 34

The aim of the present study was to investigate the available literature regarding the oral side effects or adverse events associated with targeted cancer therapy. Common oral toxicities include the terms mucositis, stomatitis, dysphagia, xerostomia, pharyngitis, and taste alterations. Aims of treatment included molecules and pathways involved in carcinogenesis reported in the literature were EGFRI, VEGF, mTOR, mAbs, TKIs, and multi-kinase inhibitors. Common targeted therapies used in clinical practice or under-investigation included cetuximab, panitumumab, erlotinib, sorafenib, sunitinib malate, imatinib mesylate, bevacizumab, trastuzumab, lapatinib, and mTORs. One hundred and forty-three articles were considered relevant and included in this review. The majority of studies did not specifically address oral toxicities or include an oral clinical exam, which may lead to underreported and under-investigated oral toxicities. Further investigation is necessary to determine if the initial impression that targeted therapy produces milder oral toxicities than conventional cancer treatment is accurate.
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PMID:Oral complications of targeted cancer therapies: a narrative literature review. 2151 11