Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0153690 (bone metastases)
 6,382 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Salmon calcitonin has been used for the management of acute hypercalcemia for the past several years. Unlike other hypocalcemic agents, it is effective within 2 hours after first dosing. This pharmacologic agent shows peak effect at 24-48 hours and has a duration of action of 4-7 days in most cases. Its effectiveness may diminish thereafter despite continuous administration (the so-called "escape phenomenon"). Salmon calcitonin has been shown to be effective in the management of acute hypercalcemia due to a variety of causes, and, because of its low toxicity profile, it may be administered to patients with congestive heart failure or azotemia. Salmon calcitonin is also an analgesic agent in patients with pain associated with bone metastases and may be used in conjunction with other hypocalcemic agents such as mithramycin, the bisphosphonates, or gallium nitrate to prolong the clinical response to more than 1 week. Salmon calcitonin is therefore effective and safe in the management of acute hypercalcemia.
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PMID:Salmon calcitonin in the acute management of hypercalcemia. 213 63

Although hypercalcemia is a well-known complication of malignant diseases, hypocalcemia seems to be a rather rare one. A 34-yr-old woman with advanced breast cancer who presented hypocalcemia is described. She had generalized multiple osteolytic bone metastases which were progressive in spite of chemo-endocrine and radiation therapy. She was admitted because of severe bone pain and dyspnea caused by bilateral pleural effusion. Laboratory examination on admission showed that the serum calcium was 9.6 mg/dl, serum total protein 5.9 g/dl, serum inorganic phosphorus 4.6 mg/dl, and serum alkaline phosphatase 29.6 King-Armstrong units. The serum calcium gradually fell to 7.0 mg/dl on the 45th hospital day when the serum total protein was 6.8 g/dl and she complained of paresthesia in the extremities. On the 58th day, severe tachycardia and hypotension developed and she died of congestive heart failure on the 67th hospital day. At that time the serum calcium was 5.4 mg/dl. During her hospital course, the plasma parathyroid hormone levels were examined repeatedly and were 0.4, 0.6, 0.6 and 0.7 ng/ml (normal; less than 0.5 ng/ml). Autopsy revealed that cancer invaded the space between the thyroid and the trachea and no parathyroid glands could be found even in the mediastinum. Microscopically the parathyroid glands were replaced completely by the cancer cells. These observations indicate that metastasis of breast cancer to the parathyroid glands caused relative hypoparathyroidism, resulting in hypocalcemia. In addition, congestive heart failure which was refractory to digitalis and diuretics might have been caused by impaired contractility of the myocardium associated with hypocalcemia.
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PMID:A case of advanced breast cancer associated with hypocalcemia. 688 61

Clinical trials have shown the efficacy of trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy in HER2-positive breast cancers, but routine clinical use awaits evaluation of compliance, safety, and effectiveness. Adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy in routine clinical use was evaluated in the retrospective study GHEA, recording 1,002 patients treated according to the HERA protocol between March 2005 and December 2009 in 42 Italian oncology departments; 874 (87.23 %) patients completed 1-year trastuzumab treatment. In 128 patients (12.77 %), trastuzumab was withdrawn due to cardiac or non-cardiac toxicity (28 and 29 patients, respectively), disease progression (5 patients) or the clinician's decision (66 patients). In addition, 156 patients experienced minor non-cardiac toxicities; 10 and 44 patients showed CHF and decreased LVEF, respectively, at the end of treatment. Compliance and safety of adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy in Italian hospitals were high and close to those reported in the HERA trial. With a median follow-up of 32 months, 107 breast cancer relapses were recorded (overall frequency, 10.67 %), and lymph node involvement, estrogen receptor negativity, lymphoid infiltration, and vascular invasion were identified as independent prognostic factors for tumor recurrence, indicating that relapses were associated with advanced tumor stage. Analysis of site and frequency of distant metastases showed that bone metastases were significantly more frequent during or immediately after trastuzumab (<18 months from the start of treatment) compared to recurrences in bone after the end of treatment and wash-out of the drug (>18 months from the start of treatment) (35.89 vs. 14.28 %, p = 0.0240); no significant differences were observed in recurrences in the other recorded body sites, raising the possibility that the protection exerted by trastuzumab is lower in bone metastases.
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PMID:Effect of adjuvant trastuzumab treatment in conventional clinical setting: an observational retrospective multicenter Italian study. 2394 48

The number of cancer patients undergoing dialysis has been increasing, and the number of these patients on chemotherapy is also increasing. Imatinib is an effective and safe therapy for KIT-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), but the efficacy and safety of imatinib in dialysis patients remain unclear. Because clinical trials have not been conducted in this population, more investigations are required. We report on a 75-year-old Japanese man undergoing dialysis who presented with massive tarry stool from a duodenal GIST. The duodenal GIST was 14 cm in diameter with multiple liver and bone metastases. The patient underwent an urgent pancreaticoduodenectomy to achieve hemostasis. After surgery, he was administered imatinib 400 mg/day. No severe adverse event including myelosuppression, congestive heart failure, liver functional impairment, intestinal pneumonia, or Steven-Johnson syndrome occurred, and the liver metastasis remained stable for 4 months. During chemotherapy, hemodialysis continued three times per week without adverse events. We suggest that regular-dose imatinib is an effective and safe treatment in patients with GIST undergoing dialysis. In addition, we present a literature review of the effectiveness and safety of imatinib treatment in dialysis patients.
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PMID:Safety of Regular-Dose Imatinib Therapy in Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Undergoing Dialysis. 2740 97