In Italy, the cultural attitude towards communication in oncology is changing on both the physician and the patient side. There are still significant geographical differences, but there is a general trend suggesting improved awareness about diagnosis and treatment, with the notable exception of prognosis.

Neurosurgical management of symptomatic brain metastases from colorectal cancer is feasible, relatively safe, and offers a chance of prolonged survival. Patients who received radiotherapy after resection experienced a better outcome.

e15597 Background: Few regimens showed efficacy in advanced pancreatic cancer patients (pts) who had failed a first-line gemcitabine-based therapy. However, there is growing evidence suggesting that second-line treatment may provide further disease control in selected pts. Both pemetrexed and oxaliplatin demonstrated activity in this setting, and their combination resulted safe and tolerable.Methods: Pancreatic cancer pts with advanced disease, PS>60, age>18 years, who progressed after a gemcitabine-based therapy were enrolled in a phase II trial, and treated with pemetrexed 500 mg/mq followed by oxaliplatin 120 mg/mq, day 1 every 3 weeks, together with adequate oral folinic acid and intramuscular vitamin B12 supplementation. Accordingly to the Simon Minimax two-stage study design, an accrual of 31 patients was planned, with a minimum response rate considered of interest of 25%, α level 0.10 and β level 0.10. Results: To date, 16 patients have been treated. Of them, 12 progressed during or shortly after gemcitabine (13) or gemcitabine-cisplatin combination (3), with a median time to progression of 186 days. 62 cycles were delivered, with a median of 4 cycles per patient (range 2–8). Overall, the regimen was well tolerated: most common adverse events were mild-to-moderate sensory neurotoxicity and gastrointestinal disturbances. We reported grade 3 anemia, grade 3 thrombocytopenia, and grade 3 fatigue in 1 patient each. Three among the treated patients died within 30 days from last delivered cycle due to progressive disease. Confirmed partial (3) or minor responses (6) were observed in 9 out of 15 evaluable pts, with a median decrease in the Ca 19.9 value of 43% among those who responded. Median progression-free survival was 99 days. At the time of analysis, 3 out of 16 patients are still on treatment.Conclusions: The preliminary results suggest that second-line pemetrexed-oxaliplatin combination is well tolerated and reasonably active, and allow the continuation of the study until the full sample of 31 pts. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

The technique of percutaneous transhepatic sphincterotomy is described. This procedure was employed in 3 patients with common bile duct (CBD) stones in whom a previous attempted endoscopic procedure had failed for anatomical reasons (a Billroth II gastric resection or a partial gastric resection with Braun anastomosis). Complete immediate success was obtained in all 3 patients. Furthermore, no major complications occurred during transhepatic treatment. The authors suggest that PTS be employed electively in patients with diseases of the biliary tree in whom the endoscopic approach fails.

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