Background:The palliative role of chemoradiation in the treatment of patients with locally advanced, inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer stage III and negative prognostic factors remains unresolved.Methods:Patients not eligible for curative radiotherapy were randomised to receive either chemoradiation or chemotherapy alone. Four courses of intravenous carboplatin on day 1 and oral vinorelbin on days 1 and 8 were given with 3-week intervals. Patients in the chemoradiation arm also received radiotherapy with fractionation 42 Gy/15, starting at the second chemotherapy course. The primary end point was overall survival; secondary end points were health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and toxicity.Results:Enrolment was terminated due to slow accrual after 191 patients from 25 Norwegian hospitals were randomised. Median age was 67 years and 21% had PS 2. In the chemotherapy versus the chemoradiation arm, the median overall survival was 9.7 and 12.6 months, respectively (P<0.01). One-year survival was 34.0% and 53.2% (P<0.01). Following a minor decline during treatment, HRQOL remained unchanged in the chemoradiation arm. The patients in the chemotherapy arm reported gradual deterioration during the subsequent months. In the chemoradiation arm, there were more hospital admissions related to side effects (P<0.05).Conclusion:Chemoradiation was superior to chemotherapy alone with respect to survival and HRQoL at the expense of more hospital admissions due to toxicity.

The incidence of ovarian cancer in Rochester, Minnesota over the 40-year period 1935 through 1974 was determined; and risk factors for epithelial ovarian cancer occurring in Rochester from 1945 to 1974 were examined in 116 patients and 464 controls. Among the characteristics studied, only nulliparity was found to be a significant risk factor--relative risk 1.8. Other suspected risk factors--including hypertension, obesity, age at menopause, prior therapeutic pelvic radiation, and prior exposure to exogenous estrogen--were found not to differ significantly between patients and controls. The ovarian cancer patients were found to have a significantly lower frequency of prior hysterectomy and of unilateral oophorectomy than the control group. Thus out data show that hysterectomy, even when one or both ovaries are preserved, is associated with a lower risk of subsequent ovarian cancer.

A slightly increased risk of being involved in a road traffic accident was observed for drivers prescribed insulin, while no increased risk was observed for drivers prescribed oral glucose-lowering agents. The increased risk observed for insulin users was similar to that observed for users of drugs for peptic ulcer and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

It is feasible to improve patient flow for patients with lung cancer by employing the Lean method as a pathway instrument.

Introduction:Poor prognosis patients with bulky stage III locally advanced non–small-cell lung cancer may not be offered concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Following a phase III trial concerning the effect of palliative CRT in inoperable poor prognosis patients, this analysis was performed to explore how tumor size influenced survival and health-related quality of life (HRQOL).Methods:A total of 188 poor prognosis patients recruited in a randomized clinical trial received four courses intravenous carboplatin day 1 and oral vinorelbine day 1 and 8, at 3-week intervals. The experimental arm (N = 94) received radiotherapy with fractionation 42 Gy/15, starting at the second chemotherapy course. This subset study compares outcomes in patients with tumors larger than 7 cm (N = 108) versus tumors 7 cm or smaller (N = 76).Results:Among those with tumors larger than 7 cm, the median overall survival in the chemotherapy versus CRT arm was 9.7 and 13.4 months, respectively (p = 0.001). The 1-year survival was 33% and 56%, respectively (p = 0.01). Except for a temporary decline during treatment, HRQOL was maintained in the CRT arm, regardless of tumor size. Among those who did not receive CRT, patients with tumors larger than 7 cm experienced a gradual decline in the HRQOL. The CRT group had significantly more esophagitis and hospitalizations because of side effects regardless of tumor size.Conclusion:In patients with poor prognosis and inoperable locally advanced non–small-cell lung cancer, large tumor size should not be considered a negative predictive factor. Except for performance status 2, patients with tumors larger than 7 cm apparently benefit from CRT.