Table of contents
June 2006 Volume 3 No 6
Editorial
Viewpoint
Renal cryoablation: a new treatment in need of careful clinical investigation
286The effectiveness of renal cryoablation is difficult to determine in the absence of specific clinical research protocols, and the role of this technique in the treatment of small renal masses cannot yet be defined as a paradigm shift.
Research Highlights
Intermittent androgen ablation is an effective secondary therapy for prostate cancer
288Chemoradiotherapy improves local disease control in early-stage laryngeal cancer
288Paclitaxel and SU6668 synergistically inhibit vascular growth
288Expression of stromal MMPs affects clinical outcome in ovarian carcinoma
289Concomitant adjuvant chemoradiotherapy effective in node-positive breast cancer
289Extensive lymph-node dissection improves survival in patients with gastric cancer
290doi:10.1038/ncponc0499 | Full Text | PDF (100K)
Dose-escalated IMRT improves survival and local control in T3–T4 nasopharyngeal carcinoma
290New technology for early detection of bronchial lesions
291Component interaction affects the immune response to multipeptide vaccines
291Standard genetic testing does not detect all breast-cancer-predisposing mutations
291Meta-analysis supports use of polysaccharide K in adjuvant therapy for colorectal cancer
292doi:10.1038/ncponc0504 | Full Text | PDF (101K)
Effective new combination therapy for older patients with myeloma
292Multimarker RT-PCR for detection of minimal residual disease in breast cancer patients
293doi:10.1038/ncponc0506 | Full Text | PDF (100K)
Practice Points
Can advanced non-small-cell lung cancer be treated with weekly instead of 3-weekly docetaxel?
294Are screen-and-treat approaches effective for cervical cancer prevention?
296Radiation dose for prostate cancer: is more better?
298Reviews
Technology Insight: ECP for the treatment of GvHD—can we offer selective immune control without generalized immunosuppression?
302Hemopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) remains an important curative therapy for many malignant and non-malignant conditions and its use worldwide is increasing. Although many advances have been made in this field, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), or its treatment, is responsible for causing high morbidity and mortality in patients potentially cured from their primary disease. This review summarizes the successful treatment of steroid refractory-dependent acute and chronic GvHD with extracorporeal photochemotherapy.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0511 | Full Text | PDF (296K)
Technology Insight: image-guided therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma—intra-arterial and ablative techniques
315Locoregional techniques have become the mainstay of therapy for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). These include catheter-based approaches and locoregional ablative techniques. These therapies are mainly utilized for palliation, but have also been used with curative intent. This review outlines the current status of the most commonly used image-guided loco-regional interventions for the treatment of HCC, and describes recent research and advances related to image-guided interventions for HCC.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0512 | Full Text | PDF (252K)
Mechanisms of Disease: preclinical reports of antineoplastic synergistic action of bisphosphonates
325There is extensive in vitro and in vivo preclinical evidence that bisphosphonates, particularly zoledronic acid and ibandronate, have antitumor activity, can reduce skeletal tumor burden, and might potentially have antitumor activity outside the bone microenviroment. The authors of this review highlight the importance of correct sequencing of these compounds when used in conjunction with cytotoxic drugs, targeted molecular therapies, and radiotherapy. The need to identify new molecular targets of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates is discussed in this context and the correct sequence and the timing of drug administration could help drive molecular research and determine the efficacy of the therapy, both in advanced disease and in the adjuvant setting.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0520 | Full Text | PDF (261K)
Case Study
Listeria brain abscess, Pneumocystis pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma after temozolomide
339doi:10.1038/ncponc0514 | Full Text | PDF (395K)
