Table of contents
June 2007 Volume 4 No 6
Editorial
Viewpoints
Accelerated partial breast irradiation using the MammoSite® device
324This Viewpoint compares MammoSite® brachytherapy with other forms of partial breast irradiation. Although very few reports on clinical efficacy have been published, indications so far are that the MammoSite® catheter is technically simple, adequately spares normal tissues, and is associated with a favorable cosmetic outcome and toxicity profile. The choice of the optimal irradiation method remains complex and requires input from both treating physicians and their patients.
External-beam-based partial breast irradiation
326This Viewpoint compares external-beam-based partial breast irradiation with other forms of partial breast irradiation. With appropriate patient selection, delivery of partial breast irradiation through an external-beam approach presents many advantages, including patient acceptability, ease of use and cost effectiveness. Silvia Formenti discusses the relative merits of prone and supine patient positioning during external-beam radiotherapy and the important challenges that remain.
Research Highlights
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is effective in pediatric HSC transplant recipients
328Dasatinib is active in imatinib-resistant and imatinib-intolerant patients with CML
328Postoperative radiochemotherapy improves outcome in head and neck cancer
328High cisplatin dose increases risk of metabolic syndrome in survivors of testicular cancer
329Tubedown expression is a novel independent prognostic factor for neuroblastoma
329High expression of RRM1 and ERCC1 predicts longer survival after surgery in lung cancer
330Effect of positive resection margin after gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer
330Thyroid incidentalomas on PET alongside other risk factors warrant further investigation
331Association of CENP-F expression with poor prognosis in primary breast cancer
331Basal subtype breast carcinomas express EGFR and might be candidates for targeted therapy
331Cyclo-oxygenase 2 expression correlates with poor prognosis in breast cancer
332Good 10-year results with tamoxifen in breast cancer
332Study demonstrates new mechanism of action for imatinib
333Practice Points
Metabolic FDG-PET imaging in breast cancer: implications for treatment stratification
336Could a pelvic and abdominal symptom index assist in early detection of ovarian cancer?
338Which second-line treatment regimen should be used following relapse of platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer?
340Reviews
Malignant pleural mesothelioma: current concepts in treatment
344Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a common primary tumor of the pleura. Current therapeutic regimens that involve surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have offered marginal clinical benefits. Histological subtype, lymph-node involvement, resection margins and invasion beyond the pleura are significant factors that dictate survival. This review discusses the multimodality approach, which is considered the cornerstone of treatment of MPM, although the authors emphasize that the exact combination of treatment options for this disease have yet to be defined.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0839 | Full Text | PDF (244K)
Surgery Insight: radical vaginal trachelectomy as a method of fertility preservation for cervical cancer
353Fertility preservation is an important component of cervical cancer treatment, and recently radical surgical procedures have been used in favor of more conservative techniques in an effort to decrease morbidity and preserve fertility without compromising overall survival. The authors of this Review suggest radical vaginal trachelectomy is a safe and feasible procedure in women wishing to preserve fertility, and they review the preoperative considerations, surgical complications and the risk factors associated with this technique.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0822 | Full Text | PDF (235K)
Mechanisms of Disease: genetic predictors of response to treatment in brain tumors
362Brain tumors are currently diagnosed on the basis of their histology, but recent findings indicate that in some cases response to conventional therapy correlates with genetic characteristics rather than histopathology. An understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the malignant phenotype of gliomas also provides the possibility of rational design of molecular targeted therapies, as discussed in this review.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0820 | Full Text | PDF (992K)
Case Study
Neoadjuvant cisplatin and radical cesarean hysterectomy for cervical cancer in pregnancy
375Cervical cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies diagnosed during pregnancy. Karam et al. report the case of a 28-year-old woman who was diagnosed with poorly-differentiated stage IB2 squamous-cell cervical carcinoma at 23 weeks of gestation. The patient received neoadjuvant cisplatin, underwent radical cesarean hysterectomy and after delivery commenced pelvic radiation therapy with cisplatin chemosensitization. The authors discuss the treatment and management options for women diagnosed with cervical carcinoma during pregnancy and review the reported experience with the use of chemotherapy in such cases.
doi:10.1038/ncponc0821 | Full Text | PDF (176K)
