Table of contents
June 2008 Volume 5 No 6
Editorial
Research Highlights
Time to blast clearance predicts outcome in patients with acute myeloid leukemia
300Docetaxel versus mitoxantrone in men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer
300Cyclophosphamide use in rheumatoid arthritis increases risk of hematologic malignancies
300A prognostic scoring system for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
301S-1 plus cisplatin increases overall survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer
301PSA velocity does not aid long-term prediction of prostate cancer incidence
302Immunopanel of five biomarkers provides superior definition of basal-like breast cancer
302Recent changes in myeloma therapies have decreased patient mortality
303Practice Points
Updated follow-up of patients treated with bortezomib for relapsed multiple myeloma
304doi:10.1038/ncponc1127 | Full Text | PDF (170K)
A comparison of cisplatin and fluorouracil alone or with docetaxel in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
306doi:10.1038/ncponc1129 | Full Text | PDF (174K)
Does prophylactic cranial irradiation reduce the incidence of brain metastases in extensive small-cell lung cancer?
308doi:10.1038/ncponc1125 | Full Text | PDF (174K)
Cetuximab for the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer
310doi:10.1038/ncponc1130 | Full Text | PDF (170K)
Comparison of gemcitabine plus platinum analog with gemcitabine alone in advanced pancreatic cancer
312doi:10.1038/ncponc1128 | Full Text | PDF (176K)
Viewpoint
What caused the decline in US breast cancer incidence?
314The incidence of breast cancer in the US dropped sharply between 2002 and 2003. In this Viewpoint, the author discusses two theories to account for this observation: the decrease in use of hormone-replacement therapy and a decline in the US screening mammography rates.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1113 | Full Text | PDF (162K)
Reviews
Differences in hematotoxicity between male and female patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and other malignancies
316Specific biological markers that reliably predict unfavorable outcome during first-line treatment for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma are lacking. Recent analyses have shown that differences in hematotoxicity exist among male and female Hodgkin lymphoma patients, with a better prognosis observed in female patients. Klimm and Engert discuss the reasons for these differences in hematotoxicity and how these differences relate to patient outcome.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1124 | Full Text | PDF (340K)
Therapy Insight: anthracyclines and trastuzumab—the optimal management of cardiotoxic side effects
324Cardiotoxicity is a rare but serious complication of the management of breast cancer, and adjuvant trastuzumab after anthracycline chemotherapy increases congestive heart failure risk. The authors review the efficacy of trastuzumab, its potential for cardiac compromise, and its interaction with anthracyclines. The biological mechanisms that might be responsible for cardiotoxicity are highlighted, and the clinical strategies used to minimize the risk of developing cardiac failure are discussed.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1090 | Full Text | PDF (421K)
Mechanisms of Disease: cancer stem cells—targeting the evil twin
337Cancer stem cells often represent a minor, highly self-renewing population within the tumor mass and are thought to be the only cells required for both initiation and maintenance of disease. The biology of cancer stem cells, the mechanisms of therapy resistance, and potential future therapeutic interventions in the clinical setting are discussed.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1110 | Full Text | PDF (1,985K)
Primer: first do no harm—when is it appropriate to plan a cancer prevention clinical trial?
348Although cancer is a preventable disease, few medical interventions are completely without risk or adverse effects. It is critical to establish a framework to determine when interventions show sufficient promise of efficacy and sufficient safety to justify their testing in clinical trials. This Review identifies the issues that are critical for decision making and provides a framework that can be applied in making these decisions.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1123 | Full Text | PDF (327K)
Case Study
Rapamycin treatment for a child with germline PTEN mutation
357Proteus syndrome is a rare hamartoma syndrome that is characterized by the presence of germline PTEN mutations and causes benign and malignant tumors. Marsh et al. report the case of a 16-month boy who was diagnosed with Proteus syndrome, and was managed with oral rapamycin. On the basis of this patient's promising outcome, the authors discuss the rationale for rapamycin therapy for patients with disorders within the PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome spectrum.
doi:10.1038/ncponc1112 | Full Text | PDF (382K)
