Adjuvant gemcitabine and concurrent radiation for patients with resected pancreatic cancer: a phase II study

The safety and efficacy of gemcitabine and concurrent radiation to the upper abdomen followed by weekly gemcitabine in patients with resected pancreatic cancer was determined. Patients with resected adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were treated with intravenous gemcitabine administered twice-weekly (40 mg m−2) for 5 weeks concurrent with upper abdominal radiation (50.4 Gy in 5½ weeks). At the completion of the chemoradiation, patients without disease progression were given gemcitabine (1000 mg m−2) weekly for two cycles. Each cycle consisted of 3 weeks of treatment followed by 1 week without treatment. Forty-seven patients were entered, 46 of whom are included in this analysis. Characteristics: median age 61 years (range 35–79); 24 females (58%); 73% stage T3/T4; and 70% lymph node positive. Grade III/IV gastrointestinal or haematologic toxicities were infrequent. The median survival was 18.3 months, while the median time to disease recurrence was 10.3 months. Twenty-four percent of patients were alive at 3 years. Only six of 34 patients with progression experienced local regional relapse as a component of the first site of failure. These results confirm the feasibility of delivering adjuvant concurrent gemcitabine and radiation to the upper abdomen. This strategy produced good local regional tumour control

Adjuvant gemcitabine and concurrent radiation for patients with resected pancreatic cancer: a phase II study

The safety and efficacy of gemcitabine and concurrent radiation to the upper abdomen followed by weekly gemcitabine in patients with resected pancreatic cancer was determined. Patients with resected adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were treated with intravenous gemcitabine administered twice-weekly (40 mg m−2) for 5 weeks concurrent with upper abdominal radiation (50.4 Gy in 5½ weeks). At the completion of the chemoradiation, patients without disease progression were given gemcitabine (1000 mg m−2) weekly for two cycles. Each cycle consisted of 3 weeks of treatment followed by 1 week without treatment. Forty-seven patients were entered, 46 of whom are included in this analysis. Characteristics: median age 61 years (range 35–79); 24 females (58%); 73% stage T3/T4; and 70% lymph node positive. Grade III/IV gastrointestinal or haematologic toxicities were infrequent. The median survival was 18.3 months, while the median time to disease recurrence was 10.3 months. Twenty-four percent of patients were alive at 3 years. Only six of 34 patients with progression experienced local regional relapse as a component of the first site of failure. These results confirm the feasibility of delivering adjuvant concurrent gemcitabine and radiation to the upper abdomen. This strategy produced good local regional tumour control

C-Reactive Protein as a Predictor of Relapse in Asymptomatic Patients with Crohn's Disease

Comparison of the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) with serum levels of the acute phase proteins during a 4-year study period of 50 patients with Crohn's disease has shown the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) to be a sensitive indicator of clinical status. Five patients are described in whom raised CRP levels reliably predicted relapse at a time when the patients were asymptomatic and the CDAI was normal. Measurement of serum CRP by radial immunodiffusion is cheap and simple, and if performed frequently in the follow-up of patients with Crohn's disease it may permit earlier, and therefore possibly more effective, treatment of relapse. </jats:p

The role of thin needle percutaneous guided puncture in the diagnosis of cancer of the pancreas

Le guidage a été réalisé soit par échographie en temps réel, soit par tomodensitométrie, soit par radioscopie télévisée. La biopsie percutanée à l'aiguille fine apparaît comme une méthode simple, peu onéreuse, efficace et fiable pour établir le diagnostic préopératoire de cancer du pancréa

Etude sur quatre ans des cas de yersiniose dans un service d'hépato-gastro-entérologie de la région lyonnaise

International audienc