INTRODUCTION Combined modality therapy is a standard therapy for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Gefitinib is active in advanced NSCLC, and in preclinical models, it potentiates the activity of radiation therapy. We investigate the tolerability of gefitinib in combined modality therapy in combination with three-dimensional thoracic conformal radiation th...

AIMS AND BACKGROUND Adult sarcomas of the head and neck region (HNSs) are considered a rare clinicopathological entity. They account for only 2-15% of all adult sarcomas and for less than 1% of all head and neck malignancies. The preferred initial treatment option is wide surgical excision. Whenever surgery is considered infeasible, a frontline combined-modality approach including radiotherapy ...

While preoperative chemoradiation followed by surgery (pre-OP CRT) has been widely applied in the treatment of patients with esophageal cancer, some studies have shown a survival benefit of postoperative chemoradiation (post-OP CRT). The optimal combination of multimodality therapy and the sequence of surgery and chemoradiation for esophageal cancer remain to be investigated. A total of 1385 pa...

PURPOSE To assess the information supplied by FDG-PET in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer both in the initial staging and in the evaluation of tumor changes induced by preoperative chemoradiation (restaging). METHODS AND MATERIALS Twenty-five consecutive patients with rectal cancer were included, with tumor stages (c)T(2-4)N(x)M(0), during the period 1997-1999. We prospectively pe...

PURPOSE The survival of patients with local-regional adenocarcinoma of the esophagus or esophagogastric junction (EGJ) treated with preoperative chemoradiation is much better in patients with pathologic complete response than those with residual tumor. Some adenocarcinomas have mixed patterns, including signet-ring cell and mucinous histology, but the clinical significance of these subtypes is ...

OBJECTIVE Preoperative chemoradiation is becoming standard of care for locally advanced esophageal cancer. The objective of this study was to determine if the degree of pathologic response to preoperative chemoradiation could predict survival and recurrence after resection in patients with adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus. METHODS Between January 1998 and December 2001, 366 patients und...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term oncologic outcomes after concurrent chemoradiation treatment for anal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between January 1979 and December 2008, the records of 50 consecutive patients with anal cancer and who were treated by chemoradiation or radiation only with a curative intent were retrospectively reviewed. The oncologic outcomes and the r...

BACKGROUND Few cases of pouch-related cancers have been reported in ulcerative colitis (UC), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is very rare. METHOD A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify all unequivocal cases of pouch-related SCC in UC patients. RESULTS Eight cases of SCC developing after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) have been observed since 1978. Two arose f...

OBJECTIVES Chemoradiation is the treatment of choice for squamous carcinoma of the anal canal, resulting in the same local control rates as surgery but with the advantage of organ function preservation. We aimed to review all cases of anal canal carcinoma treated at Groote Schuur Hospital between 2000 and 2004 and to assess treatement outcome. METHODS The records for 31 patients presenting du...

Total glossectomy has significant morbidity in terms of intelligible speech, mastication, swallowing, and in some cases, aspiration. Consequently many centers treat advanced tongue cancer with chemoradiation therapy and reserve surgery for treatment failures. Total glossectomy is however a very good primary treatment for carefully selected patients, especially in centers that do not offer chemo...