Cancer Risk

Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel combustion contributes to 2.6% of the global burden of disease. HAP emissions are an established lung carcinogen; however, associations with other cancer sites have not been fully explored. We conducted a meta-analysis of 18 case–control studies. Using fixed-effects models, utilizing the adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) from each study, we evaluated the association between HAP and cervical neoplasia (663 cases and 1747 controls) and upper aero-digestive tract cancers (6022 cases and 15 325 controls). We found that HAP was associated with cervical neoplasia ...

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Molecular Oncology

Historical, the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was as a united disease entity and the chemotherapy to the metastatic cancer had limited results. Recent studies for the metastatic non-small cell lung cancer led to the ascertainment that the NSCLC does not constitute exclusively a disease entity, but different neoplasms guided from different molecular paths, different biological behavior and at extension requires different confrontation. Thus the new direction for the therapeutic approach of NSCLC is henceforth the most individualized approach based on the activated molecular paths of tumor. Distinct subtypes of NSCLC are driven by a specific genetic alteration, like EGFR, ALK, ROS1 or BRAF mutations, and these genetic alterations are sensitized to the inhibition of specific oncogenic pathways. The benefit from the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with EGFR mutations it was confirmed by six randomized studies of phase III that investigated the role of gefitinib, erlotinib and afatinibr....

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Hungary is a world leader in lung cancer deaths, so it is of crucial importance that patients have access to modern treatments. The aim of our analysis was to explore how drug treatments are used in Hungary and how they are compatible with international practice. The inpatient and prescription database of the National Health Insurance Fund Administration of Hungary was used to study the frequency of certain chemotherapy protocols and duration of therapies during a 3-year period (2008–2010). During the study period, 12,326 lung cancer patients received first-line chemotherapy, a third of those (n=3,791) received second-line treatment, and a third of the latter (n=1,174) received third-line treatment.....

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Optical energy can trigger a variety of photochemical processes useful for therapies. Owing to the shallow penetration of light in tissues, however, the clinical applications of light-activated therapies have been limited. Bioluminescence resonant energy transfer (BRET) may provide a new way of inducing photochemical activation. Here, we show that efficient bioluminescence energy-induced photodynamic therapy (PDT) of macroscopic tumors and metastases in deep tissue. For monolayer cell culture in vitro incubated with Chlorin e6, BRET energy of about 1 nJ per cell generated as strong cytotoxicity as red laser light irradiation at 2.2 mW/cm2 for 180 s......

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Aromatase inhibitor (ai) therapy has been subjected to numerous cost-effectiveness analyses. However, with most ais having reached the end of patent protection and with maturation of the clinical trials data, a re-analysis of ai cost-effectiveness and a consideration of ai use....

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Active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer (PCa) has become a viable management strategy for men with low-risk PCa. With AS being offered more often and more patients being included in AS studies, the aim of this paper is to describe AS from a legal perspective. What might be pitfalls in the management strategy that urologists should be aware of? In order to construct an answer to our research question, a patient from the Prostate cancer Research International: Active Surveillance (PRIAS) study will be used as an example. In the methods section, first some information on the PRIAS study is given. Then a PRIAS case will be described after which the Dutch legal framework will be set-out....
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In an adaptive clinical trial (ACT), key trial characteristics may be altered during the course of the trial according to predefined rules in response to information that accumulates within the trial itself. In addition to having distinguishing scientific features, adaptive trials also may involve ethical considerations that differ from more traditional randomized trials. Better understanding of clinical trial experts’ views about the ethical aspects of adaptive designs could assist those planning ACTs. Our aim was to elucidate the opinions of clinical trial experts regarding their beliefs about ethical aspects of ACTs.....
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