Joan Carles Galcerán

Publications (2)6.91 Total impact

• Article: Randomized clinical trial with two palliative radiotherapy regimens in painful bone metastases: 30 Gy in 10 fractions compared with 8 Gy in single fraction.

  Palmira Foro Arnalot, Agustí Valls Fontanals, Joan Carles Galcerán, Frances Lynd, Xavier Sanz Latiesas, Nuria Rodríguez de Dios, Anna Reig Castillejo, Marti Lacruz Bassols, Joan Lozano Galán, Ismael Membrive Conejo, Manuel Algara López
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  ABSTRACT: The aim was to demonstrate similar pain relief with two schedules of radiotherapy for painful bone metastases. A total of 160 patients were assigned to receive a single 8-Gy fraction or 30 Gy in 10 fractions. Pain intensity was measured on an ordinal pain scale of 0-10. Partial response was defined as a pain reduction of two points or more and complete response as a pain score of zero at the treated area. Response follow-up was at 3, 12, 24 and 48 weeks. The overall response was 75% in the 8-Gy arm and 86% in the 30-Gy arm. Complete response and partial response rates were 15% and 60% in the 8-Gy arm, 13% and 73% in the 30-Gy arm. Acute toxicity was of 18% in the 30-Gy arm and of 12% in the 8-Gy arm. These differences were not statistically significant. The re-treatment rate was 28% vs 2% in the 8-Gy and 30-Gy arms, respectively, these were statistically significant. A single-fraction regimen of 8 Gy was as safe and effective as a multifraction regimen of 30 Gy for painful bone metastases in terms of pain relief.
  Radiotherapy and Oncology 07/2008; 89(2):150-5. · 5.58 Impact Factor
• Article: A phase II study of vinorelbine and estramustine in patients with hormone-resistant prostate cancer.

  Joan Carles Galcerán, Romà Bastus Piulats, Javier Martín-Broto, Pablo Maroto Rey, Miquel Nogué Aligué, Montserrat Domenech Santasusana, Angels Arcusa Lanza, Joaquim Bellmunt Molins, Catherine Colin, Atika Girard
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  ABSTRACT: This phase II study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of vinorelbine in combination with estramustine in patients with chemotherapy-naïve hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Patients received vinorelbine (i.v. 25 mg/m2) on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks and estramustine (oral, 600 mg/m2) daily. Eligible patients were required to have progressive metastatic disease following the first hormonal manipulation. Of the 51 patients enrolled (median age = 69 years), 84% presented bone involvement and 75% had at least two organs involved at the time of study entry and 47 were evaluable for treatment efficacy. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) response (> or =50% decrease) which was the primary efficacy criterion was reported in 21 patients (41.2%) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population and in 20 patients (48.8%) in the per protocol (PP) population. Of the 7 patients with measurable disease, 2 achieved partial response. Median progression-free survival and overall survival were 4.7 months (range: 1.9-8.6) and 14.3 months (range: 4.2-21.2), respectively. Grade 3-4 neutropenia was reported in 6.1% of patients and in 1% of cycles. The incidence of complicated neutropenia (febrile neutropenia reported in 1 patient and septic shock with severe neutropenia reported in 2 patients) was 5.8%. The most frequent grade 3-4 non-haematological events (% of patients > or =5%) included anorexia (10%), thrombosis/embolism (8%), vomiting and hypotension (6% each). There were 3 toxic deaths (5.9 %) resulting from pulmonary embolism, angina pectoris, and septic shock. The impact of combined chemotherapy on the quality-of-life (QL) of the patients was assessed between baseline and the first evaluation scheduled at 6 weeks indicated a marked reduction in pain while the rest of the symptoms remained stable. Overall, health status improved slightly over the treatment period. This study confirmed that the combination of vinorelbine and estramustine is an active regimen in patients with hormone-resistant prostate cancer who had not been treated previously with chemotherapy. Main toxicities included complicated neutropenia even though the incidence of severe neutropenia was low. We observed a higher incidence of toxic deaths which could have been related to the regimen of estramustine used in the study.
  Clinical and Translational Oncology 03/2005; 7(2):66-73. · 1.33 Impact Factor