Luiz Henrique de Lima Araújo

Publications (4)22.65 Total impact

• Article: Adjuvant therapy for non-small cell lung cancer.

  Letícia Barbosa França, Márcia Aparecida Oliveira, Isabele Ávila Small, Mauro Zukin, Luiz Henrique de Lima Araújo
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  ABSTRACT: Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for most patients submitted to resection due to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staged as II or IIIA. However, although various chemotherapy regimens that include cisplatin have been used in phase III trials, the best choice remains unclear. The objective of this study was to describe the experience of the Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA, Brazilian National Cancer Institute), located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the use of the cisplatin-etoposide combination in such patients, with a special focus on survival data. We retrospectively evaluated the medical charts of the patients receiving adjuvant therapy for NSCLC at the INCA between 2004 and 2008. We included 51 patients, all of whom were treated with the cisplatin-etoposide combination. The median follow-up period was 31 months, and the median overall survival was 57 months. In the univariate analysis, median survival was lower in the patients submitted to chemotherapy plus radiotherapy than in those submitted to chemotherapy alone (19 vs. 57 months; p < 0.001), and there was a trend toward lower median survival in stage III patients than in stage I-II patients (34 vs. 57 months; p = 0.22). Overall survival was not significantly associated with gender (p = 0.70), histological pattern (p = 0.33), or cisplatin dose (p = 0.13). Our results support the use of adjuvant chemotherapy, and our survival data are similar to those reported in major randomized clinical trials. However, long-term follow-up is warranted in this population.
  Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia: publicacao oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisilogia 06/2011; 37(3):354-9.
• Article: Amyloid-like fibrils are not detected in non-small cell lung cancer tissue samples.

  Luiz Henrique de Lima Araújo, Luciana W Pinto, Luciene F Schluckebier, Joyce L de Moraes, Paulo A Faria, Emanuela Moraes, Carlos G Ferreira, Cinthya Sternberg
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  ABSTRACT: Some proteins, canonically not associated with amyloid diseases, can aggregate into amyloid-like fibrils under special conditions. Our group hypothesized that stressful cancer microenvironment might induce the formation of insoluble deposits of p53 mutant protein. A cohort of 28 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was used to test the aforementioned hypothesis. Tumor specimens were assessed for TP53 mutations using DNA sequencing and for amyloid formation by Congo red staining. TP53 mutations were present in 57% of patients, whereas no amyloid deposits were detected in tissue sections under polarized light microscopy. Mutant p53 proteins are not associated with the appearance of amyloid-like fibrils in NSCLC samples, and DNA sequencing remains the standard method to detect such abnormality.
  Medical Oncology 03/2011; 29(2):614-7. · 2.14 Impact Factor
• Article: Gemcitabine and cisplatin salvage regimen in heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer: a Brazilian experience.

  Luiz Henrique de Lima Araújo, Marcos Veloso Moitinho, Ana Maria Fantini Silva, Cleudes Alice Sousa Gomes, Hélio Noronha Júnior
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  ABSTRACT: Gemcitabine and cisplatin combination (Gem-Cis) is a commonly used regimen in metastatic breast cancer (MBC), with proven activity in phase II trials. It is mostly used as a salvage regimen for progressive disease refractory to anthracyclines and taxanes, and when liver dysfunction secondary to liver metastasis precludes these drugs. Retrospective review of medical charts was conducted for patients treated with Gem-Cis for MBC in a single institution in Brazil between January 2004 and July 2007. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and toxicity of Gem-Cis in a broad indication, including patients with deteriorated performance status (PS) and liver dysfunction, which were excluded from clinical trials. Fifty-six patients were included. Median age was 52 years, 46.4% were hormone-receptor negative, 57.2% received 3 or more prior chemotherapy lines, and 34 had liver metastasis. The median overall survival (OS) was 7.6 months, the median progression-free survival was 3.3 months, and the response rate was 21.2%. In variable analysis, PS was significantly associated with OS, even after adjusting to other factors. Toxicities included grades 3 or 4 anemia in 19.3%, neutropenia in 21.1%, and thrombocytopenia in 12.3%. Gem-Cis was a relatively active combination in this population that typically carries a poor prognosis. The subgroup of patients with favorable PS experienced longer survival, even when liver metastasis and hepatic dysfunction were a concern. Toxicity was manageable and it was not correlated with PS or liver dysfunction.
  Medical Oncology 12/2010; 28 Suppl 1:S2-7. · 2.14 Impact Factor
• Article: Platinum-based second-line treatment in non-small-cell lung cancer: an old new kid on the block?

  Luiz Henrique de Lima Araújo, Carlos G Ferreira
  Journal of Clinical Oncology 11/2009; 28(2):e24-5; author reply e26. · 18.37 Impact Factor