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Publications (4)6.62 Total impact

  • Article: Oxaliplatin, irinotecan and cetuximab in advanced gastric cancer. A multicenter phase II trial (Gastric-2) of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Medikamentose Tumortherapie (AGMT).
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    ABSTRACT: Patients suffering from advanced gastric cancer still have a poor prognosis and treatment options are limited. In our previous phase II trial (AGMT-Gastric-1), we showed that the combination of oxaliplatin and irinotecan was well tolerated and effective. The same chemotherapy regimen was now tested in combination with cetuximab in a multicenter phase II trial. Oxaliplatin at 85 mg/m(2) biweekly and irinotecan at 125 mg/m(2) biweekly were combined with cetuximab at 400 mg/m(2) loading dose and subsequent weekly infusions of 250 mg/m(2). Fifty-one patients with histologically proven unresectable and/or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma were treated in the first line setting. The median age was 62 years. A single metastatic site was found in 24 patients, 27 patients had multiple metastatic sites. Frequently reported adverse events (in more than 20% of patients) were predominantly grade 1 or 2 and included neutropenia (35%), thrombocytopenia (33%), anemia (73%), nausea (45%), diarrhea (57%), alopecia (22%), and fatigue (37%). Grade 3/4 toxicities included neutropenia in 9/1 patients., thrombocytopenia in 1/0 patients, anemia in 3/1 patients, nausea in 2/0 patients, and diarrhea in 7/2 patients. Sensory neuropathy occurred mostly as grade 1 and 2 in 37% of patients, grade 3 neurotoxicity was observed in 7 patients. Acne-like rash grades 1/2/3/4 were reported in 31%/20%/6%/2% of patients respectively. Thirteen patients discontinued the study due to neutropenia (n=5), nausea/vomiting (n=1), diarrhea (n=1), toxic colon (n=2), and allergic reaction to cetuximab at first (n=2), second (n=1) or third infusion (n=1). Thirty-five patients were assessable for response, with 1 patient (3%) showing a complete response, 21 patients (60%) a partial response, 7 patients (20%) a stable disease, and 6 patients (17%) a progressive disease respectively. The median time to progression was 24.8 weeks, median overall survival was 38.1 weeks. All patients tested had a wild type KRAS status. The combination of oxaliplatin and irinotecan with cetuximab is safe and its action established in advanced gastric cancer.
    Anticancer research 12/2011; 31(12):4439-43. · 1.73 Impact Factor
  • Article: Plerixafor and granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients with lymphoma and multiple myeloma previously failing mobilization with G-CSF with or without chemotherapy for autologous hematopoietic stem cell mobilization: the Austrian experience on a named patient program.
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    ABSTRACT: Plerixafor in combination with granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been shown to enhance stem cell mobilization in patients with multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Hodgkin's disease who demonstrated with previous mobilization failure. In this named patient program we report the Austrian experience in insufficiently mobilizing patients. Twenty-seven patients from eight Austrian centers with a median (range) age of 58 (19-70) years (18 female, nine male) were included in the study. Plerixafor was limited to patients with previous stem cell mobilization failure and was given in the evening of Day 4 of G-CSF application. A median increase of circulating CD34+ cells within 10 to 11 hours from administration of plerixafor by a factor of 4.7 over baseline was noted. Overall, 20 (74%) patients reached more than 10 × 10(6) CD34+ cells/L in the peripheral blood, resulting in 17 (63%) patients collecting at least 2 × 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg body weight (b.w.; median, 2.6 × 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg b.w.; range, 0.08 × 10(6) -8.07 × 10(6) ). Adverse events of plerixafor were mild to moderate and consisted of gastrointestinal side effects and local reactions at the injection site. Thirteen (48%) patients underwent autologous transplantation receiving a median of 2.93 × 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg (range, 1.46 × 10(6) -5.6 × 10(6) ) and showed a trilinear engraftment with a median neutrophil recovery on Day 12 and a platelet recovery on Day 14. Our study confirms previous investigations showing that plerixafor in combination with G-CSF is an effective and well-tolerated mobilization regimen with the potential of successful stem cell collection in patients with previous mobilization failure.
    Transfusion 09/2010; 51(5):968-75. · 3.22 Impact Factor
  • Article: Multicenter phase II study of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in combination with vinorelbine as first-line treatment in elderly patients with metastatic breast cancer.
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    ABSTRACT: This multicenter phase II trial was conducted to analyze the clinical activity and toxicity of the combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and vinorelbine as first-line treatment in elderly patients with metastatic breast cancer. From August 2002 to August 2004, 42 patients with metastatic breast cancer were recruited for treatment with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin 40 mg/m(2) intravenously (i.v.) on day 1 and vinorelbine 30 mg/m(2) i.v. on days 1 and 15 every 4 weeks. The median age of the patients in this trial was 68 years (range 60-82). 40% of patients had 2 or more sites of metastasis, 33 (78%) had predominantly visceral metastasis, and 7 (16%) mostly bone metastasis. Just 2 (5%) patients had only lymphogenous or soft tissue metastasis. All patients had an ECOG performance status of 0-1, but 70% of the patients had relevant comorbidities. In an intention-to-treat analysis, the overall clinical response rate was 36%, the complete response rate was 2%, and the rate of partial remissions was 34%; stable disease occurred in 30%, and progressive disease was observed in 36%. Median duration of response was 10 months. Median time to progression was 4 months, and median overall survival time was 24 months. The combination of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and vinorelbine is an active and well tolerated regimen in elderly patients with metastatic breast cancer in first-line treatment.
    Onkologie 03/2009; 32(1-2):18-24. · 0.87 Impact Factor
  • Article: Massive infiltration of bone marrow in colon carcinoma after treatment with activated protein C.
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    ABSTRACT: We present an unusual case of localized colorectal carcinoma complicated by sepsis which was treated with activated protein C (APC). Shortly after treatment the patient developed symptomatic metastases to the bone marrow (BM). Destruction of bones by colorectal cancer (CRC) is rare, although BM micrometastases are frequently observed. However, overt symptomatic BM metastasis is an exotic rarity. APC interacts with molecules and modulates pathways that are unquestionably involved in tumorigenesis and formation of metastases. Therefore a possible contributory role of the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory therapy in the rapid evolution of the disease cannot be excluded. Questions concerning the relevance and contribution of sepsis, treatment with APC, exquisitely high levels of non-thrombosis-associated D-dimer and CA19-9 to this highly uncommon course of disease are discussed. The lesson learned from this case is that APC may have contributed to the massive invasion of BM by colonic cancer cells in our patient and that APC should therefore be used with extreme restraint in patients with potentially curable cancer.
    Wiener klinische Wochenschrift 02/2007; 119(7-8):254-8. · 0.81 Impact Factor