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B Asselain

Publications and source records attributed to B Asselain.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Prognostic value of persistent node involvement after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with operable breast cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is able to reduce the size of the majority of breast tumours and down-stage axillary-node status. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of persistent node involvement after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A total of 488 patients with T2-T3, N0-N1 breast cancer treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by tumour excision and axillary lymph-node dissection between 1981 and 1992 were selected from the Institut Curie database. Median follow-up was 7 years. Overall objective response rate before local treatment was 52% and breast tumour size was reduced in 83% of patients. No pathologic nodal involvement was observed in 46. 5% of patients. Patients with > or = eight positive nodes had a very poor median disease-free survival of only 20 months. Their 10-year disease-free survival rate was 7%, while the 10-year disease-free survival rate for patients with no node involvement was 64%. Median survival for patients with > or = eight nodes positive was 48 months and the 10-year survival rate was 26% (P < 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, outcome was strongly correlated with pathological nodal status, tumour grade, hormonal receptor status and clinical response of the tumour. In conclusion, patients with extensive nodal involvement after neoadjuvant chemotherapy have a very poor outcome. Second-line treatment should be considered in this population.

Adult↗

[Complications of hydroxyapatite orbital implants in children: a series of 105 cases].

PURPOSE: To describe the complications encountered using hydroxyapatite as an orbital implant in the pediatric population after enucleation, and try to define the risk factors for their occurrence. MATERIAL: and methods: Retrospective review of charts of children who underwent enucleation with placement of an hydroxyapatite implant between January 1991 and 1998. Complications and their type (conjunctival, extrusion, eyelids complications) have been specifically looked for. A statistical analysis trying to isolate the risks factors was performed. RESULTS: 105 implants have been used during this period with 26.7% of complications appearing during a median followup of 22 months. Extrusion of the implant was observed in 1.9% of the cases, a chronic conjunctival erosion in 15%, a conjunctival lesion without erosion in 4.75% and no eyelid lesion could be seen. Treatment (medical or surgical) achieved 75% good results. No risk factor could be found. CONCLUSION: Hydroxyapatite orbital implants were initially thought to have no or few complications. More recently, chronic erosions in particular were described. Little data exists on the pediatric population. Our series confirms that complications occur and that they are comparable to the adult population. Nevertheless the hydroxyapatite orbital implant seems better tolerated than other porous or non porous implants and warrants its use.

Adult↗

[Current treatment of retinoblastoma. 153 children treated between 1995 and 1998].

PURPOSE: Treatment of retinoblastoma has changed significantly over the past few years. There are fewer indications for external beam radiation and a new treatment modality, chemotherapy, has appeared. MATERIAL: and methods: We reviewed a series of 153 children treated for retinoblastoma between 1995 and 1998. There were 67 boys and 86 girls: 76 unilateral and 77 bilateral retinoblastomas. Indications for treatments and outcome were reviewed for 230 eyes and for each tumor. Age at diagnosis varied from 0 to 94 months with a median age of 12 months. A family history of retinoblastoma was found in 24 cases. Three children were seen for treatment of recurrence. RESULTS: Among the 76 cases of unilateral retinoblastoma, 56 were enucleated and 20 were treated conservatively (5 with external beam radiation). Among the 154 eyes with bilateral retinoblastoma, 48 were enucleated and 106 were treated conservatively (49 by external beam radiation). Local treatments included chemothermotherapy, laser alone, cryotherapy, and (125)I plaques. Conservative management other than external beam radiation was used for 81 eyes and was successful in 72 (89%). CONCLUSION: We discuss the indications and results of primary chemotherapy and local treatments. External beam radiation is still often indicated in bilaterally advanced cases. In other forms of retinoblastoma, chemothermotherapy is a very reliable and useful treatment.

Child, Preschool↗

[Intraepithelial carcinoma and invasive carcinoma of the vulva, vagina and penis in Ile-de-france. Enquete PETRI on 423 cases].

OBJECTIVE: Precancerous and invasive carcinoma of the external genitalia and of the vagina are rare tumors and their incidence is not very well known in the Paris region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of precancerous and invasive lesions of the vulva, the vagina and the penis as well as their variation according to age. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted implicating private and public pathology laboratories in Paris and the seven departments around. Four hundred and twenty three genital biopsies have been analyzed: 160 from the vulva, 151 from the vagina and 112 from the penis. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 45 years. The highest frequency of genital biopsies was similar for the three anatomical sites and concerned patients of 25-34 years old. intraepithelial neoplasias represented 77p. 100 of the biopsies (32p. 100 of low grade and 45p. 100 of high grade), invasive squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma represented 21p. 100 and 2p. 100 of cases, respectively. The mean age of the patients with low grade vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, low grade vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia and low grade penile intraepithelial were 34, 40 and 33 years old, respectively. An interval of three to seven years separates the mean age of low grade intraepithelial neoplasia from the mean age of high grade. High grade intraepithelial neoplasia present a peak of frequency in the same class of age for the three localizations (25-34 years) and the risk of developing a high grade intraepithelial neoplasia of the external genital was higher between 25 and 35 years and between 35-45 years of the vagina. The mean age of invasive vulvar carcinoma, vagina carcinoma and penile carcinoma was 62, 59 and 68 years old, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation between the development of intraepithelial neoplasia of the vulva and the penis supposes a common aetiologic factor in the majority of the cases. The diagnosis of a intraepithelial neoplasia implies a clinical, colposcopic and follow-up of the entire genital area.

Adenocarcinoma↗

[Optic neuropathy after proton-beam therapy for malignant choroidal melanoma].

Proton-beam irradiation is a conservative therapy commonly used for the treatment of uveal malignant melanomas. Some adverse effects such as optic neuropathy can compromise the visual outcome. We were interested in determining the risk factors for radiation papillopathy. Since there is currently no effective therapy, this is an interesting way to improve prevention of optic neuropathy. Six hundred sixty-two eyes had more than 24 month follow-up after proton-beam irradiation for uveal melanoma. In five hundred twenty-two cases, the clinical examination of the optic nerve head by ophthalmoscopy was possible. One-hundred eleven optic discs were pathologic, whereas 411 remained disease-free. Retrospective study of these two groups allowed to quantify the risk factors for optic neuropathy. The irradiation of more than 2mm of optic nerve at 30 Grays-equivalents appeared to be the major risk factor for optic neuropathy. For a given irradiation dose, the observed pattern of clinical responses was heterogeneous. These results are discussed and compared to the previous published reports. Visual results and life prognosis are also discussed, considering the optic nerve head status. Proton-beam therapy can preserve the optic nerve when the tumor location allows to keep it away from the irradiation-field. Patients must be informed about the risk of optic neuropathy after proton-beam irradiation.

Choroid Neoplasms↗

[New trends in assessment in anticancer treatments by phase II clinical trials].

The aim of phase II clinical trials in oncology is to judge if a new treatment have a sufficient antitumor activity to justify further studies. They represent a crucial step in a new anticancer therapy development. The aim is to present phase II clinical trials planification and interpretation methods, end points, recent methods and news in tumor response assessment. Changes of the place of phase II clinical trials in a new treatment development strategies are finally shown. Non randomized trials planification methods (unique analysis, Gehan's method, Simon's procedure, Fleming's multi-stages procedure, triangular test) are described. Usual primary end point is tumor size diminution. Some studies are interested in secondary end points like survival data or treatment toxicity. New planification methods are exposed : randomized phase II clinical trials, phase II within a phase III trial, cross-over studies and bayesian theories are presented. Recent tumor response evaluation theories ("Recist") are described. Phase II trials function in new treatment development is progressing : they could be sufficient, in some cases, to allow a temporary marketing authorization if a treatment show great efficacy. Global reflection upon new treatment and methods allowing marketing authorization is required.

Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic↗

Unobserved covariates in the two-sample comparison of survival times: a maximum efficiency robust test.

In analysing a clinical trial with the logrank test, the hazards between the two groups are usually assumed to be proportional. Nevertheless, this hypothesis is no longer valid with unobserved covariates. As a consequence, there is a loss of power of the logrank test for testing the null hypothesis H(0) of no treatment effect. We propose a test suited for taking into account unobserved covariates. The proposed approach is based on a proportional hazard frailty model whereby the omitted covariates are considered as an unobserved frailty variable. The procedure is as follows. In a first step, the weighted logrank test optimal for testing H(0) against a general proportional hazard frailty model is obtained and its specialization for a gamma frailty variable is derived. In a second step, the proposed test is obtained by combining the maximin efficiency robustness principle and the gamma frailty distribution properties. Simulation studies investigate the power properties of the test for different frailty distributions. A breast cancer clinical trial is analysed as an example. The proposed test might be recommended rather than the logrank for practical situations in which one expects heterogeneity related to omitted covariates.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Discussion

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Journal Article↗

[Intensive chemotherapy and autograft of hematopoietic stem cells in the treatment of metastatic cancer: results of the national protocol Pegase 04].

UNLABELLED: We report hereby the results of the french multicentric randomized PEGASE 04 protocol established to evaluate the impact on survival of high-dose chemotherapy over conventional chemotherapy for MBC patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Inclusion criteria were: age < or = 60 year, PS < 2, adenocarcinoma initially metastatic or in first relapse, chemosensitive disease. Randomization was done after 4-6 courses of conventionnal chemotherapy between high-dose (Mitoxantrone, 45 mg/m2, Cyclophosphamide: 120 mg/kg, Melphalan: 140 mg/m2), and the pursuit of the same conventionnal chemotherapy. Between 09/92 and 12/96, 61 chemosensitive patients were enrolled: 29 were referred to standard chemotherapy, 32 to intensive therapy. At randomization, 13 pts (21.3%) were in complete response and 48 in partial response. RESULTS: The median progression-free survivals were 20 and 35.3 months in the standard and intensive groups (p=0.06). The relapse rates were respectively 79.3% vs 50.8% at 3 years and 90.8% vs 90.7% at 5 years. The median overall survivals were 20 and 43.4 months, with an overall survival rate of 18.5% vs 29.8% at 5 years (p=0.12). CONCLUSION: The CMA regimen could prolong the progression-free survival of MBC patients, however without any significant impact on overall survival.

Adult↗

TP53 status and gene amplification in human colorectal carcinomas.

Gene amplification is one of the characteristics of cancer cells. In vitro studies suggested that alterations of the TP53 gene might be responsible for gene amplification. We have examined the presence of TP53 mutations and looked for cytogenetic evidence of gene amplification in a series of 79 primary colorectal carcinomas. Other parameters such as the pattern of cytogenetic alterations, microsatellite instability, tumor site, and histological staging were also considered. A multiparametric study supported by statistical analyses suggests the existence of two major pathways of colorectal carcinogenesis. No relationships could be established between the presence of TP53 alterations and gene amplification.

Aged↗

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in young breast cancer patients: correlation between response and relapse?

The aim of this analysis was to assess how the clinical response to chemotherapy corresponded to long-term prognosis in patients of less than 35 years of age. A retrospective analysis was made of response and survival data of 609 premenopausal patients who had been treated by four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and/or radiotherapy. Patients were stratified into three age groups (group 1, < or = 35 years; group 2, 35-40 years; group 3, > or = 41 years). Objective and complete clinical response rates were significantly higher in the youngest patients (below 35 yrs: P = 0.005 and P = 0.001, respectively) in stark contrast to a particularly poor outcome of this subpopulation. Five-year local recurrence rates were 31% in the youngest patients, compared with 26% and 16% in groups 2 and 3, respectively (P = 0.0007). Group 1 patients also had significantly higher 5-year metastatic relapse rates (41% versus 35% and 28%; P = 0.007) and 5-year survival figures were 70%, 82% and 84% for groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively (P = 0.002). Finally, stratification by age and by response revealed that, whilst the outcome of the youngest patients was highly dependent on their response to primary chemotherapy, complete responders showed disease-free survival rates at 5 years that were lower than these of older patients, whatever their response. Despite a seemingly better control of the primary tumour by chemotherapy, the patients in the youngest age group remained at a high risk for local and metastatic relapse. This apparent paradox may be in part attributable to rapid disease progression of micrometastatic tumour subpopulations that are refractory to chemotherapy.

Adult↗

Analyzing prognostic factors in breast cancer using a multistate model.

In breast cancer clinical research, an important goal is to analyze how factors are seen to affect the disease process. Meanwhile, the disease progression is not fully modelled using standard analysis since transitions between intermediate events such as local-regional recurrences (LRR) or metachronous contralateral breast cancer (MCBC) are not considered. In the present study, the progression of disease was modelled using a multistate model. By this approach, we assessed transitions during the course of the disease and studied prognostic factors for each transition. The model was applied to 6,185 patients with unilateral ductal invasive breast cancer, clinical stage I through III, treated between 1981 and 1988 at the Curie Institute. At first diagnosis, high clinical stage, high histological grade, positive lymph nodes, and age less than 40 years were associated with increased risks of LRR, metastases, or death. Except age, the same factors remained predictive for metastases or death following LRR. Chemotherapy for the first cancer was associated with a decreased risk for developing MCBC. As the time interval from diagnosis of the primary tumor to that of a local or contralateral recurrence increased, the risk of metastases or death decreased. Nodal status for the first tumor and clinical stage for the contralateral tumor increased the risk of metastases or death following MCBC. Conversely, the risk decreased for patients who received adjuvant hormone therapy following MCBC. In conclusion, the multistate model offers us a much more appropriate way to study prognostic factors for each transition in breast cancer disease.

Adult↗

Short and long-term effects on survival in breast cancer patients treated by primary chemotherapy: an updated analysis of a randomized trial.

A potential advantage of primary over adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer survival had been proposed on theoretical grounds. In 1994, early results of the S6-trial comparing primary chemotherapy vs. adjuvant chemotherapy for operable breast cancer in 390 premenopausal patients had shown significant improvement in survival of the primary chemotherapy arm (p = 0.04). An updated analysis conducted in 1995 showed the disappearance of this difference between the two arms (p = 0.18). In the present analysis, we investigated the potential short and long-term benefits attributable to primary chemotherapy by applying weighted logrank tests designed to assess specifically these effects. Results were compared to those obtained with the classical logrank test. At a median follow-up of 105 months, a significant short-term survival benefit (p = 0.02) in favor of the primary chemotherapy has been shown. However, no long-term survival benefit (p = 0.36) could be documented. The classical logrank test had revealed no significant difference (p = 0.24) between the two groups but the proportional hazard assumption being rejected (p = 0.04), the efficiency of this test can be questioned. Results using the present analysis suggested that primary chemotherapy delayed early death rates, without significantly modifying long-term event rates. It emphasizes that a short-term effect which is not necessarily associated with a long-term benefit may be seen at an early evaluation and disappear later on.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Prognostic value of uPA and p53 accumulation measured by quantitative biochemical assays in 1245 primary breast cancer patients: a multicentre study.

The purpose of this retrospective multicentre study was to assess the prognostic value of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and p53 levels in a large series of primary breast cancer, using an automatic quantitative luminometric method. Samples of 1245 operable breast tumours were collected from seven French institutions and patients were followed for a median of 75 months. The median uPA and p53 levels assayed in cytosols by means of the immunoluminometric technique (LIA) were 0.31 and 0.20 ng mg(-1) of protein respectively. In univariate analysis, high levels of uPA and p53 were associated with shorter disease-specific survival, disease-free interval, and distant recurrence-free interval. The 5-year survival rates were 95.5% among patients with uPA values below the 20th percentile, and 77.5% in those with values above the 80th percentile. The 5-year survival rates were 91.0% in patients with p53 values below the 20th percentile, and 77.6% in those with values above the 80th percentile. In multivariate analysis, the risk of disease-related death increased with uPA levels after adjustment for tumour size, histological grade, lymph node involvement, and estrogen receptor status. A high level of uPA was also related to a shorter disease-free interval and distant recurrence-free interval. In node-negative patients, a high level of uPA remained strongly related to the three outcomes. When adjusted for other prognostic factors, p53 was no longer significantly related to the outcomes. Given its rapidity and simple application to routinely prepared cytosols, this LIA may be useful for evaluating the prognostic impact of uPA in primary breast cancer, particularly in node-negative patients. According to our results, the prognostic value of p53 accumulation is limited when uPA is included in multivariate analysis.

Adult↗

[Conservative treatment of multifocal breast cancer: a comparative study].

Conservative treatment of multifocal breast cancer is still very controversial. This retrospective study concerns 56 patients with stage I or II multifocal breast cancer who underwent conservative treatment at the Institut Curie from January 1983 to December 1989. These patients (group 1) were matched with 132 patients with multifocal lesions treated by mastectomy (group 2). Surgical treatment consisted of a single wide lumpectomy followed by external radiotherapy. Adjuvant systemic therapy and regional nodal irradiation were administered as indicated by current protocols. The actuarial 5-year overall survival rate was 94% 6 in group 1, and 90% 6 in group 2 (NS). The actuarial 5-year ipsilateral breast recurrence rate was 11% 8 in group 1, and 11% 5 in group 2 (NS). In group 1 patients, the ipsilateral breast recurrence rate was related neither to type of multifocality nor to presence of intra ductal breast carcinoma, nodal status, tumor margins, radiotherapy boost, or distance between tumors. Consequently, conservative treatment of multifocal breast cancers which can be completely removed by a single lumpectomy seems, when technically feasible, an alternative to mastectomy.

Adult↗

[Prognostic factors in malignant melanoma of the conjunctiva. An anatomo-clinical study of 56 patients].

UNLABELLED: We have reviewed a serie of 56 patients treated in our Institute for malignant melanoma of the conjunctiva between 1980 and 1992. We selected cases where histology had been reviewed. PATIENTS AND METHOD: The median follow up is 96 months. The age varies from 13 to 88 years with a mean age of 56 years. There were 22 men and 34 females. In 29 cases (51%) the melanoma appeared de novo, ten cases (17%) it derived from a naevus and in 14 cases (25%) on a precancerous melanosis. The tumour was localized at the limbus and bulbar conjunctiva in 57% of cases. The mean diameter was 6.1 mm and the mean thickness was 2.3 mm. The treatment consisted in surgical excision of the tumour followed by external beam radiothérapy in 49 cases. Histological examination showed invasion of the chorion in 44 cases (78%) and of the sclera in 6 cases (1%). RESULTS: 38 patients are alive and 29 without disease. 2 with disease, 7 lost follow-up. 18 patients died (32%) and among them 14 (25%) died of metastatic disease. 22 patients (39%) have presented local recurrence and among them 10 have had multiple recurrences. The mean delay for recurrence was 56 months. The overall survival was 77% at 5 years and 64% at 10 years. Tumours appeared de novo have a worse prognosis. If we consider the localization tumour located at the limbus or on bulbar conjunctiva have less metastasis. CONCLUSION: Malignant melanoma of conjunctiva is a tumour that can frequently recur. Metastasis are not infrequent and follow up must be prolonged.

Adolescent↗

Stereotactic fine-needle aspiration cytology of nonpalpable breast lesions: Institut Curie's experience of 243 histologically correlated cases.

BACKGROUND: The early diagnosis of nonpalpable breast lesions is a medical challenge because of the low specificity of different radiologic modalities. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) assisted by a stereotactic guidance is an adjunctive diagnostic approach in the management of these lesions. The primary purpose of this article was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in patients with nonpalpable breast lesions. METHODS: Three hundred and seventy-one lesions from 357 patients (all female) underwent FNAC using the stereotactically guided technique. Of these cases, 243 lesions from 238 patients subsequently were acquired by surgical excisional biopsies and formed the basis of this study. Statistical analyses of the cytologic and the histologic diagnoses of these cases were performed. RESULTS: Histologically, 107 lesions (44%) were benign and 136 lesions (56%) were malignant. Of the 136 malignant lesions, cytology was concordant in 73 lesions (53.7%), suspicious in 15 lesions (11.0%), false-negative in 12 lesions (8.8%) (benign), and unsatisfactory in 36 lesions (26.5%). Among the 107 benign lesions, cytology was concordant with histology in 75 lesions (70.1%), whereas 4 lesions (3.7%) and 28 lesions (26.2%) were cytologically suspicious and unsatisfactory, respectively. No false-positive cytologies were found in the current series. CONCLUSIONS: The current prospective study indicates that mammography combined with FNAC provides an accurate and practical diagnostic approach for the majority of nonpalpable lesions. Patients with unsatisfactory and false-negative lesions should undergo excisional biopsy.

Adult↗