Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Halle

Publications and source records attributed to J Halle.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Extending the indications for breast-conserving treatment to patients with locally advanced breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Breast-conserving therapy (BCS) has generally been limited to T1 and T2 lesions because it has been thought impossible to achieve good local control with satisfactory cosmesis in patients with more advanced disease. However, many patients with T3 and T4 lesions will exhibit dramatic tumor downstaging with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. It is our hypothesis that for these patients BCS can be performed with good local control and cosmesis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between February 1991 and November 1995, 34 patients with T3/T4, N0-N2, M0 breast cancer completed treatment consisting of 90 mg/m2 of doxorubicin every 21 weeks x 4, surgery (a local excision if sufficiently downstaged, or mastectomy if not), high dose cyclophosphamide (CMF) every 2 weeks x 4, and radiation therapy. Radionuclide ventriculograms were performed on all patients pre- and postdoxorubicin, and at 6-12 months post radiation therapy. Patients were evaluated for toxicity, local control, cosmesis, disease-free and overall survival. RESULTS: Median follow-up is 30 months. 15/34 (44%) patients underwent BCS with only one local-regional failure and actuarial 3-year disease-free and overall survival of 77% and 88%. Cosmetic results were good to excellent in 80% of the patients. Left ventricular ejection fraction, which predictably declined following doxorubicin, did not further decline after radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that with this regimen a subset of patients with locally advanced breast cancer can preserve their breast with acceptable cosmesis without compromising local control or survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Induction therapy with carboplatin/paclitaxel followed by concurrent carboplatin/paclitaxel and dose-escalating conformal radiotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer: preliminary report of a phase I trial.

Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer is optimally managed with chemotherapy and thoracic irradiation, although the most appropriate strategy is not yet defined. In this phase I trial, we use two 21-day cycles of induction chemotherapy with paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) (225 mg/m2 over 3 hours) and carboplatin (area under the concentration-time curve = 6) followed by concurrent weekly paclitaxel (45 mg/m2/wk x 6) and carboplatin (area under the concentration-time curve = 2/wk x 6) and thoracic irradiation. Patients undergo three-dimensional treatment planning (conformal radiotherapy) to define the cancer target volume precisely. The phase I question being addressed in this study is the maximum tolerated radiation dose given concurrently with low-dose paclitaxel and carboplatin. The initial radiation dose is 60 Gy, with dose escalations to 66 Gy, 70 Gy, and 74 Gy being planned. Ten patients have been entered thus far (eight men and two women). Their median age is 67 years (range, 59 to 78 years), and none of the patients has had greater than 5% pretreatment weight loss. Seven of 10 are evaluable for response to induction carboplatin and paclitaxel, with a response rate of 57% (three partial responses and one minor response). Three patients had stable disease and none of the patients had evidence of progressive disease during induction chemotherapy. Three patients have completed all treatment at 60 Gy and one has completed all treatment at 66 Gy. Three of the four patients have had partial responses (75%), with the remaining patient having stable disease. Toxicity in the concurrent chemoradiotherapy portion of the trial thus far has consisted of grade 3 neutropenia in one patient and grade 4 lymphocytopenia in all four patients. No grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic toxicity has been seen. The trial data are not yet mature enough to report on survival. Accrual and treatment is continuing at the 66 Gy radiation dose level.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

The cardiopulmonary cost of backward walking at selected speeds.

Backward walking has been advocated as a method of maintaining cardiovascular conditioning in patients undergoing knee rehabilitation because it may decrease patellofemoral joint compressive forces. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the rate of oxygen consumption (VO2) and backward walking speed. Twenty-five healthy males, aged 18-35 years, participated in this study. The rate of oxygen consumption and heart rate were measured at the backward walking speeds of 0.89, 1.12, 1.34, 1.56, and 1.79 m/sec (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 miles/hour, respectively). Analysis revealed a direct, curvilinear relationship between VO2 and backward walking speed. This research provides information that can be used to prescribe a backward walking rehabilitation program which may be appropriate to maintain aerobic fitness levels during rehabilitation of patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

32P following negative second-look laparotomy for epithelial ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE: Peritoneal seeding remains a prominent failure pattern in patients with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, even following a pathologically negative second-look laparotomy (2LL). In an attempt to decrease the risk of peritoneal recurrence, we have treated patients with no clinical or histopathologic evidence of disease at 2LL with 15 mCi of chromic phosphate suspension intraperitoneally (32P). METHODS: Between 1973-1987, 69 patients with stages I-III invasive epithelial ovarian cancer in complete clinical remission were found to have no evidence of disease at 2LL. Fifty-one patients received intraperitoneal 32P. Thirty-five patients, otherwise eligible for 32P, did not receive it primarily due to other treatment protocols, peritoneal adhesions, or the recommendation that no further therapy be given following a negative 2LL. Patients in both groups were comparable with regard to stage, histology, grade, median age, residual disease following initial surgery, and chemotherapeutic regimen. The median follow-up for uncensored patients is 58 months (minimum, 18 months). RESULTS: The 5-year actuarial disease-free survival rate from the date of 2LL was 86% for those receiving 32P and 67% for those not receiving 32P (P = 0.05). The corresponding 5-year overall survival rates were 90 and 78%, again favoring patients treated with 32P. COMPLICATIONS: There were minimal acute side effects from 32P. Late adverse effects were similar in the two groups. Bowel complications were seen in 3 of 51 patients receiving 32P and 1 of 18 patients not receiving 32P. CONCLUSIONS: We have found intraperitoneal 32P administration immediately after 2LL to be a safe and well-tolerated therapy. Our data suggest that 32P confers a survival advantage to patients with a pathologically negative 2LL. These findings suggest a continued role for second-look laparotomy with the use of 32P in selected patients.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1988

Intraperitoneal chromic phosphate therapy after second-look laparotomy for ovarian cancer.

Between 1973 and 1985, 118 patients in clinical remission after initial surgery and postoperative chemotherapy for epithelial ovarian carcinoma underwent second-look laparotomy at the University of North Carolina. No evidence of disease (NED) was found in 57 of these patients; 43 patients received 15 mCi of radioactive chromic phosphate (32P) suspension given intraperitoneally in the immediate postoperative period. In 29 other patients, only microscopic or minimal residual disease (nodules less than 2 cm in size) was found, seven received 32P alone, ten received 32P and further chemotherapy, and 12 received chemotherapy alone. The 4-year postsecond-look survival of the patients with NED at second-look was 89% for those receiving 32P and 67% for those who had not. The respective figures for patients with minimal residual disease at second-look are 59% versus 22%. Irrespective of treatment, a group at high risk for failure after negative second-look laparotomy has been identified; those with an initial International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage greater than I and histologic grade greater than 1. A comparison of our data with 18 previously published series, indicates that use of postsecond-look intraperitoneal 32P can improve the progression-free interval, and possibly overall survival, of patients with NED or minimal residual disease without adding significant complications.

Carcinoma↗
PubMed1987

Primary radiation therapy for medically inoperable patients with endometrial carcinoma--stages I-II.

Surgery with or without adjuvant radiation is the established method of treating patients with Stage I and II adenocarcinoma of the endometrium. However, patients who are poor operative risks must be treated with radiation therapy only. We report on 73 such patients treated at the University of North Carolina between 1969 and 1980. All patients had an adenocarcinoma of the endometrium; 41 were FIGO Stage I, 32 Stage II. The minimum follow-up period was 4 years. Life table analysis shows a disease-free survival of 72% at 3 years and 57% at 5 years for Stage I patients. There was a strong correlation between histologic tumor grade and survival in these patients; the 5-year survival for grade 1 was 72%, for grade 2 59%, and for grade 3 31%. The difference between G1 and G3 is significant at the p = .045 level. Coexisting medical conditions were responsible for 12 deaths; almost as many as the 16 cancer-related deaths. Stage II patients have an actuarial disease-free survival of 36% at 3 years and 26% at 5 years, significantly worse than Stage I patients (p = .029 at 3 years). Failures were seen in 16/41 (39%) Stage I and 19/32 (59%) Stage II patients; 29/35 (83%) of these recurrences had component of local/pelvic failure and 15/35 (43%) of the recurrences were local/pelvic only. Specific suggestions on how to improve local therapy for these patients are presented.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Intravenous magnesium in acute myocardial infarct].

UNLABELLED: The effects of magnesium (Mg) on the incidence of arrhythmias and on mortality were evaluated in 61 patients with documented acute myocardial infarction (AMI), in a randomized, double blind placebo controlled study. During the first 24 hours 31 patients received infusion of 1000 ml isotonic saline with 17 g MgSO4 and 30 ones received only equal volumes of saline as placebo. The baseline characteristics of the population including serum Mg and potassium were similar in the two groups. Severe arrhythmias were not as frequent in the Mg group (22%) as in the placebo one (36%), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.05). There is no significant difference between the groups neither in mortality (3.2%; 0%) nor in conduction disturbances (3.2%; 3%). The adverse effects of Mg therapy were transient and therapy interruption was not required. CONCLUSION: Although the trial is not an extensive one, and the results are nonsignificant, we consider intravenous Mg therapy to be simple and cheap with its place in the treatment of AMI in properly selected patients. According to available data it should be administered as soon as possible after the onset of AMI symptoms, before thrombolytic therapy, in 24-hrs. dose not exceeding 50-65 mmol probably through several days, but the optimal duration of therapy should be further investigated.

Adult↗