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Biomedical subjects

J P Crowe

Publications and source records attributed to J P Crowe.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Inflammatory breast cancer.

Historically, the prognosis of inflammatory breast cancer has been poor. We conducted a retrospective review to evaluate the recent Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center experience, to evaluate the role of combination chemotherapy, and to compare the effect of surgery and radiation on local/regional failure. Fifty-six patients with local/regional inflammatory breast cancer diagnosed between 1975 and 1984 were identified. All were treated with combination chemotherapy. Overall 5-year survival was 45% with a 5-year disease-free survival rate of 37%. Twenty-one patients were treated with induction chemotherapy followed by mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Survival and disease-free survival rates were similar to those achieved in patients treated with mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. Residual cancer was found in all 21 patients treated with induction chemotherapy, with extensive disease present in 18, including six of seven complete responders. The local/regional failure rate was 34%.

Adult↗

Local-regional breast cancer recurrence following mastectomy.

Local-regional recurrence patterns were investigated in 1392 patients with breast cancer. Primary treatment for all patients included a mastectomy. Nine hundred seventeen patients had negative nodes and did not receive systemic therapy. Four hundred seventy-five patients had node metastases and were randomized to receive different combinations of chemoendocrine therapy. Follow-up ranged between 5 and 16 years. Two hundred thirty (25.8%) node-negative patients have had recurrences, with the initial recurrence being local-regional in 9.2%. Two hundred forty-two (50.9%) node-positive patients have had recurrences, with the initial recurrence being local-regional in 17.1%. Larger tumors and more extensive node involvement were associated with more first local-regional recurrences. The relative percent of first local-regional recurrence among patients in whom cancer recurred was similar for node-negative and node-positive patients (35.4% and 33.5%, respectively). In 63.6% of patients in whom cancer recurred, first local-regional recurrence were distant. Larger tumors, more extensive node involvement, and a shorter disease-free interval after mastectomy were associated with more rapid appearance of distant recurrence among these patients.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Not all nonpalpable breast cancers are alike.

Clinical and mammographic data of 1009 consecutive patients were correlated with histopathologic data of 1144 biopsy specimens of nonpalpable breast lesions to better define the presentation and biologic behavior of early breast cancer. Patients with malignant neoplasms (269 [24%] of 1144 specimens) were older (mean age, 62.1 years) than patients with benign lesions (mean age, 54.9 years). Furthermore, patients with invasive disease were older (mean age, 63.3 years) than patients with noninvasive disease (mean age, 58.5 years) with an overall increased risk of invasive cancer per year of 1.035. A 58% incidence of invasive cancer was detected for lesions characterized by calcifications, while the incidence of invasive cancer was 84% for isolated mass lesions (relative risk, 4.31 for masses). Isolated mammographic calcifications associated with cancer appeared in a younger population and were significantly associated with noninvasive ductal cancer. Breast cancer presenting as a mammographic mass appeared in an older group and was highly associated with the presence of invasive disease.

Adult↗

Management of reflux oesophagitis: role of weight loss and cimetidine.

A double blind clinical trial was performed to evaluate the effect of weight loss and cimetidine in the treatment of reflux oesophagitis. Thirty-two patients were evaluated by endoscopy, L.O.S.P. determination, oesophageal scintigraphy and ambulatory 24 hour oesophageal pH monitoring. Patients were randomly allocated into treatment using a regimen of placebo/weight loss or cimetidine/weight loss. Assessments were repeated after 8-12 weeks. A similar weight loss and improvement in symptoms and endoscopy appearances was seen in both groups. In contrast there was no significant change in frequency or duration of reflux on 24-hour pH monitoring or oesophageal scintigraphy or L.O.S.P. We conclude that weight loss may have an important role in the treatment of reflux oesophagitis and should be recommended to patients as an early therapeutic intervention. Cimetidine did not confer any additional benefit to that obtained from weight loss alone.

Adult↗

Estrogen receptor determination and long term survival of patients with carcinoma of the breast.

To investigate whether or not hormone receptor determination gives independent prognostic information for long term survival of patients with carcinoma of the breast, we studied 1,392 patients with early carcinoma of the breast. Patients were part of two prospective, multi-institutional trials, the first begun in 1974 and the second in 1980. Estrogen receptor assays were performed on all primary specimens taken of the carcinoma of the breast. Initial treatment for all patients was a modified radical mastectomy. Nine hundred and seventeen patients had negative axillary nodes and were observed without additional therapy. Four hundred and seventy-five had positive nodes and were randomized to receive combination chemoendocrine adjuvant therapy. One thousand and sixty-three (76.4 per cent) of the patients were found to have estrogen receptor positive (ER+) tumors (greater than or equal to 3 femtomoles per milligram cytosol of protein). The ten year over-all survival rate of 65.9 per cent was significantly better than that of 329 (23.6 per cent) patients with estrogen receptor negative (ER-) tumors (less than 3 femtomoles per milligram cytosol protein), who had a ten year over-all survival rate of 56.0 per cent (p = 0.0001). Higher estrogen receptor values were associated with Caucasian (p = 0.0001) and postmenopausal patients (p = 0.0001). In a proportional hazards regression model, patients with ER+ tumors had a significantly longer over-all survival period (p = 0.0001), but only a marginally improved disease-free survival time (p = 0.07) when compared with patients who had ER- tumors. These results indicate that ER determination does have prognostic value for long term over-all survival of patients with carcinoma of the breast. The greater importance of ER analysis to over-all compared with disease-free survival may be related to more easily managed recurrent disease among the ER+ group.

Aged↗

Short-term tamoxifen plus chemotherapy: superior results in node-positive breast cancer.

Three hundred eleven patients with node-positive breast cancer were randomized to one of three adjuvant treatments: cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil; all of the above with tamoxifen citrate; or all of the above with tamoxifen and bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination. Local therapy for all patients was a modified radical mastectomy. Estrogen receptors were measured on all primary tumors. Patients were stratified by the number of positive nodes (one to three nodes and more than three nodes) and estrogen-receptor value (less than 3 femtomole/mg and greater than or equal to 3 femtomole/mg). Follow-up is available, with a mean of 9.1 and maximum of 14.2 years. In this study the efficacy of short-term tamoxifen is apparent over that of chemoimmunotherapy alone and continues to be significant with prolonged follow-up. The addition of tamoxifen to chemoimmunotherapy significantly prolonged disease-free survival among patients with estrogen receptor-positive tumors who were postmenopausal, who had larger tumors (greater than 3 cm), or who had more extensive axillary node involvement (more than three nodes). Tamoxifen improved overall survival for patients with estrogen receptor-positive tumors larger than 3 cm. The addition of bacillus Calmette-Guerin Cytoxan, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil, and tamoxifen did not significantly alter disease-free or overall survival.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Endocrine versus endocrine plus five-drug chemotherapy in postmenopausal women with stage II estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.

Postmenopausal women who underwent modified radical mastectomy for Stage II, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer were randomized to receive endocrine treatment (tamoxifen [T], 40 mg daily for 3 years) alone versus endocrine treatment plus five-drug chemotherapy (Cytoxan [cyclophosphamide, C], methotrexate [M], 5-fluorouracil [F], vincristine [V], and prednisone [P], CMFVP, for 1 year). Chemotherapy consisted of oral P (1 month), oral C (12 months), and intravenous MFV weekly for the first 3 months, biweekly for 3 months, and triweekly for 6 months. Patients were entered into the study from October 1979, to October 1985, and the median follow-up is 55 months. Results show that with 94 postmenopausal women, disease-free survival (DFS) is significantly greater (P = 0.04, log-rank test; P = 0.03, multivariate analysis) in patients receiving CMFVPT as compared to those receiving T alone. These results suggest that intensive chemotherapy combined with T is more effective in delaying recurrence than T alone in postmenopausal patients.

Aged↗

Symptom relief and duodenal ulcer healing with omeprazole or cimetidine. Opus (Omeprazole Peptic Ulcer Study) Research Group.

In a double-blind parallel-group study, 98 patients with symptomatic duodenal ulcer received omeprazole 20 mg o.m. and 91 cimetidine 800 mg nocte for 2 or, if then not healed, 4 weeks. After 2 weeks the healing rates on an intention-to-treat basis were: for omeprazole 62% and for cimetidine 33% (P less than 0.001), and at 4 weeks 85% and 61%, respectively (P less than 0.001). The proportions symptom-free at 2 weeks were 83% of the omeprazole and 63% of the cimetidine-group (P less than 0.01) and at 4 weeks 84% and 72% (P = 0.01). Patients receiving omeprazole took fewer antacid tablets than those receiving cimetidine. Patient tolerance of both drugs was similar and good. In the treatment of duodenal ulcer, omeprazole 20 mg o.m. gives faster symptom relief than cimetidine 800 mg nocte, as well as healing a greater proportion of ulcers within 2 and 4 weeks.

Adolescent↗

Randomised, double blind comparison of omeprazole and cimetidine in the treatment of symptomatic gastric ulcer.

In a randomised, double blind, parallel group study in patients with symptomatic gastric ulcer (94% greater than or equal to 5 mm diameter), 102 received omeprazole 20 mg om and 87 cimetidine 400 mg bd. After four weeks 73% and 58% (p less than 0.05) respectively had healed (eight weeks: 84% and 75%, ns). After four weeks, a greater proportion (81%) of omeprazole treated patients was symptom free than of those receiving cimetidine (60%; p less than 0.01). Over the first two weeks, patients receiving omeprazole had less day pain, less night pain and took fewer antacids than those receiving cimetidine (all p less than 0.05). The difference between omeprazole and cimetidine was not appreciably affected by age, smoking, size of the ulcer and trial centre. Tolerability was similar in the two treatment groups. In the treatment of symptomatic gastric ulcer, omeprazole relieves the symptoms more quickly than cimetidine and heals a greater proportion of ulcers within four weeks.

Cimetidine↗

Nonsedating histamine H1-receptor antagonists.

The chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, adverse effects, and dosages of the nonsedating histamine H1-receptor antagonists terfenadine, astemizole, loratadine, and acrivastine are reviewed. Terfenadine and astemizole are chemically unrelated to histamine H1-receptor antagonists such as diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine. Loratadine is structurally related to the antihistamine azatadine, and acrivastine is a side-chain-reduced metabolite of the antihistamine triprolidine. Like other histamine H1-receptor antagonists, they competitively block histamine receptor sites rather than inhibiting histamine release. All four drugs have relatively long half-lives and are rapidly absorbed after oral administration. Terfenadine, astemizole, and loratadine are metabolized extensively in the liver; terfenadine and astemizole are both 97% protein bound. Terfenadine 60 mg twice daily has been shown to be as effective as conventional antihistamines for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. In clinical trials, astemizole 10 mg daily was comparable to or better than chlorpheniramine for treatment of chronic rhinitis. Both terfenadine and astemizole were effective for treatment of chronic urticaria. For treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis, loratadine combined with pseudoephedrine may be preferable to triprolidine-pseudoephedrine and acrivastine-pseudoephedrine combinations that require more frequent dosing. Acrivastine must be administered more frequently than the other nonsedating antihistamines. None of these four agents impairs psychomotor activity. Infrequently reported adverse effects include dry mouth, skin reactions, and weight gain. The absence of substantial sedative effects and the less-frequent dosing schedules make these agents good alternatives to the classic antihistamines for treatment of seasonal and chronic rhinitis and chronic urticaria.

Histamine H1 Antagonists↗

Breast cancer survival and perioperative blood transfusion.

The effect of perioperative blood transfusion on disease-free and overall survival was studied in 812 patients with stages I and II breast cancer, followed up prospectively in a multicenter study. All patients initially underwent a modified radical mastectomy. Patients with axillary node-negative, stage I cancer were followed up without additional therapy. Patients with axillary node-positive, stage II cancer were randomized to receive adjuvant chemoendocrine therapy. Transfusion was done in 35.8% of the patients with stage I and in 37.3% of the patients with stage II cancer. For the patients with stage II cancer, perioperative blood transfusion did not affect disease-free or overall survival. For the patients with stage I cancer, perioperative blood transfusion resulted in a worse disease-free and overall survival (p = 0.05 and 0.02, respectively), which was particularly evident for those patients who received more than 1 unit. This study suggests that stage of disease, adjuvant therapy, number of transfusions, and duration of follow-up must be considered in further analyses.

Actuarial Analysis↗

Breast cancer in a male-to-female transsexual. A case report.

The clinicopathological findings in a patient who developed breast carcinoma ten years after male-to-female sexual reassignment are reported. Only two other cases of transsexual men with breast carcinoma have been reported previously. All three patients received oral estrogens for prolonged periods to maintain secondary female characteristics. The controversies relating to hormonal influences in the etiology of breast cancer in men are discussed herein.

Adult↗

Recurrence patterns in a prospective study of patients with stage II breast cancer treated with endocrine-chemotherapy.

Local-regional versus distant recurrence patterns were investigated for 311 patients with stage II node-positive breast cancer who were part of an endocrine-chemotherapy adjuvant breast cancer trial. After mastectomy patients were randomized to receive either cytoxan, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) (1 year) or CMF with tamoxifen (1 year) with or without bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). With a median follow-up of 92.1 months, 55.3% of the patients had recurrences. The first site of recurrence was local-regional for 31.4% of patients and distant for 68.6%. This pattern of first recurrence was not associated with treatment groups, menopausal status, race, estrogen receptor value, number of positive lymph nodes, or tumour diameter. Although patients with a first local-regional recurrence had a better overall prognosis compared with those with a first distant recurrence, 52.2% of those patients with an initial local-regional recurrence developed a distant recurrence within 12 months. Among patients who had a recurrence, 48.3% had a local-regional recurrence at some time during their follow-up. Conclusions from this study are (1) patterns of recurrence were not affected by the addition of antiestrogen therapy to chemotherapy; (2) for the variables tested, including number of positive nodes and tumor diameter, no association with recurrence patterns was found; and (3) most patients (52.2%) with a first local-regional recurrence will develop a distant recurrence within 1 year.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Chronic erosive gastritis: a clinical study.

In order to help clarify the clinical importance of chronic erosive gastritis, we describe our experience of 28 patients with this disorder who were seen over a 2-yr period. Twenty patients were male. Twenty-four patients presented with abdominal pain, for which no cause other than chronic erosive gastritis was found in 20 patients. Ten patients had pain for more than 1 yr. Three patients presented with painless vomiting. The antrum was involved in 27 patients and the body in 17 patients. There was no correlation between the number of erosions and the duration of symptoms. Double contrast barium meal was positive in nine of 21 patients. Of 19 patients treated with cimetidine, 15 improved clinically and six of eight had endoscopic improvement. The treatment of choice is unknown and controlled trials are needed. Symptoms in patients with chronic erosive gastritis appear to be due to the gastritis itself rather than to associated lesions.

Adolescent↗

Acute treatment of duodenal ulcer: a multicentre study to compare ranitidine 150 mg twice daily with ranitidine 300 mg once at night.

A randomised double blind clinical trial was undertaken in the UK and Ireland to compare ranitidine 300 mg given as a single bed time tablet with ranitidine 150 mg twice daily in the acute treatment of duodenal ulcers. Of the 594 patients with endoscopically diagnosed duodenal ulcer entered into the trial, 424 patients had complete endoscopic findings on which healing rates at four weeks were determined. By this time 156 of 201 (78%) patients healed with ranitidine 300 mg nocte compared with 186 of 223 (83%) receiving ranitidine 150 mg twice daily (p = 0.28). After eight weeks of treatment 97% of the patients in each group were healed. The healing rates for smokers and non-smokers did not differ significantly at either four or eight weeks. Each regimen was equally effective in reducing day and night-time pain. Adverse events were reported in 23 patients overall; 12 were withdrawn from the trial. Minor abnormalities in liver function tests were noted in three patients. The trial confirmed that a single dose of ranitidine 300 mg given at night is a safe, effective alternative treatment to ranitidine 150 mg bd for the acute treatment of duodenal ulcer.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

An international multi-clinic study comparing the therapeutic efficacy of colloidal bismuth subcitrate coated tablets with chewing tablets in the treatment of duodenal ulceration.

The results of a randomized, single-blind, multi-clinic study comparing the therapeutic efficacy and degree of oral staining of new colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS) coated tablets over 4 weeks of treatment in patients suffering from duodenal ulceration are reported. The data were collected from 9 clinics in the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The results from 94 patients treated with CBS coated tablets and 95 patients treated with CBS chewing tablets were statistically evaluated. Healing rates after 4 weeks of therapy appeared to be 76% for CBS coated tablets and 72% for CBS chewing tablets, so no statistically significant difference in therapeutic efficacy was seen. A highly significant degree of discolouration of all parts of the oral cavity was observed in patients treated with CBS chewing tablets, whereas only a few patients treated with CBS coated tablets experienced a slight staining of the tongue. Blood bismuth concentrations during the study had a range of less than or equal to 3 to 33 micrograms/l. The new CBS coated tablet form has an excellent patient compliance as compared to the chewing tablets.

Adolescent↗

The interaction of estrogen receptor status and race in predicting prognosis for stage I breast cancer patients.

As part of a multi-institutional breast cancer data base, 501 stage I, node negative patients have been followed prospectively with a median of 89 months. Patients were treated by a modified radical mastectomy without postoperative therapy. Estrogen receptor (ER) content of the primary tumor was determined in all cases. For the entire patient group at 10 years, the disease-free survival (DFS) rate is 72% and the overall survival (OS) rate is 85%. Both ER value and race (black versus white) were found to be significant prognostic variables for DFS (p = 0.008 and 0.02, respectively) and for OS (p = 0.0001 and 0.01, respectively). ER positive patients had a better DFS and OS rate compared with ER negative patients (74% versus 66% and 90% versus 68%, respectively). Black patients had significantly worse DFS and OS rates compared with white patients (64% versus 74% and 75% versus 86%, respectively). Statistical interaction between the ER and race variables was apparent when comparing the similar DFS for ER positive white (75%), ER negative white (72%), and ER positive black (73%) patients in contrast to a DFS of less than 42% at 10 years for the ER negative black patients. An analysis of the data for the ER negative black patients suggested that the postmenopausal ER negative black patients are at particularly high risk of recurrence and death from breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗