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Fourteen elderly patients (median age 85 years) who were considered non-candidates for R-CHOP were treated first-line with a combination of bendamustine and rituximab. Of these, 7 achieved a complete response and 2 achieved a partial response. Toxicity was minimal. Although promising, these results need to be confirmed in larger studies.
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In a large multi-institutional prospective trial conducted from 1994-2001, 1979 eligible patients (median age 70 years) with PSA < 20 were randomized to radiation therapy alone or radiotherapy plus 4 months of total androgen suppression starting 2 months before radiotherapy.
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In a trial of two platinum-based chemotherapy regimens for non-small-cell lung cancer in older patients, pretreatment assessment of physical function and quality of life predicted certain different adverse outcomes but neither treatment assignment was superior to the other with regard to improved "global" quality of life.
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FDA issues multiple drug safety alerts; ARBs and cancer risk; and FDA actions.
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The use of sunlamps or sunbeds for tanning purposes has grown in popularity, such that their use is very common among teenagers and young adults. In a well-conducted Australian multicenter, case-controlled study, it is clear that such use among teenagers is associated with a significantly higher risk of cutaneous melanoma. In fact, the risk is higher than it is for middle-aged sunbed users.
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In a review of nine Phase 3 trials enrolling 6,284 patients, data from 793 who were younger than 50 years old were compared to the remainder who were older than 50 years, with attention given to progression-free survival, response rates, and overall survival.
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A 78-year-old man was referred for evaluation and treatment of recently discovered glioblastoma. While dining with his children he collapsed from his chair and was observed to have a grand mal seizure. He had transiently lost consciousness and when he awoke he had weakness in both upper and lower extremities on the right side.
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A 57-year-old, postmenopausal African American schoolteacher was found by annual screening mammogram to have a suspicious irregularity. Follow-up ultrasound did not reveal cystic disease so a repeat "spot" mammogram-assisted biopsy was obtained and a grade 1 invasive ductal carcinoma with tubular elements was found.
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Preclinical data suggest bortezomib and rituximab have synergy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). The authors studied bortezomib, rituximab, and dexamethasone in relapsed and refractory MCL using 1.3 mg/m2 of bortezomib on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 with rituximab on day 1 and 40 mg of dexamethasone on days 1-4.