BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma remains a highly chemoresistant neoplasm and is a common malignancy with poor prognosis in Korea. We performed a phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and toxicities of topotecan and cisplatin combination chemotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: Between November 1999 and May 2001, ten patients with histologically proven hepatocellular carcinoma were enrolled in this study. The median age was 54 (range: 53~74) years and all were male. Six patients demonstrated stage IV, 1 stage IIIC, 2 stage IIIB and 1 stage IIIA. Six patients showed a ECOG performance status of 1. The treatment regimen consisted of topotecan 1.25 mg/m2 and cisplatin 20 mg/m2 for 5 days. The treatment was repeated every 4 weeks. Toxicities were evaluated according to WHO toxicity criteria. RESULTS: All ten patients were evaluable for response and toxicity. There was only one patient who achieved partial response. The overall response rate was 10% (95% C.I.) and the response duration was 46 weeks. The median survival of all patients was 21 (range: 17~54+) weeks. During a total of 24 cycles, neutropenia of WHO grade 3 and 4 occurred in 33%, thrombocytopenia in 33% and anemia in 21%. In non-hematologic toxicity, diarrhea and hepatoxicity of grade 3 occurred in 1 and 2 patients, respectively. But there was no treatment-related death. CONCLUSION: When used in this dose and schedule, topotecan and cisplatin combination chemotherapy does not seem to be effective for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/*therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*drug therapy ; Cisplatin/*administration & dosage ; Human ; Liver Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Topotecan/*administration & dosage ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: To determine the role of zinc in febrile convulsion and to evaluate whether febrile convulsion causes neuronal damage, serum and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF), zinc and CSF neuron-specific enolase(NSE) levels were measured in patients with febrile convulsion, epilepsy and aseptic meningitis. METHODS: Three groups were formed as follows: group I:53 children with febrile convulsion; group II:34 children with epilepsy; and group III, 40 children with aseptic meningitis. Serum and CSF zinc and CSF NSE levels were measured in each groups. RESULTS: The serum zinc levels of groups I, II and III had a mean of 74.71+/-18.26 microgram/dL, 104.35+/-31.43 microgram/dL and 87.03+/-24.47 microgram/dL, respectively, and the values of group I were significantly lower than those of the other two groups. The CSF zinc levels of groups I, II and III were found to have a mean 27.72+/-17.93 microgram/dL, 44.73+/-26.72 microgram/dL and 54.44+/-28.43 microgram/dL, respectively. In group I, the CSF zinc levels were significantly lower than those of other two groups. The CSF NSE levels of groups I, II and III had a mean of 11.61+/-2.96 ng/mL, 16.51+/-5.46 ng/mL and 14.60+/-3.02 ng/mL respectively and the values of group I were significantly lower than those of others. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that low zinc levels in serum and CSF are participants in the pathogenesis of febrile convulsion, but we could not find out the evidence of neurologic damage in patients with febrile convulsion using NSE levels in CSF.
Child ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Meningitis, Aseptic ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase* ; Seizures, Febrile* ; Zinc*

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel and cisplatin against advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as a second-line chemotherapy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients were enrolled. The patients received 200 mg/m2 paclitaxel as a 3-hour intravenous infusion and 60 mg/m2 cisplatin as 30-minute intravenous infusion with vigorous hydration on day 1 every 28 days. The response was assessed every 2 cycles. RESULTS: All 25 patients were assessed for their response and toxicity. Partial responses were observed in 5 patients. The overall response rate was 20% (95% confidence interval, 4%~36%) and the median response duration was 4.5 (range, 2-11) months. The median time to progression was 3.3 (range, 0-14) months. The median overall survival of all patients was 7.4 (range, 1.3-39) months. The hematologic toxicities were minor and easily controlled. CONCLUSION: The combination chemotherapy of paclitaxel and cisplatin as a second-line treatment has a moderate efficacy with an acceptable toxicity in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Paclitaxel*