Publications

Multimodal therapy, including preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision, has become the standard treatment for patients with locoregionally advanced rectal cancer.1 We report on a 54- year old female patient with rectal adenocarcinoma cT3N0M0, who was treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (capecitabine 825 mg/m² BID 5 days/week + 45 Gy in 25 fractions) followed by total mesorectal excision and adjuvant ...

Objectives We evaluated the quality of care for patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx in Belgium. Methods Data of the Belgian Cancer Registry were coupled with health insurance data and hospital discharge data. Quality of care and the association with hospital volume were evaluated based on six quality indicators. Results Half of the patients were treated with primary radiotherapy, with ...

Background: In the TAX 323 (EORTC 24971) phase III trial enrolling patients with unresectable locoregionally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (LA-SCCHN), the addition of docetaxel (T) to cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (PF)-based induction chemotherapy prior to definite radiotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods: The data were updated for PFS, OS and treatment-related ...

Cetuximab has an established role in the treatment of patients with recurrent/metastatic colorectal cancer and head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). However, the long-term effectiveness of cetuximab has been limited by the development of acquired resistance, leading to tumor relapse. By contrast, immunotherapies can elicit long-term tumor regression, but the overall response rates are much more limited. In addition to epidermal growth ...

Simple Summary Electrochemotherapy is a topical ablative treatment based on the formation of electropores in the cell membrane exposed to an external electric field. The consequent intracellular accumulation of hydrophilic bleomycin or cisplatin molecules greatly increases their cytotoxicity. Currently, electrochemotherapy is recognized as an effective treatment for tumors of different histological types and also for some deep-seated tumors. In ...

The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has overwhelmed health care systems in many countries. The clinical presentation of the SARS-CoV-2 varies between a subclinical or flu-like syndrome to that of severe pneumonia with multi-organ failure and death. Initial reports have suggested that cancer patients may have a higher susceptibility to get infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus but current evidence remains poor as it is biased by important ...