EUROPEAN ONCOLOGY & HAEMATOLOGY – VOLUME 9 ISSUE 1 – SUMMER 2013

Axel Heidenreich is Chairman and Director of the Department of Urology at University Hospital, Aachen, Germany, whose main area of interest is prostate cancer. His recent scientific awards include the Paul-Mellin-Preis der Nordrhein Westfälischen Gesellschaft für Urologie (2010), the Schöneberger Award of the Renal Transplantation Society of the German Association of Urology and Honorary Membership […]

The world-renowned biennial series of European Cancer Congresses are recognised as the premier multidisciplinary cancer meetings in Europe. The 17th ECCO – 38th ESMO – 32nd ESTRO European Cancer Congress, in Amsterdam from 27 September to 1 October 2013, will once again combine the united efforts of all partner organisations to continue positioning multidisciplinarity as […]

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most lethal gynaecological cancer. In 2010, approximately 21,880 new cases and 13,850 deaths occurred in the US,1 while in the EU in 2004 the incidence of newly diagnosed cases was 42,700 with a mortality of 12/100,000 women/year.2 The current treatment of OC involves aggressive cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum- and […]

Nearly 12% of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 45 years and most are candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy, hormone therapy or both.1 Many of these patients develop early menopause as a consequence of these treatments. Thus, infertility and premature menopause are relevant concerns for young women with cancer and may also influence […]

Mature cystic teratomas (also called dermoid cysts) account for about 30–45 % of all ovarian neoplasms and around 60 % of all benign tumours arising in the ovary.1 Malignant transformation of the various mature tissue components of a dermoid cyst is rare and the reported incidence is 0.17–1.4 %.2,3 Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), arising from […]

X-ray Imaging

Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous malignancy. It is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death in men worldwide,1 and the second most common cause of cancer death in US men.2 In 2012, it was estimated that 241,740 cases would be diagnosed and 28,170 would die of the disease.3 Prostate cancer responds to androgen-deprivation […]

Apart from skin cancers, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men living in the US and Europe.1–3 About one in nine men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetime, and, in 2008, 899,000 new cases were diagnosed worldwide.4 Ten to 20 % of all patients will develop castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) within 5 […]

Soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs) should be managed by multidisciplinary teams, including specialist surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, pathologists and radiologists. The aim of radical treatment for any STS should be to achieve the best possible local control rates with as little treatment-related morbidity and adverse effect on quality of life, as possible. Combination surgery and radiotherapy […]

The cachexia syndrome is seen across a wide range of chronic diseases and is especially evident in the cancer patient. This weight loss causes difficulties for the patient and clinician as it reduces quality of life (QoL) and also reduces tolerance of treatment. Weight loss is significantly associated with cancer morbidity and mortality.1,2 It is […]

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is associated with a significant deterioration in quality of life and is perceived by patients as a major adverse effect of the treatment.1,2Increased risk of CINV is associated with the type of chemotherapy administered (see Table 1) and specific patient characteristics (see Table 2).3

Antineoplastic therapy is frequently complicated by the development of cardiotoxicity, either as the direct effects of chemotherapy on the heart, such as left ventricular dysfunction (LVD), heart failure (HF) or ischaemia, or as indirect effects due to haemodynamic changes, thrombotic events or hypertension.1 Simultaneously, with the improvement in the management of cancer patients and prolonged […]