With a focus on early diagnosis and improved treatment strategies, investigative studies and clinical trials over the past two decades have improved the recurrence-free and overall survival rates in breast cancer patients.
The docetaxel-containing treatment significantly improved the recurrence-free survival, but it was more toxic than FEC.
The basis for imatinib in the treatment of GIST has been further broadened by other studies, which showed that adjuvant treatment with imatinib improves the recurrence-free survival in patients with GIST [ 2, 3].
The use of imatinib mesylate is associated with a progression free survival of 41 months in first line treatment of metastatic or locally advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and other studies approved that adjuvant imatinib treatment improves the recurrence-free survival in patients with GIST.
The study is designed to demonstrate that an additional radiation therapy consisting of neoadjuvant short-term external beam radiation therapy and intraoperative radiation therapy can improve the local recurrence rate after one year.
Main outcome measures Duplex evidence of venous incompetence, quality of life measures using the SF-36 and Aberdeen Varicose Veins Questionnaire.Results pre-operative marking of primary varicose veins by skilled duplex ultrasonography does not improve the accuracy or recurrence rate following surgery.
Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging has also been reported to improve the detection of recurrence after RT by showing early arterial enhancement of tumour nodules and early washout [52] (Fig. 21).
Thus, novel biomarkers are required to improve the prediction of recurrence, metastasis and, in particular, the prediction of therapy-related carcinogenesis.
We recommend the use of immunohistochemical techniques using monoclonal antibodies for the detection of occult metastases in lymph nodes to improve the prediction of recurrence and survival in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
Combinations of molecular markers improve the prediction of recurrence and survival in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (pT3-4 or N+) (Shariat et al, 2012) as well as organ-confined disease pT1-2N0M00) (Zaak et al, 2010).
