11/13. Inappropriate use of naloxone in cancer patients with pain.Opioid overdose is rarely the primary cause of altered mental status in cancer patients receiving opioid therapy. The inappropriate administration of naloxone to reverse an abnormal mental status can cause severe withdrawal symptoms and pain. To illustrate this problem, we report the case of a patient inappropriately treated with naloxone and the results of a retrospective review of the medical records of 15 consecutive patients with cancer treated with naloxone in the emergency department over a 5-month period. We offer guidelines for a more thoughtful approach to the management of patients with cancer who present with encephalopathy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
12/13. Antiandrogen withdrawal syndrome with nilutamide.Antiandrogens are combined with medical or surgical castration to achieve total androgen blockade in metastatic prostate cancer. Discontinuation of antiandrogens at disease progression has been associated with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) decrease, symptom improvement, and occasionally objective tumor regression. Two cases of metastatic prostate cancer demonstrating decrease in PSA of 92% and 56% on discontinuation of nilutamide therapy are reported. Improvement in urinary symptoms, bone pain and, in one, disappearance of para-aortic lymphadenopathy paralleled the PSA decrease. The duration of the withdrawal response of 6 months was comparable to those reported with discontinuation of flutamide.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
13/13. Prolonged prostate-specific antigen response in flutamide withdrawal syndrome despite disease progression.flutamide withdrawal syndrome is characterized by a decrease in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after flutamide withdrawal in a subset of patients with progressing metastatic carcinoma of the prostate. It is generally hypothesized to be due to a point mutation in the androgen receptor that allows the antiandrogen to function as an agonist, leading to a dramatic and rapid PSA response. We describe a patient with androgen-independent prostate cancer in whom PSA continued to decrease for a period of 15 months after flutamide withdrawal. With continuing fall in PSA, the patient had unequivocal progression of disease seen on bone scan. This case illustrates the potential decoupling of PSA response from disease status in flutamide withdrawal. It also illustrates the need for continued clinical evaluation of patients with metastatic prostate cancer, even in the face of PSA response.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = cancer (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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