Browsing by Author "Langer, B."

In quantum mechanics the Young-type double-slit experiment can be performed with electrons either traveling through a double slit or being coherently emitted from two inversion symmetric molecular sites. In the latter one the valence photoionization cross sections of homonuclear diatomic molecules were predicted to oscillate over kinetic energy almost 50 years ago. Beyond the direct proof of the oscillatory behavior of these photoionization cross sections σ, we show that the angular distribution of the emitted electrons reveals hitherto unexplored information on the relative phase shift between the corresponding partial waves through two-center interference patterns.

This prospective, parallel-group, dose-escalation study evaluated the cardiac safety of trastuzumab (Herceptin((R))) plus epirubicin/ cyclophosphamide (EC) in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and determined an epirubicin dose for further evaluation. HER2-positive patients received standard-dose trastuzumab plus epirubicin (60 or 90 mg/m(2))/cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m(2)) 3-weekly (EC60 + H, n = 26; EC90 + H, n = 25), for four to six cycles; 23 HER2-negative patients received EC alone (90/600 mg/m(2)) 3-weekly for six cycles (EC90). All patients underwent thorough cardiac evaluation. Two EC90 + H-treated patients experienced symptomatic congestive heart failure 4.5 and 6 months after the end of chemotherapy. One EC60 + H-treated patient experienced an asymptomatic decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) to < 50% 6 months after the end of chemotherapy. No such events occurred in control patients. Asymptomatic LVEF decreases of > 10% points were detected in 12 (48%), 14 (56%) and 5 (24%) patients treated with EC60 + H, EC90 + H, and EC90. Objective response rates with EC60 + H and EC90 + H were > 60%, and 26% for EC90 alone. These results indicate that trastuzumab may be combined with EC with manageable cardiotoxicity and promising efficacy. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.