Alan W. Craft

Bio: Alan W. Craft is an academic researcher from Newcastle University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Ifosfamide & Sarcoma. The author has an hindex of 59, co-authored 325 publications receiving 16749 citations. Previous affiliations of Alan W. Craft include Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health & Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Prognostic Factors in Ewing’s Tumor of Bone: Analysis of 975 Patients From the European Intergroup Cooperative Ewing’s Sarcoma Study Group

Abstract: PURPOSE: To further elaborate on prognostic factors for Ewing’s sarcoma of bone and to document improvements in relapse-free survival (RFS) and trends in local therapy over the study period (1977 to 1993). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on a combined Gesellschaft Fur Padiatrische Onkologie und Hamatologie/Cooperative Ewing Sarcoma Study and United Kingdom Children’s Cancer Study Group/Medical Research Council data set of 975 patients registered with the respective trial offices before the current collaborative European Intergroup Cooperative Ewing’s Sarcoma Study trial. Both groups independently undertook studies with similar chemotherapy during the period. RESULTS: The key adverse prognostic factor is metastases at diagnosis (5-year RFS, 22% of patients with metastases at diagnosis v 55% of patients without metastases at diagnosis; P < .0001). For the group with metastases, there was a trend for better survival for those with lung involvement compared with those with bone me...

A Mark 1 Geographical Analysis Machine for the automated analysis of point data sets

Abstract: This paper presents the first of a new generation of spatial analytical technology based on a fusion of statistical, GIS and computational thinking. It describes how to build what is termed a Geographical Analysis Machine (GAM), with high descriptive power. A GAM offers an imaginative new approach to the analysis of point pattern data based on a fully automated process whereby a point data set is explored for evidence of pattern without being unduly affected by predefined areal units or data error. No prior information or specification of particular location-specific hypotheses is required. If geographical data contain strong evidence of pattern in geographical space, then the GAM will find it. This technology is demonstrated by an analysis of data on cancer for northern England.

Ewing Sarcoma: Current Management and Future Approaches Through Collaboration

Abstract: Ewing sarcoma (ES) is an aggressive sarcoma of bone and soft tissue occurring at any age with a peak incidence in adolescents and young adults. The treatment of ES relies on a multidisciplinary approach, coupling risk-adapted intensive neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapies with surgery and/or radiotherapy for control of the primary site and possible metastatic disease. The optimization of ES multimodality therapeutic strategies has resulted from the efforts of several national and international groups in Europe and North America and from cooperation between pediatric and medical oncologists. Successive first-line trials addressed the efficacy of various cyclic combinations of drugs incorporating doxorubicin, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, etoposide, and dactinomycin and identified prognostic factors now used to tailor therapies. The role of high-dose chemotherapy is still debated. Current 5-year overall survival for patients with localized disease is 65% to 75%. Patients with metastases have a 5-year overall survival < 30%, except for those with isolated pulmonary metastasis (approximately 50%). Patients with recurrence have a dismal prognosis. The many insights into the biology of the EWS-FLI1 protein in the initiation and progression of ES remain to be translated into novel therapeutic strategies. Current options and future approaches will be discussed.

Primary Disseminated Multifocal Ewing Sarcoma: Results of the Euro-EWING 99 Trial

Abstract: Purpose To improve the poor prognosis of patients with primary disseminated multifocal Ewing sarcomas (PDMES) with a dose-intense treatment concept. Patients and Methods From 1999 to 2005, 281 patients with PDMES were enrolled onto the Euro-EWING 99 R3 study. Median age was 16.2 years (range, 0.4 to 49 years). Recommended treatment consisted of six cycles of vincristine, ifosfamide, doxorubicin, and etoposide (VIDE), one cycle of vincristine, dactinomycin, and ifosfamide (VAI), local treatment (surgery and/or radiotherapy), and high-dose busulfan-melphalan followed by autologous stem-cell transplantation (HDT/SCT). Results After a median follow-up of 3.8 years, event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) at 3 years for all 281 patients were 27% 3% and 34% 4% respectively. Six VIDE cycles were completed by 250 patients (89%); 169 patients (60%) received HDT/SCT. The estimated 3-year EFS from the start of HDT/SCT was 45% for 46 children younger than 14 years. Cox regression analyses demonstrated increased risk at diagnosis for patients older than 14 years (hazard ratio [HR] 1.6), a primary tumor volume more than 200 mL (HR 1.8), more than one bone metastatic site (HR 2.0), bone marrow metastases (HR 1.6), and additional lung metastases (HR 1.5). An up-front risk score based on these HR factors identified three groups with EFS rates of 50% for score 3 (82 patients), 25% for score more than 3 to less than 5 (102 patients), and 10% for score 5 (70 patients; P .0001). Conclusion PDMES patients may survive with intensive multimodal therapy. Age, tumor volume, and extent of metastatic spread are relevant risk factors. A score based on these factors may facilitate risk-adapted treatment approaches. J Clin Oncol 28. © 2010 by American Society of Clinical Oncology

Prevalence and trends in overweight among us children and adolescents, 1999-2000

Abstract: ContextThe prevalence of overweight among children in the United States increased between 1976-1980 and 1988-1994, but estimates for the current decade are unknown.ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of overweight in US children using the most recent national data with measured weights and heights and to examine trends in overweight prevalence.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsSurvey of 4722 children from birth through 19 years of age with weight and height measurements obtained in 1999-2000 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a cross-sectional, stratified, multistage probability sample of the US population.Main Outcome MeasurePrevalence of overweight among US children by sex, age group, and race/ethnicity. Overweight among those aged 2 through 19 years was defined as at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific body mass index (BMI) for age growth charts.ResultsThe prevalence of overweight was 15.5% among 12- through 19-year-olds, 15.3% among 6- through 11-year-olds, and 10.4% among 2- through 5-year-olds, compared with 10.5%, 11.3%, and 7.2%, respectively, in 1988-1994 (NHANES III). The prevalence of overweight among non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American adolescents increased more than 10 percentage points between 1988-1994 and 1999-2000.ConclusionThe prevalence of overweight among children in the United States is continuing to increase, especially among Mexican-American and non-Hispanic black adolescents.

Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors for Detection of Chemical and Biological Species

Abstract: 5.1. Detection Formats 475 5.2. Food Quality and Safety Analysis 477 5.2.1. Pathogens 477 5.2.2. Toxins 479 5.2.3. Veterinary Drugs 479 5.2.4. Vitamins 480 5.2.5. Hormones 480 5.2.6. Diagnostic Antibodies 480 5.2.7. Allergens 481 5.2.8. Proteins 481 5.2.9. Chemical Contaminants 481 5.3. Medical Diagnostics 481 5.3.1. Cancer Markers 481 5.3.2. Antibodies against Viral Pathogens 482 5.3.3. Drugs and Drug-Induced Antibodies 483 5.3.4. Hormones 483 5.3.5. Allergy Markers 483 5.3.6. Heart Attack Markers 484 5.3.7. Other Molecular Biomarkers 484 5.4. Environmental Monitoring 484 5.4.1. Pesticides 484 5.4.2. 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) 485 5.4.3. Aromatic Hydrocarbons 485 5.4.4. Heavy Metals 485 5.4.5. Phenols 485 5.4.6. Polychlorinated Biphenyls 487 5.4.7. Dioxins 487 5.5. Summary 488 6. Conclusions 489 7. Abbreviations 489 8. Acknowledgment 489 9. References 489

Germ line p53 mutations in a familial syndrome of breast cancer, sarcomas, and other neoplasms

Abstract: Familial cancer syndromes have helped to define the role of tumor suppressor genes in the development of cancer. The dominantly inherited Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is of particular interest because of the diversity of childhood and adult tumors that occur in affected individuals. The rarity and high mortality of LFS precluded formal linkage analysis. The alternative approach was to select the most plausible candidate gene. The tumor suppressor gene, p53, was studied because of previous indications that this gene is inactivated in the sporadic (nonfamilial) forms of most cancers that are associated with LFS. Germ line p53 mutations have been detected in all five LFS families analyzed. These mutations do not produce amounts of mutant p53 protein expected to exert a trans-dominant loss of function effect on wild-type p53 protein. The frequency of germ line p53 mutations can now be examined in additional families with LFS, and in other cancer patients and families with clinical features that might be attributed to the mutation.