Rucaparib in the landscape of PARP inhibition in ovarian cancer

Introduction: The landscape of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition in ovarian cancer is rapidly evolving and becoming increasingly complex. Ovarian cancer is leading therapeutic innovation by providing the proof of concept for DNA repair as a target. Three different PARP inhibitors have now received approvals in the US and Europe in different indications. Subtle but crucial differences can be found among the licensed indications for each PARP inhibitor in terms of histology, type of BRCA mutation (germline and/or somatic), number of prior lines of chemotherapy and whether the indication is in the treatment or maintenance settings.

Areas covered: We review the latest clinical data regarding the PARP inhibitor rucaparib in ovarian cancer, provide an update on the evolving landscape of PARP inhibition in ovarian cancer, and summarize avenues of ongoing and future research.

Expert opinion: All eligible patients should be offered a PARP inhibitor. SOLO1 trial results demonstrated an unprecedented benefit maintenance with PARP inhibitors in first line. Results from trials evaluating PARP inhibitors as maintenance in first line regardless of BRCA status and from trials evaluating combinatorial strategies are eagerly awaited.     

中药生产过程质量控制关键技术研究进展

中医药发展已上升到国家战略层面,在医药行业贯彻实施"中国制造2025"战略的新形势下,中药生产过程质量控制是中药工业需要加快突破的关键领域之一。对中药生产过程质量控制领域在工艺设计、分析检测、过程建模、制造装备等方面的关键共性问题进行解析,综述了中药生产过程质量控制体系中工艺过程理解、生产过程实时分析方法开发、过程控制策略建立3个方面的研究进展;并结合企业研究实践,介绍了质量源于设计(quality by design,Qb D)、过程分析技术(process analytical technology,PAT)、实验设计(design of experiment,DOE)、多变量统计分析等关键技术在上述3个研究方向中的应用进展,分析了实际工业应用的难点问题并对其应用前景进行展望,旨在为中药企业应用和提升生产过程质量控制技术提供参考。     

Incidence of pressure ulcers in intensive care units and direct costs of treatment: Evidence from Iran

Background and objective

Pressure ulcer (PU) is one of the important and frequent complications of hospitalization, associated with high treatment costs. The present study was conducted to determine the incidence of PU and its direct treatment costs for patients in intensive care unit (ICU) in Iran.

Gastric Cancer and Paraneoplastic Pemphigus

Paraneoplastic pemphigus is a relatively rare but significant acquired autoimmune mucocutaneous disorder that is characterised by diffuse erythema, painful blistering and sores of the skin and mucus membranes. The underlying pathogenesis is believed to be triggered by altered immune system in response to underlying neoplasm. The manifestations can predate, occur at the same time or after the diagnosis of cancer. Associations with gastric cancer have only been reported twice. A 78-year-old lady presented with a month’s history of extensive skin lesions that started off as bullous lesions and biopsy revealed bullous pemphigus. Endoscopy for anemia revealed gastric cancer. This case reinforced the need to consider underlying malignancy in elderly patient with new onset dermatological presentation.     

Reference set for performance testing of pediatric vaccine safety signal detection methods and systems

BackgroundSafety signal detection in spontaneous reporting system databases and electronic healthcare records is key to detection of previously unknown adverse events following immunization. Various statistical methods for signal detection in these different datasources have been developed, however none are geared to the pediatric population and none specifically to vaccines. A reference set comprising pediatric vaccine-adverse event pairs is required for reliable performance testing of statistical methods within and across data sources.MethodsThe study was conducted within the context of the Global Research in Paediatrics (GRiP) project, as part of the seventh framework programme (FP7) of the European Commission. Criteria for the selection of vaccines considered in the reference set were routine and global use in the pediatric population. Adverse events were primarily selected based on importance. Outcome based systematic literature searches were performed for all identified vaccine-adverse event pairs and complemented by expert committee reports, evidence based decision support systems (e.g. Micromedex), and summaries of product characteristics. Classification into positive (PC) and negative control (NC) pairs was performed by two independent reviewers according to a pre-defined algorithm and discussed for consensus in case of disagreement.ResultsWe selected 13 vaccines and 14 adverse events to be included in the reference set. From a total of 182 vaccine-adverse event pairs, we classified 18 as PC, 113 as NC and 51 as unclassifiable. Most classifications (91) were based on literature review, 45 were based on expert committee reports, and for 46 vaccine-adverse event pairs, an underlying pathomechanism was not plausible classifying the association as NC.ConclusionA reference set of vaccine-adverse event pairs was developed. We propose its use for comparing signal detection methods and systems in the pediatric population.     

Similarities between interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and vulvodynia: implications for patient management

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and vulvodynia are chronic pain syndromes that appear to be intertwined from the perspectives of embryology, pathology and epidemiology. These associations may account for similar responses to various therapies.     

Stereotactic body radiotherapy for Stage I lung cancer with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: special reference to survival and radiation-induced pneumonitis

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate radiation-induced pneumonitis (RIP) and a related condition that we define in this report—prolonged minimal RIP (pmRIP)—after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for Stage I primary lung cancer in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We assessed 136 Stage I lung cancer patients with COPD who underwent SBRT. Airflow limitation on spirometry was classified into four Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) grades, with minor modifications: GOLD 1 (mild), GOLD 2 (moderate), GOLD 3 (severe) and GOLD 4 (very severe). On this basis, we defined two subgroups: COPD-free (COPD −) and COPD-positive (COPD +). There was no significant difference in overall survival or cause-specific–survival between these groups. Of the 136 patients, 44 (32%) had pmRIP. Multivariate analysis showed that COPD and the Brinkman index were statistically significant risk factors for the development of pmRIP. COPD and the Brinkman index were predictive factors for pmRIP, although our findings also indicate that SBRT can be tolerated in early lung cancer patients with COPD.     

Differentiating autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with CT radiomics features

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether computed tomography (CT)-based machine learning of radiomics features could help distinguish autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Materials and MethodsEighty-nine patients with AIP (65 men, 24 women; mean age, 59.7 ± 13.9 [SD] years; range: 21–83 years) and 93 patients with PDAC (68 men, 25 women; mean age, 60.1 ± 12.3 [SD] years; range: 36–86 years) were retrospectively included. All patients had dedicated dual-phase pancreatic protocol CT between 2004 and 2018. Thin-slice images (0.75/0.5 mm thickness/increment) were compared with thick-slices images (3 or 5 mm thickness/increment). Pancreatic regions involved by PDAC or AIP (areas of enlargement, altered enhancement, effacement of pancreatic duct) as well as uninvolved parenchyma were segmented as three-dimensional volumes. Four hundred and thirty-one radiomics features were extracted and a random forest was used to distinguish AIP from PDAC. CT data of 60 AIP and 60 PDAC patients were used for training and those of 29 AIP and 33 PDAC independent patients were used for testing.ResultsThe pancreas was diffusely involved in 37 (37/89; 41.6%) patients with AIP and not diffusely in 52 (52/89; 58.4%) patients. Using machine learning, 95.2% (59/62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 89.8–100%), 83.9% (52:67; 95% CI: 74.7–93.0%) and 77.4% (48/62; 95% CI: 67.0–87.8%) of the 62 test patients were correctly classified as either having PDAC or AIP with thin-slice venous phase, thin-slice arterial phase, and thick-slice venous phase CT, respectively. Three of the 29 patients with AIP (3/29; 10.3%) were incorrectly classified as having PDAC but all 33 patients with PDAC (33/33; 100%) were correctly classified with thin-slice venous phase with 89.7% sensitivity (26/29; 95% CI: 78.6–100%) and 100% specificity (33/33; 95% CI: 93–100%) for the diagnosis of AIP, 95.2% accuracy (59/62; 95% CI: 89.8–100%) and area under the curve of 0.975 (95% CI: 0.936–1.0).ConclusionsRadiomic features help differentiate AIP from PDAC with an overall accuracy of 95.2%.     

腹腔镜下子宫双侧动脉阻断术联合清宫术治疗剖宫产瘢痕妊娠疗效分析

目的 探讨腹腔镜下子宫双侧动脉阻断术联合清宫术治疗剖宫产瘢痕妊娠疗效及对内分泌的影响.方法 选择2011年1月至2015年12月剖宫产瘢痕妊娠患者57例,其中A组32例患者给予超声引导下清宫术治疗,B组25例患者给予腹腔镜下子宫双侧动脉阻断术联合清宫术治疗,比较两组患者出血量、住院时间、月经复潮时间、术后人绒毛膜促性腺激素(hCG)降至正常时间,并发症情况及术前(T0)、术后第1d(T1)、第3d(T2)神经内分泌激素水平.结果 ①B组患者出血量低于A组,住院时间、月经复潮时间短于A组,比较差异有统计学意义(t出血量=31.85,k院时间=9.36,t月经复t潮时间=16.37,均P＜0.05);②B组患者并发症发生率为8.00％,低于A组的15.63％,比较差异有统计学意义(x2=9.35,P＜0.05);③B组T1、T2血清COR、β-EP、GLU水平低于A组(CORF交互=17.67,β-EPF交互=132.36,6LUF交互=155.38,均P＜0.05).结论 腹腔镜下子宫双侧动脉阻断术联合清宫术治疗剖宫产瘢痕妊娠微创优势明显,安全性高,对内分泌影响较轻.