Safety and Preliminary Efficacy of Ramucirumab in Combination with FOLFOX4 in Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Nonrandomized,Open‐Label,Phase Ib Study

Lessons Learned

• The combination of ramucirumab (8 mg/kg intravenous, day 1 every 2 weeks) and FOLFOX4 as first‐line treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was not sufficiently tolerated.
• Preliminary efficacy data suggest that the combination may provide clinical benefit to patients with HCC.
• Dose modification and patient selection should be considered for the future development of ramucirumab plus FOLFOX chemotherapy for advanced HCC.

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to investigate the safety, preliminary efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity of ramucirumab plus FOLFOX4 as first‐line treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsPatients received ramucirumab (8 mg/kg) intravenously (IV) on day 1, followed by FOLFOX4 (oxaliplatin 85 mg/m² IV on day 1, folinic acid 200 mg/m² IV, bolus fluorouracil [5‐FU] 400 mg/m², and a continuous infusion of 5‐FU 600 mg/m² over 22 hours, on days 1 and 2) every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was to assess the safety and tolerability of the combination therapy.ResultsEight patients (6 men, 2 women) were treated; all eight patients experienced at least one treatment‐emergent adverse event (TEAE) of grade ≥3. Dose‐limiting toxicities occurred in three patients (37.5%): hepatic hemorrhage (grade 4), blood bilirubin increased (grade 3), and febrile neutropenia (grade 3). Two patients discontinued study because of hepatic hemorrhage (grade 4) and blood bilirubin increase (grade 3). Six deaths occurred due to progressive disease, and no deaths due to TEAEs.ConclusionThere were no unexpected safety findings with ramucirumab plus FOLFOX4 based on the known safety and toxicity of this regimen. The combination was not sufficiently tolerated in patients with advanced HCC at the specified dose and schedule.     

颈椎终板弧形高度与椎间隙后缘骨赘的相关性研究

目的：通过对颈椎病患者上下终板弧形高度、椎间隙高度与椎间隙后骨赘的影像学测量，研究其相关性及其临床应用价值。方法：收集2017年9月至2018年9月颈椎病手术108例患者的临床资料，男48例，年龄30~72岁，平均52岁，女60例，年龄37~79岁，平均54岁。其中C_2，3 6例，C_3，4 15例，C_4，5 32例，C_5，6 42例，C_6，7 13例。术前及术后摄颈椎X线片，利用PACS（Picture Archiving and Communication Systems）调阅影像，测量椎间隙的下上终板弧形高度（L₁，L₂），椎间隙高度（L₃）及后方骨赘的宽度（L₄）。利用Spearman分析它们之间的相关性。结果：L₁与L₄对比（r=-0.34，P<0.05），L₃与L₄对比（r=-0.36，P<0.05），存在负相关。L₁与L₃对比（r=0.38，P<0.05），L₂与L₃对比（r=0.48，P<0.05），存在正相关。L₁与L₂对比（P>0.05），L₂与L₄对比（P>0.05），差异无统计学意义。结论：下终板弧形高度与椎间隙后缘骨赘宽度呈负相关，通过其测量可明确颈椎退变程度，对颈椎病的早期防治有指导意义。     

重组戊型肝炎病毒P179-海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂的制备及其免疫效果

目的 制备吸附重组戊型肝炎病毒(hepatitis E virus,HEV)P179抗原的海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂,并观察其免疫效果。方法 乳化法制备海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球,采用不同海藻酸钠浓度、混合乳化剂添加量、混合乳化剂亲水亲油平衡值设计正交试验,确定最佳制备工艺参数。将重组HEV P179抗原吸附在最佳工艺制备的微球表面,制备吸附重组HEV P179的海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂,皮下多点免疫BALB/c小鼠,测定其诱导小鼠产生特异性IgG抗体的能力,与同剂量含弗氏佐剂的重组HEV P179免疫制剂对比。结果 经正交试验确定乳化最佳工艺参数为:海藻酸钠质量分数1%、混合乳化剂体积分数2%,混合乳化剂亲水亲油平衡值4。制备的微球平均粒径为6.73 μm(分布范围3.90~9.10 μm,方差1.78 μm),形态较为均一,透射电镜观察结果与双层球体及内部疏松多孔的微球结构特点相符。用此条件制备抗原质量浓度为500 μg/ml的混悬制剂,微球对抗原的吸附率为90.64%。免疫效果观察试验结果表明,皮下多点免疫试验中微球制剂诱导特异性IgG抗体的能力优于含弗氏佐剂抗原。结论 成功制备了吸附重组HEV P179的海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂,且诱导产生特异性IgG抗体的能力优于含弗氏佐剂抗原,为其在新型实验动物超敏制剂中的应用奠定了基础。     

Optimal parameter selection problem with application to the synchronization of delivery cycles in a supply chain with Wiener process

In this paper, we use optimal parameter selection technique to develop two models involving single‐vendor–multiple‐buyer supply chain, which are called the dynamic independent optimization (DIO) model and the dynamic synchronized cycles (DSC) model, respectively. These models are, respectively, similar to the traditional static independent policy model and the traditional static synchronized cycle model, except that the deterministic demands of the buyers in the above two static models are now being replaced by the stochastic demands satisfying a Wiener process, which have more real‐life applications. Similar to the above static synchronized cycles model, the synchronization of the supply chain in our DSC model is also achieved by scheduling the delivery days of the buyers and coordinating them with the vendor's production cycle. Finding the optimal expected system costs of the DIO model and the DSC model involves solving optimal parameter selection problems governed by ordinary differential equations, whose final times are continuous decision variables and discrete decision variables, respectively. Computational methods have been developed for solving these problems. Numerical results show that the coordinated policy is better than the independent optimization policy, in terms of minimizing the expected system cost of the entire supply chain. Sensitivity analysis is performed to test the effect of changing the cost coefficients and the value on the performances of these models, where is the ratio of the total mean demand rate of all the buyers over the vendor's production rate.     

Botulinum toxin blocks mast cells and prevents rosacea like inflammation

Background

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition whose etiology has been linked to mast cells and the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin LL-37. Individuals with refractory disease have demonstrated clinical benefit with periodic injections of onabotulinum toxin, but the mechanism of action is unknown.