Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation for Limited-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients: Secondary Findings From the Prospective Randomized Phase 3 CONVERT Trial

Introduction

The impact of the dose and fractionation of thoracic radiotherapy on the risk of developing brain metastasis (BM) has not been evaluated prospectively in limited stage SCLC patients receiving prophylactic cerebral irradiation (PCI).

Chicken endothelial cells are highly responsive to viral innate immune stimuli and are susceptible to infections with various avian pathogens

It is well established that the endothelium plays a prominent role in the pathogenesis of various infectious diseases in mammals. However, little is known about the role of endothelial cells (EC) as targets for avian pathogens and their contribution to the pathogenesis of infectious diseases in galliform birds. First, we explored the innate immune response of primary chicken aortic endothelial cells (pchAEC), obtained from 18-day-old embryos, to stimulation with pathogen-associated molecular patterns or recombinant chicken interferons (type I, II and III IFNs). In spite of the abundant expression of a number of innate immune receptors, marked cytokine responses to stimulation with pathogen-associated molecular patterns were only seen in pchAEC treated with the TLR3 agonist polyI:C (pI:C) and the MDA5 agonist liposome-complexed polyI:C (L-pI:C), as was assessed by quantitative PCR and luciferase-based IFN-I/NFκB reporter assays. Treatments of pchAEC with IFN-α, IFN-γ and IFN-λ resulted in STAT1-phosphorylation/activation, as was revealed by immunoblotting. Next, we demonstrated that pchAEC are susceptible to infection with a variety of poultry pathogens, including Marek’s disease virus (MDV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and Eimeria tenella. Our data highlight that chicken EC are potential targets for viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens in gallinaceous poultry and may partake in the inflammatory and antimicrobial response. The pchAEC infection model used herein will allow further studies interrogating avian pathogen interactions with vascular EC.

• RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

• Use of a well-defined primary chicken aortic endothelial cell (pchAEC) culture model for studying avian host–pathogen interactions.

• pchAEC are responsive to innate immune stimulation with viral pathogen-associated molecular patterns and chicken type I, II and III interferons.

• pchAEC are susceptible to infections with economically important poultry pathogens, including MDV, IBDV, APEC and Eimeria tenella.

     

Use of a case-mix approach to study the trends in the incidence of second primary cancers

Purpose

To analyze trends in second primary cancer (SPC) incidence by using a case-mix approach to standardize on first cancer site distribution.

Daily life functioning of community‐dwelling elderly couples: an investigation of the feasibility and validity of Ecological Momentary Assessment

Although ambulatory data collection techniques have been used in elderly populations, their feasibility and validity amongst elderly individuals with cognitive impairment and amongst couples remains unexplored. The main objective of this study is to examine the validity of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) in elderly persons with or without cognitive impairment and their spouses. The sample included 58 retired farmers (mean 77.3 years, standard deviation [SD] 5.5) with or without cognitive impairment, recruited within a French cohort and 60 spouses (mean 73.4 years, SD 6.9). The presence of cognitive impairment determining by a panel of specialized neurologists permitted to define two groups: “The Cognitive Impairment Group” and “The Control Group”. EMA procedures consisted of repeated telephone interviews five times per day during four days for each spouse. Our results demonstrate the validity of EMA procedures through a 92.1% level of compliance, the absence of fatigue effects, and the lack of evidence for major reactivity to the methods. However, the specificity of our sample may explain the acceptance (42%) and response (75%) rates and may reduce the generalizability of the results to the general population of elderly individuals. Finally, the validation of such techniques may contribute to future research examining community‐dwelling elderly individuals and their spouses. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.