Hedgehog pathway inhibition as a therapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia

Introduction: The Hedgehog (HH) pathway constitutes a collection of signaling molecules which critically influence embryogenesis. In adults, however, the HH pathway remains integral to the proliferation, maintenance, and apoptosis of adult stem cells including hematopoietic stem cells.

Areas covered: We discuss the current understanding of the HH pathway as it relates to normal hematopoiesis, the pathology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the rationale for and data from combination therapies including HH pathway inhibitors, and ultimately the prospects that might offer promise in targeting this pathway in AML.

Expert opinion: Efforts to target the HH pathway have been focused on impeding this disposition and restoring chemosensitivity to conventional myeloid neoplasm therapies. The year 2018 saw the first approval of a HH pathway inhibitor (glasdegib) for AML, though for an older population and in combination with an uncommonly-used therapy. Several other clinical trials with agents targeting modulators of HH signaling in AML and MDS are underway. Further study and understanding of the interplay between the numerous aspects of HH signaling and how it relates to the augmented survival of AML will provide a more reliable substrate for therapeutic strategies in patients with this poor-risk disease.     

Hypofractionated radiation therapy for invasive breast cancer: From moderate to extreme protocols

Adjuvant irradiation is the standard treatment after breast conservative surgery. Normofractionated regimen with an overall treatment time of 5 to 6 weeks is often considered as a limiting factor for irradiation compliance. In order to answer this issue, moderate and more recently extreme hypofractionated protocols appeared. We report here oncological outcomes and toxicity of hypofractionated breast irradiation. After defining the frame of moderate and extreme hypofractionated breast irradiations based on overall treatment time, patient selection criteria were listed. According to their levels of proof, the results of moderate and extreme hypofractionated breast irradiation were analysed. Overall treatment time for moderate hypofractionated breast irradiation ranged from 3 to 4 weeks, while for extreme hypofractionated breast irradiation, it was less than 1 week. For moderate hypofractionated breast irradiation, whole breast irradiation was currently performed with or without lymph node irradiation. Moderate hypofractionated breast irradiation has proven to be as safe and as efficient as normofractionated breast irradiation with level IA evidence. For extreme hypofractionated breast irradiation, phase III randomized trials confirmed that accelerated partial breast irradiation was non-inferior in terms of local control compared to normofractionated whole breast irradiation (with external beam radiation therapy and multicatheter brachytherapy), with similar acute and late toxicity. While the use of intraoperative breast irradiation remains under debate, new very accelerated partial breast irradiation (overall treatment time not exceeding 2 days) protocols emerged with encouraging results. Accelerated partial breast irradiation is warranted for extreme hypofractionated breast irradiation and is indicated for low-risk breast cancers. Moderate and extreme hypofractionated breast irradiation regimens are validated and can be routinely proposed according to patient selection criteria.     

Atrial functional tricuspid regurgitation: An underappreciated cause of secondary tricuspid regurgitation

Secondary tricuspid regurgitation (TR) caused by right ventricular enlargement in the setting of left heart disease/pulmonary hypertension has been well described. In contrast, that associated with right atrial enlargement—atrial functional TR (AF‐TR)—remains largely underappreciated. AF‐TR most often occurs in the setting of lone atrial fibrillation, although it is also seen in its absence (idiopathic AF‐TR). Several recent studies have found that the prevalence, hemodynamic significance, and prognosis of AF‐TR are not inconsequential, suggesting increased physician awareness of this novel clinical entity is warranted. This article discusses the pathogenesis, echocardiographic findings, and treatment of this underappreciated cause of secondary TR.     

Prosthetic treatment in the adult French population: Prevalence and relation with demographic,socioeconomic and medical characteristics

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of dental prosthetic treatment and to investigate the demographic, social, economic and medical factors associated with the use of fixed and removable dentures in a representative sample of adults living in France.MethodsThe data were obtained from the 2002–2003 Decennial Health Survey, a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the population living in France, which included 29,679 adults. Information was collected by interview. The variables collected were fixed denture, removable denture, age, gender, number of children, area of residence, nationality, educational attainment, family social status, employment status, annual household income per capita, supplementary insurance, chronic disease, eyesight problems/glasses, hearing problems/hearing aids. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to study the relationship between prosthetic treatment and demographic, socioeconomic and medical characteristics unadjusted, adjusted for age and adjusted for all the characteristics.ResultsThe prevalence of prosthetic treatment was 34.6% (95% confidence interval (CI): [34.1; 35.2]) for fixed prosthetic dentures and 13.8% (95% CI: [13.4; 14.2]) for removable prosthetic dentures. We showed a gradient between educational attainment and removable dentures; the odds ratio adjusted for all the variables (aOR) associated with no or primary education compared to post-secondary education was 2.56; 95% CI: [2.09; 3.13]. When annual household income per capita was low, subjects were less likely to report fixed dentures (aOR = 0.68; 95% CI: [0.62; 0.75]) than those with high annual household income per capita. Individuals without insurance less often reported fixed dentures than those with private insurance. Those reporting chronic disease were less likely to report fixed dentures (aOR = 0.87; 95% CI: [0.79; 0.95]) but more likely to report removable dentures (aOR = 1.29; 95% CI: [1.17; 1.43]) than those without chronic disease.ConclusionThis study reveals social, economic and medical inequalities in fixed and removable prosthetic treatment among adults in France.