Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Toxicities

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are molecules that increase the endogenous immune response against tumors. They have revolutionized the field of oncology. Since their initial approval for the treatment of advanced melanoma, their use has expanded to the treatment of several other advanced cancers. Unfortunately, immune checkpoint inhibitors have also been associated with the emergence of a new subset of autoimmune-like toxicities, known as immune-related adverse events. These toxicities differ depending on the agent, malignancy, and individual susceptibilities. Although the skin and colon are most commonly involved, any organ may be affected, including the liver, lungs, kidneys, and heart. Most of these toxicities are diagnosed by excluding other secondary infectious or inflammatory causes. Corticosteroids are commonly used for treatment of moderate and severe immune-related adverse events, although additional immunosuppressive therapy may occasionally be required. The occurrence of immune-related toxicities may require discontinuation of immunotherapy, depending on the specific toxicity and its severity. In this article, we provide a focused review to familiarize practicing clinicians with this important topic given that the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors continues to increase.     

Anisotropic Bladder Planning Target Volume in Bladder Radiation Therapy

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate 3 planning target volume (PTV) margin expansions and determine the most appropriate volume to be used in bladder preservation therapy when using daily cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). We aimed to establish whether a smaller PTV expansion is feasible without risking geographical miss.

苯扎贝特治疗儿童ApoE Tokyo(Arg25Cys)突变型脂蛋白肾病1例

脂蛋白肾病(Lipoprotein glomerulopathy,LPG),1989年首次由日本学者Saito报道,LPG主要累及肾脏,且以肾小球病变为主[1]。几乎所有患者均有不同程度的蛋白尿,多数表现为肾病综合征,少数表现为轻微蛋白尿和镜下血尿,部分患者伴有不同程度的贫血及高血压,血脂异常易被忽略为肾病综合征的低蛋白血症所致。载脂蛋白E(apolipoprotein E,ApoE)增高是LPG血脂改变的主要特点[2-3]。LPG为一种与脂质代谢紊乱密切相关的肾脏疾病,目前世界范围内有报道的病例不足200例,儿童报道仅10余例[2]。本病进展缓慢,临床常误诊为原发性肾病综合征[4]。因此,为增强对LPG的认识,提高诊治水平,现分析1例确诊的儿童LPG临床资料,总结LPG的临床特点、诊断、治疗及预后。     

Proteases and their inhibitors as prognostic factors for high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Ovarian carcinoma is one of the most lethal malignancies, but only very few prognostic biomarkers are known. The degradome, comprising proteases, protease non-proteolytic homologues and inhibitors, have been involved in the prognosis of many cancer types, including ovarian carcinoma. The prognostic significance of the whole degradome family has not been specifically studied in high-grade serous ovarian cancer. A targeted DNA microarray known as the CLIP-CHIP microarray was used to identify potential prognostic factors in ten high-grade serous ovarian cancer women who had early recurrence (<1.6 years) or late/no recurrence after first line surgery and chemotherapy. In women with early recurrence, we identified seven upregulated genes (TMPRSS4, MASP1/3, SPC18, PSMB1, IGFBP2, CFI – encoding Complement Factor I – and MMP9) and one down-regulated gene (ADAM-10). Using immunohistochemistry, we evaluated the prognostic effect of these 8 candidate genes in an independent cohort of 112 high-grade serous ovarian cancer women. Outcomes were progression, defined according to CA-125 criteria, and death. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were done to estimate the associations between each protein and each outcome. High ADAM-10 expression (intensity of 2–3) was associated with a lower risk of progression (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.51; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29-0.87). High complement factor I expression (intensity 2–3) was associated with a higher risk of progression (adjusted HR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.17–4.53) and death (adjusted HR: 3.42; 95% CI: 1.72–6.79). Overall, we identified the prognostic value of two proteases, ADAM-10 and complement factor I, for high-grade serous ovarian cancer which could have clinical significance.     

Redox active or thiol reactive? Optimization of rapid screens to identify less evident nuisance compounds

Compounds that exhibit assay interference or undesirable mechanisms of bioactivity are routinely encountered in assays at various stages of drug discovery. We observed that assays for the investigation of thiol-reactive and redox-active compounds have not been collected in a comprehensive review. Here, we review these assays and subject them to experimental optimization to improve their reliability. We demonstrate the usefulness of our assay cascade by assaying a library of bioactive compounds, chemical probes, and a set of approved drugs. These high-throughput assays should complement the array of wet-lab and in silico assays during the initial stages of hit discovery campaigns to pursue only hit compounds with tractable mechanisms of action.     

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors in COVID-19: Beyond glycemic control

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a high risk of mortality and complications in patients with diabetes mellitus. Achieving good glycemic control is very important in diabetic patients to reduce complications and mortality due to COVID-19. Recent studies have shown the mortality benefit and anti-inflammatory effects of Dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) in diabetic patients with COVID-19. DPP-4i may have a beneficial role in halting the severity of infection primarily by three routes, namely viral entry inhibition, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects and glycemic control. This has raised the pro-mising hypothesis that DPP-4i might be an optimal strategy for treating COVID-19 in patients with diabetes. This review aims to summarise the possible therapeutic non-glycemic effects of DPP-4i in diabetic patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the light of available evidence.