Sacituzumab govitecan: breakthrough targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer

Introduction: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype associated with an increased risk of recurrence and cancer-related death. Unlike hormone receptor-positive or HER2-positive breast cancers, there are limited targeted therapies available to treat TNBC and cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment. Sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting Trop-2 expressing cells and selectively delivering SN-38, an active metabolite of irinotecan.

Areas covered: This review covers the mechanism of action, safety and efficacy of sacituzumab govitecan in patients with previously treated, metastatic TNBC. Additionally, efficacy data in other epithelial malignancies is included based on a PubMed search for ‘sacituzumab govitecan’ and ‘clinical trial’.

Expert opinion: Sacituzumab govitecan has promising anti-cancer activity in patients with metastatic TNBC previously treated with at least two prior lines of systemic therapy based on a single arm Phase I/II clinical trial. A confirmatory Phase III randomized clinical trial is ongoing. Sacituzumab govitecan has a manageable side effect profile, with the most common adverse events being nausea, neutropenia, and diarrhea. The activity of sacituzumab govitecan likely extends beyond TNBC with promising early efficacy data in many other epithelial cancers, including hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.     

Critical study of hair growth analysis with computer-assisted methods

BACKGROUND: Computer-assisted image analysis has been proposed for human hair growth studies. METHODS: The performances of Trichoscan, a commercially available automated system combining epiluminiscence microscopy with digital image analysis, developed for office-based hair growth measurements, have been evaluated comparatively on the same skin sites using standardized photographic equipment and calibrated processing for contrast-enhanced phototrichogram (CE-PTG) analysis. This reference method has been validated with scalp biopsies and histological examination of serial sectioning. RESULTS: Besides edge effects, hair fibres escaped the Trichoscan analysis for various reasons including, but not limited to, thickness, pigmentation, closeness and crossing. CONCLUSION: Most of these problems have been identified in the late 1980s and remain largely unsolved by the processing software that was evaluated in 2004. Therefore claims promoting the Trichoscan method for accurate hair measurements in clinical trials on scalp and body hair are not supported by the present investigation. The speed at which the analysis is performed is outweighed by the errors in signal detection. Therefore we suggest that improvements must be clearly documented before Trichoscan is established for quantified diagnostic purposes and detailed hair cycle monitoring during hair trials.     

双波长紫外分光光度法测定贝母中腺苷和胸苷的含量

将4种贝母的甲醇提取物经薄层色谱法粗分离后,直接用双波长紫外分光光度法测定其含量。结果表明,该方法线性关系好,腺苷和胸苷标准曲线的相关系数均为0.9999,同时也发现平贝、炉贝和伊贝中腺苷都占核苷总量60%以上,而浙贝中仅占约40%,提示贝母生药的抗凝血活性可能与贝母中核苷类化合物的种类和含量的差别有关。     

A distinctive cardiovascular lesion resembling histiocytoid (epithelioid) hemangioma. Evidence suggesting mesothelial participation

This paper presents 14 examples of a distinctive cardiovascular lesion. The patients' ages ranged from 5 to 76 years (mean, 51 years). There were seven male patients and seven female patients. All of the lesions were small and represented incidental surgical findings. Ten were attached to the endocardium, three were free-floating in the pericardial cavity, and one was inside a dissecting aneurysm of the ascending aorta. Microscopically, the lesions were enclosed in a fibrinous network and composed of a solid proliferation of round to polygonal cells with centrally located nuclei. Immunohistochemically, the cells were negative for FVIII-related antigen and lysozyme, but they stained positively for keratin, especially when clustered in small micropapillary or tubule-like formations. The nature and pathogenesis of these lesions are uncertain. Their location and some of their microscopic features originally suggested a relationship with the entity described as histiocytoid (epithelioid) hemangioma. However, their intense immunoreactivity for keratin, occasional presentation in the pericardial sac, and marked morphologic similarities with nodular mesothelial hyperplasia as sometimes seen in hernia sacs point toward the alternative possibility of a reactive mesothelial nature. A possible pathogenetic mechanism for the endocardial cases is ingrowth of pericardial mesothelial cells along a perforation tract that may have developed at the time of a cardiac catheterization. There were no recurrences or metastases in any of the cases.