Rituximab maintenance therapy for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: A meta-analysis

<div><p>Purpose</p><p>The addition of rituximab to standard chemotherapy has significantly improved survival in patients with lymphoma. Recently, maintenance therapy with rituximab has been shown to prevent relapse and provide survival benefits for patients with follicular or mantle cell lymphoma. However, the effects of rituximab in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remain unclear. Two new studies involving rituximab in the treatment of DLBCL were performed this past year. We performed a meta analysis to evaluate the effects of rituximab maintenance treatment of patients with DLBCL.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Several databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) databases were reviewed for relevant randomized controlled trials published prior to May, 2016. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the included studies and extracted data independently. The hazard ratios (HRs) for time-to-event data and relative risks (RRs) for the other data were pooled and estimated.</p><p>Results</p><p>Totally 5 studies including 1740 patients were eligible for the meta-analysis. Compared to the observation group, patients who received rituximab maintenance therapy had significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) (HR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.65–0.98) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.54–0.94). However, there was no statistically significant difference in overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.27–1.29). A subgroup analysis suggested that male patients may benefit from rituximab maintenance therapy with a better EFS (HR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.34–0.82-), while this advantage was not observed in female patients (HR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.64–1.52).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Rituximab maintenance may provide survival benefits beyond that afforded by first- and second-line chemotherapy alone, especially in male patients. However, maintenance rituximab treatment may cause more adverse events. It is recommended that both survival benefits and adverse events should be taken into consideration when making treatment decisions.</p></div

Genotoxicity of DnBP analyzed by comet assay.

<p>(a) length of tail; (b) tail DNA ratio; (c) tail moment and (d) olive tail moment of coelomocyte in treated <i>E</i>. <i>fetida</i> after treated for 7d, 14d, 21d and 28d in spiked natural soil CK, B-1, B-2, B-3, and B-4 (n = 4; error bars, SEM). Length of tail (TL) means tail length in arbitrary units; tail DNA ratio means relative ratio of DNA in the comet tail; tail moment (TM) means integrated value of DNA density multiplied by the migration distance; and Olive tail moment (OTM) means the product of the distance between the center of gravity of the head and the center of gravity of the tail and percent tail DNA. Refer other annotates to <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0151128#pone.0151128.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a>.</p

Toxicity effects of DnBP on biochemistry parameters of <i>E</i>. <i>fetida</i>.

<p>(a) Total protein content; (b) SOD activity; (c) POD activity; and (d) ROS activity were determined after treated for 7d, 14d, 21d and 28d in spiked natural soil CK, B-1, B-2, B-3, and B-4 (n = 4; error bars, SEM/mean values of standard errors). The spiked concentrations of DnBP were 0, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg kg^-1 soil. Asterisk shows significant difference at <i>p</i><0.05 level compared to the control; double asterisks show significant difference at <i>p</i><0.01 level compared to the control.</p

Ionic Liquid Catalytic Rearrangement of Polycyclic Hydrocarbons: A Versatile Route to Alkyl-Diamondoid Fuels

Rearrangement of three types of fused polycyclic hydrocarbons with carbon atoms 12–14 was conducted using chloroaluminate ionic liquid (IL) as acid catalyst. The hydrocarbons undergo quick configurational isomerization and then skeletal rearrangement toward alkyl-adamantanes. Although having different molecular structure, these hydrocarbons all lead to adamantanes substituted with 2–3 methyl and/or ethyl groups. The alkyl-adamantanes show high density, low freezing point and viscosity, and are very attractive as high-density fuels. Computation using density functional theory confirms that alkyl-adamantanes are thermodynamically favored and explains the experimental product distribution very well. On this basis, the reaction pathway of each hydrocarbon was illustrated. The reaction conditions including acidity (AlCl₃ fraction), temperature, and IL dosage show significant effect on the rearrangement. Moreover, the distribution of alkyl-adamantanes can be tuned by adjusting the reaction conditions, allowing the fuels’ properties to be fine-tuned. This work provides a versatile route to synthesizing alkyl-diamondoid fuels using simple chemical feedstocks in an effective way