SOLO TRAVEL - EXPLORATIVE INSIGHTS FROM A MATURE MARKET (SWITZERLAND)

This study examines solo travel, and offers a conceptual framework of solo travelers, a profile of these types of travelers (by socio-demographic characteristics), and a profile of travels (by specific descriptors). The data for this study emerged from a comprehensive survey of Swiss travel behavior conducted 2004 by the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). The conceptual model proposes an a priori segmentation of four types of solo travel, delineated on the combination of the departure status (a single, one-person household, compared to a collective, multi-persons household) and arrival status (solo travel, compared to group travel), thus creating a two-by-two matrix with four segments overall. The results of the profiling reveal significant differences between the solo travel groups, as well as towards a control group incorporating all other travel. They include income, profession, and age, as well as familiarity with the destination, choice of type of accommodation, expenditures and various types of trips. However, no significant differences can be reported with regard to the choice of destination

Relationship intention as a mediator between relational benefits and customer loyalty in the tour operator industry

Relationship and customer loyalty management have been an important field of research in marketing for decades. However, the focus for many years was mainly on the benefits of relationship marketing for companies. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of the benefits of relationship marketing for customers in the travel industry. It investigates the effects between relational benefits, relationship intention and intentional loyalty using the tour operator industry as an example. Relationship intention will be introduced as a variable influencing intentional loyalty. The role of relationship intention in the customer benefit-intentional loyalty context will be analyzed by testing different path models. The measurement model is estimated, based on a confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL with a sample of 1,702 tour operator customers. The structural model as well as the estimate path coefficients were analyzed applying a partial least square approach (PLS) using SmartPLS. This article not only contributes to the further development of models explaining intentional loyalty, but also to the development of practical insights about the influence of different measures and tools on intentional loyalty from a customer benefit perspective. It can be concluded that the intention of a customer to invest in a relationship is dependent on the perceived level of relationship benefits. Further, the results show, that the buying behavior of customers is influenced by the perceived relational benefits. With the management of customer relations, a provider can influence the behavior of the customer to exploit the earning potential efficiently. Therefore, a provider has to be successful in creating new relational benefits for his customers through measures of customer relation management

Swiss experience of atezolizumab for platinum-pretreated urinary tract carcinoma: the SAUL study in real-world practice.

AIMS OF THE STUDY Atezolizumab is an approved therapy for urothelial carcinoma based on results from the IMvigor 210 and IMvigor211 phase II and III trials. The global SAUL study evaluated atezolizumab in a broader patient population more representative of real-world populations. Among approximately 1000 patients treated in SAUL, 25 were treated in Swiss oncology centres. We evaluated outcomes in these patients to provide a better understanding of atezolizumab treatment for urinary tract carcinoma in Swiss clinical practice. METHODS Eligible patients had locally advanced or metastatic urothelial or non-urothelial urinary tract carcinoma that had progressed during or after one to three prior therapies for inoperable, locally advanced or metastatic disease. Patient populations typically excluded from clinical trials (e.g., patients with renal impairment, treated central nervous system [CNS] metastases, stable controlled autoimmune disease or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 2) were also eligible. All patients received atezolizumab 1200 mg every 3 weeks until loss of clinical benefit or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was safety. Secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR). RESULTS All 25 Swiss patients had previously received a gemcitabine/platinum doublet. Disease had progressed within 12 months of platinum-based therapy in all but one patient, and 19 (76%) had received one prior line of therapy for metastatic disease. The median duration of atezolizumab therapy was six cycles (range 1–27) corresponding to 3.6 months. Five patients (20%) had received >20 cycles and four (16%) remained on treatment at the data cut-off. Grade 3 adverse events (AEs) occurred in 13 patients (52%) and were considered to be treatment-related in four patients (16%; liver enzyme increases, musculoskeletal pain, diverticulitis and autoimmune hepatitis). There was one grade 4 AE (hypercalcaemia) and no grade 5 AEs. After median follow-up of 17.3 months, median OS was 7.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.3–not evaluable), the 1-year OS rate was 47% (95% CI 27–65%), the ORR was 12% (95% CI 3–31%) and the DCR was 40% (95% CI 21–61%). Durable clinical benefit (>1 year on treatment) was observed in seven patients (28%), including one with CNS metastases and one with small-cell carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS Atezolizumab is an active treatment option for platinum-pretreated urinary tract carcinoma, including patients with conditions that typically exclude them from clinical trials. (Trial registration no.: NCT02928406)

Antiangiogenic treatment for multiple CNS hemangioblastomas

Background: Hemangioblastomas represent rare benign tumors of the central nervous system. In the case of metastatic spread and limited surgical options, systemic treatment may be considered. However there is no standard of care beyond surgery. Case Report: We report the cases of 2 patients with progressive multilocular hemangioblastomas, who showed clinical benefit and radiological stabilization of tumor growth after treatment with bevacizumab, an antibody against the vascular endothelial growth factor. Conclusion: Our case reports suggest activity of bevacizumab in hemangioblastomas after failure of standard therapeutic options