Safety and Antitumour Activity of ODM-201 (BAY-1841788) in Chemotherapy-naïve and CYP17 Inhibitor-naïve Patients : Follow-up from the ARADES and ARAFOR Trials

Background: ODM-201, a new androgen receptor antagonist for treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), demonstrated antitumour activity and acceptable tolerability in phase 1/2 trials. Objective: To determine the antitumour activity and safety profile of extended treatment with ODM-201 in men with mCRPC. Design, setting, and participants: ARADES and ARAFOR trials with ODM-201 enrolled chemotherapy-naïve and CYP17 inhibitor (CYP17i)-naïve mCRPC patients. Both trials had extended follow-up. Here we report results for chemotherapy-naïve and CYP17i-naïve patients from both trials (data cutoff October 2014 for ARADES and April 2015 for ARAFOR) after extended follow-up. Intervention: A total of 41 chemotherapy-naïve and CYP17i-naïve patients received oral ODM-201 twice daily (total daily dose of 1200, 1400 or 1800 mg). Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Antitumour activity was assessed in terms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) declines and PSA/radiographic progression. Safety was assessed until disease progression and/or drug discontinuation due to any intolerable adverse event (AE). Results and limitations: ODM-201 safety data after a median treatment time of 13.5 mo (95% confidence interval [CI] 9.7–15.6, interquartile range [IQR] 7.5–22.0) were similar to those reported in the main ARADES and ARAFOR trials. The overall AE incidence was 80.5% (n = 33/41), with 58.5% (n = 24/41) of patients experiencing only grade 1–2 AEs. The most common AEs were fatigue, back pain, diarrhoea, nausea, and pain in extremity. The median times to PSA and radiological progression were 12.4 mo (95% CI 6.3–18.2, IQR 5.5–22.0) and 15.3 mo (95% CI 9.5–not reached [NR], IQR 6.3–NR), respectively. Conclusions: Extended treatment with ODM-201 (1200–1800 mg/d) was well tolerated, with no new safety concerns, and provided evidence of sustained antitumour activity in chemotherapy-naïve and CYP17i-naïve patients with mCRPC. Patient summary: Prolonged treatment with high doses of ODM-201 was well tolerated and provided long-lasting disease control in patients with mCRPC. ODM-201 represents a therapeutic treatment option for mCRPC. The ARAFOR trial (including the follow-up stage) and the follow-up component of the ARADES trial are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as trial numbers NCT01784757 and NCT01429064. Extended treatment with ODM-201 was well tolerated and provided long-lasting disease control in chemotherapy- naïve and CYP17 inhibitor-naïve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). ODM-201 may represent an additional effective treatment option for mCRPC. © 2017 European Association of UrologyPeer reviewe

Continuous professional development: elevating thoracic oncology education in Europe

The @EuroRespSoc launches a new thoracic oncology continuous professional development programme http://bit.ly/31ShuTp

Gender Asymmetry in Okun's Law in the Four PIGS Countries

AbstractCentred on the four PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) and using the quarterly data from Q2/1998 until Q4/2014, the paper investigates whether there exists gender asymmetries in Okun's law and whether male unemployment reacts identically to economic fluctuations as female unemployment does. Whilst the trend components of output, male and female unemployment are estimated with the aid of the HP filter, Okun's relationships are modelled in the SVAR framework assuming that cyclical fluctuations of the economy and the labour market with both male and female labour force are endogenous. It is established that gender is indeed a factor that makes the respective segments of the labour market respond slightly differently to changes in real output

Twenty Years of Hepatitis C in the Treviso District (Local Health Unit 2): Treatments, Clinical Management and Cost Analysis

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health problem, and about 10-30% of patients develop cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma several years after being infected. In past decades, treatment of HCV infection was based on peginterferon and ribavirin, which lead to a sustained virologic response (SVR) in only 50-60% of patients. Since 2014, direct acting antiviral (DAA) agents have been available. Patients administered DAA agents usually reach SVR in 12 weeks. The aim of this study was to estimate the cost analysis of these innovative drugs while also taking into account the total health expenditure for managing HCV infection. The pharmaceutical and hospitalisation databases of the Local Health Unit (ULSS2) of Treviso were retrospectively analysed between 1997 and 2016 for each HCV patient. During this twenty-year period, people affected by HCV totalled 2,949; 277 of these patients were treated with DAA and, of these, only 2% did not reach SVR. The HCV genotype 1b was the most common, accounting for 58% of the total patients. The treatment for HCV genotype 3 was associated with higher costs. The expenses for the new treatments were found to be significantly higher compared to those for the old ones (i.e., peginterferon and ribavirin). The average costs for a cycle of therapy were €8,000 and €24,000 for interferon and DAA therapy, respectively. Total health care costs associated with HCV (excluding DAA treatments) for an individual HCV infection patient were estimated to be €32,000. Our results confirm the high efficacy of DAA therapy. Furthermore, these agents improve the clinical conditions and reduce both the treatment cost and health care in patients with HCV infection

BORIS/CTCFL-mediated transcriptional regulation of the hTERT telomerase gene in testicular and ovarian tumor cells

Telomerase activity, not detectable in somatic cells but frequently activated during carcinogenesis, confers immortality to tumors. Mechanisms governing expression of the catalytic subunit hTERT, the limiting factor for telomerase activity, still remain unclear. We previously proposed a model in which the binding of the transcription factor CTCF to the two first exons of hTERT results in transcriptional inhibition in normal cells. This inhibition is abrogated, however, by methylation of CTCF binding sites in 85% of tumors. Here, we showed that hTERT was unmethylated in testicular and ovarian tumors and in derivative cell lines. We demonstrated that CTCF and its paralogue, BORIS/CTCFL, were both present in the nucleus of the same cancer cells and bound to the first exon of hTERT in vivo. Moreover, exogenous BORIS expression in normal BORIS-negative cells was sufficient to activate hTERT transcription with an increasing number of cell passages. Thus, expression of BORIS was sufficient to allow hTERT transcription in normal cells and to counteract the inhibitory effect of CTCF in testicular and ovarian tumor cells. These results define an important contribution of BORIS to immortalization during tumorigenesis

Summary report of the Standards, Options and Recommendations for the management of patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (2000)

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Prognostic impact of progression to induction chemotherapy and prior paclitaxel therapy in patients with germ cell tumors receiving salvage high-dose chemotherapy in the last 10 years: A study of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Solid Tumors Working Party

Little is known about the prognostic impact of prior paclitaxel therapy and response to induction chemotherapy defined as the regimen preceding high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) for the salvage therapy of advanced germ cell tumors. Twenty European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation centers contributed data on patients treated between 2002 and 2012. Paclitaxel used in either prior lines of therapy or in induction-mobilization regimens was considered. Multivariable Cox analyses of prespecified factors were undertaken on PFS and overall survival (OS). As of October 2013, data for 324 patients had been contributed to this study. One hundred and ninety-two patients (59.3%) had received paclitaxel. Sixty-one patients (19%) had a progression to induction chemotherapy, 234 (72%) a response (29 (9%) missing or granulocyte colony-stimulating factor without chemotherapy). Both progression to induction chemotherapy and prior paclitaxel were significantly associated with shorter OS univariably (P<0.001 and P=0.032). On multivariable analysis from the model with fully available data (N=216) progression to induction was significantly prognostic for PFS and OS (P=0.003), but prior paclitaxel was not (P=0.674 and P=0.739). These results were confirmed after multiple imputation of missing data. Progression to induction chemotherapy could be demonstrated as an independent prognostic factor, in contrast to prior paclitaxel

Sonic Hedgehog Gene Delivery to the Rodent Heart Promotes Angiogenesis via iNOS/Netrin-1/PKC Pathway

We hypothesized that genetic modification of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) transgene, a morphogen during embryonic development and embryonic and adult stem cell growth, improved their survival and angiogenic potential in the ischemic heart via iNOS/netrin/PKC pathway.MSCs from young Fisher-344 rat bone marrow were purified and transfected with pCMV Shh plasmid ((Shh)MSCs). Immunofluorescence, RT-PCR and Western blotting showed higher expression of Shh in (Shh)MSCs which also led to increased expression of angiogenic and pro-survival growth factors in (Shh)MSCs. Significantly improved migration and tube formation was seen in (Shh)MSCs as compared to empty vector transfected MSCs ((Emp)MSCs). Significant upregulation of netrin-1 and iNOS was observed in (Shh)MSCs in PI3K independent but PKC dependent manner. For in vivo studies, acute myocardial infarction model was developed in Fisher-344 rats. The animals were grouped to receive 70 microl basal DMEM without cells (group-1) or containing 1x10(6) (Emp)MSCs (group-2) and (Shh)MSCs (group-3). Group-4 received recombinant netrin-1 protein injection into the infarcted heart. FISH and sry-quantification revealed improved survival of (Shh)MSCs post engraftment. Histological studies combined with fluorescent microspheres showed increased density of functionally competent blood vessels in group-3 and group-4. Echocardiography showed significantly preserved heart function indices post engraftment with (Shh)MSCs in group-3 animals.Reprogramming of stem cells with Shh maximizes their survival and angiogenic potential in the heart via iNOS/netrin-1/PKC signaling