Pulmonary circulatory – right ventricular uncoupling: New insights into pulmonary hypertension pathophysiology

The pulmonary circulatory – right ventricular uncoupling is a key pathophysiological feature of pulmonary hypertension. Uncoupling develops when the ventricular contractility is not matched to its afterload due to a discordant response of the RV to increased afterload, or to an impaired right ventricular function. In this chapter we reported the methods which were developed to quantify the right ventricular –pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling in patients with PH and in experimental models of PH. The RV pressure-volume loop analysis are the gold standard to quantify RV-PA coupling metrics but more simple and less invasive methods were developed. We also reported how the RV-PA coupling metrics may be used to improve the phenotyping of patients and experimental models with PH. RV-PA coupling was also used to quantify the pharmacological effects of treatments in animal models with PH and to improve the understanding of the pathophysiological differences in different PH types. In recent studies, RV-PA coupling quantification with imaging methods showed interesting application to prognosis stratification of patients with PH.SCOPUS: ch.binfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Bone morphogenetic protein signalling in heritable versus idiopathic pulmonary hypertension

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

Angiopoietin/Tie2 pathway influences smooth muscle hyperplasia in idiopathic pulmonary hypertension.

Angiopoietins are involved in blood vessel maturation and remodeling.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Natural History of Localized and Locally Advanced Lung atypical Carcinoid after Complete Resection: A Joined French-ITALIAN Multicentric Retrospective Study

Background: The natural history and the best modality of follow-up of atypical lung carcinoids (AC) remain ill defined. The aim of this study was to analyze recurrence-free survival (RFS) after complete resection (R0) of stage I–III pulmonary AC. Secondary objectives were prognostic parameters, the location of recurrences, and the modality of follow-up. Methods: A retrospective review of 540 charts of AC patients treated between 1998 and 2008 at 10 French and Italian centers with experience in lung neuroendocrine tumor management was undertaken. The exclusion criteria were MEN1-related tumor, history of another cancer, referral after tumor relapse, and being lost to follow-up. A central pathological review was performed in each country. Results: Sixty-two patients were included. After a median follow-up time of 91 months (mean 85, range 6–165), 35% of the patients experi-enced recurrence: 16% were regional recurrences and 19% were distant metastases. Median RFS was not reached. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year RFS rate was 90, 79, and 68%, respectively. In univariate analysis, lymph node involvement ( p = 0.0001), stage ( p = 0.0001), mitotic count ( p = 0.004), and type of surgery ( p = 0.043) were significantly associated with RFS. In multivariate analysis, lymph node involvement was significantly associated with RFS (HR 95% CI: 0.000–0.151; p = 0.004). During follow-up, somatostatin receptor scintigraphy, fibroscopy, and abdominal examination results were available for 22, 12, and 25 patients, respectively. The median time interval for imaging follow-up was 10 months. Conclusions: After complete resection of AC, recurrences were observed mostly within the first 5 years of follow-up, within bronchi, mediastinal nodes, the liver, and bones. In R0 patients, lymph node involvement could help to stratify followup intervals. Suboptimal imaging is evidenced

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty versus riociguat for the treatment of inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (RACE): a multicentre, phase 3, open-label, randomised controlled trial and ancillary follow-up study

International audienceBackground: Riociguat and balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) are treatment options for inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). However, randomised controlled trials comparing these treatments are lacking. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of BPA versus riociguat in patients with inoperable CTEPH. Methods: In this phase 3, multicentre, open-label, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial done in 23 French centres of expertise for pulmonary hypertension, we enrolled treatment-naive patients aged 18–80 years with newly diagnosed, inoperable CTEPH and pulmonary vascular resistance of more than 320 dyn·s/cm5. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to BPA or riociguat via a web-based randomisation system, with block randomisation (block sizes of two or four patients) without stratification. The primary endpoint was change in pulmonary vascular resistance at week 26, expressed as percentage of baseline pulmonary vascular resistance in the intention-to-treat population. Safety analyses were done in all patients who received at least one dose of riociguat or had at least one BPA session. Patients who completed the RACE trial continued into an ancillary 26-week follow-up during which symptomatic patients with pulmonary vascular resistance of more than 320 dyn·s/cm5 benefited from add-on riociguat after BPA or add-on BPA after riociguat. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02634203, and is completed. Findings: Between Jan 19, 2016, and Jan 18, 2019, 105 patients were randomly assigned to riociguat (n=53) or BPA (n=52). At week 26, the geometric mean pulmonary vascular resistance decreased to 39·9% (95% CI 36·2–44·0) of baseline pulmonary vascular resistance in the BPA group and 66·7% (60·5–73·5) of baseline pulmonary vascular resistance in the riociguat group (ratio of geometric means 0·60, 95% CI 0·52–0·69; p<0·0001). Treatment-related serious adverse events occurred in 22 (42%) of 52 patients in the BPA group and five (9%) of 53 patients in the riociguat group. The most frequent treatment-related serious adverse events were lung injury (18 [35%] of 52 patients) in the BPA group and severe hypotension with syncope (two [4%] of 53 patients) in the riociguat group. There were no treatment-related deaths. At week 52, a similar reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance was observed in patients treated with first-line riociguat or first-line BPA (ratio of geometric means 0·91, 95% CI 0·79–1·04). The incidence of BPA-related serious adverse events was lower in patients who were pretreated with riociguat (five [14%] of 36 patients vs 22 [42%] of 52 patients). Interpretation: At week 26, pulmonary vascular resistance reduction was more pronounced with BPA than with riociguat, but treatment-related serious adverse events were more common with BPA. The finding of fewer BPA-related serious adverse events among patients who were pretreated with riociguat in the follow-up study compared with those who received BPA as first-line treatment points to the potential benefits of a multimodality approach to treatment in patients with inoperable CTEPH. Further studies are needed to explore the effects of sequential treatment combining one or two medications and BPA in patients with inoperable CTEPH. Funding: Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique of the French Ministry of Health and Bayer HealthCare. Translation: For the French translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section

Immunodynamics of explanted human tumors for immuno-oncology

International audienceDecision making in immuno-oncology is pivotal to adapt therapy to the tumor microenvironment (TME) of the patient among the numerous options of monoclonal antibodies or small molecules. Predicting the best combinatorial regimen remains an unmet medical need. Here, we report a multiplex functional and dynamic immuno-assay based on the capacity of the TME to respond to ex vivo stimulation with twelve immunomodulators including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in 43 human primary tumors. This "in sitro" (in situ/in vitro) assay has the potential to predict unresponsiveness to anti-PD-1 mAbs, and to detect the most appropriate and personalized combinatorial regimen. Prospective clinical trials are awaited to validate this in sitro assay