The risk of infections in hematologic patients treated with rituximab is not influenced by cumulative rituximab dosage - a single center experience

Background: Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody directed against CD20, is approved for the treatment of CD20-positive B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and rheumatologic disorders. Due to its potent activity in depleting CD20-positive lymphocytes, the influence on opportunistic infections is still under discussion. Thus, we analyzed the impact of rituximab either as monotherapy or in combination with other chemotherapeutic regimens to elucidate its role in contributing to infectious complications. Methods: The records of consecutive patients (n = 125, 141 treatment episodes) treated with rituximab alone or in combination with chemotherapy and corticosteroids were analyzed retrospectively for the incidence, spectrum and outcome of infections during treatment and 6 months after the last course of rituximab. Univariate analysis of cofactors such as steroid medication, antiinfective prophylaxis, underlying disease and remission status were performed. Results: Altogether 80 therapy episodes were associated with infections, the median number of infections per patient being 1 (range 1–7). The number of infectious complications was significantly higher in patients receiving a combination of rituximab and chemotherapy compared to rituximab monotherapy (p  0.14). Conclusions: Rituximab in induction treatment, either as monotherapy or combined with chemotherapy by itself does not increase the incidence or change the spectrum of infections in hematologic patients. However the possible influence of higher dosages of concomitant steroid medication on frequency of infections suggests that a heightened awareness of the potential for infectious complications should be applied to patients receiving higher doses of glucocorticoids in combination with other therapeutic regimens

Best packing of rods into boxes

AbstractWe determine the maximum number of 1 × 1 x … × 1 × n rods which will fit inside an arbitrary d-dimensional rectangular box, on condition that they be packed parallel to the edges of the box

Randomised clinical trial: First-line infliximab biosimilar is cost-effective compared to conventional treatment in paediatric Crohn's disease

Background: Data on cost-effectiveness of first-line infliximab in paediatric patients with Crohn's disease are limited. Since biologics are increasingly prescribed and accompanied by high costs, this knowledge gap needs to be addressed. Aim: To investigate the cost-effectiveness of first-line infliximab compared to conventional treatment in children with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease. Methods: We included patients from the Top-down Infliximab Study in Kids with Crohn's disease randomised controlled trial. Children with newly diagnosed moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease were treated with azathioprine maintenance and either five induction infliximab (biosimilar) infusions or conventional induction treatment (exclusive enteral nutrition or corticosteroids). Direct healthcare consumption and costs were obtained per patient until week 104. This included data on outpatient hospital visits, hospital admissions, drug costs, endoscopies and surgeries. The primary health outcome was the odds ratio of being in clinical remission (weighted paediatric Crohn's disease activity index<12.5) during 104 weeks. Results: We included 89 patients (44 in the first-line infliximab group and 45 in the conventional treatment group). Mean direct healthcare costs per patient were €36,784 for first-line infliximab treatment and €36,874 for conventional treatment over 2 years (p = 0.981). The odds ratio of first-line infliximab versus conventional treatment to be in clinical remission over 104 weeks was 1.56 (95%CI 1.03–2.35, p = 0.036). Conclusions: First-line infliximab treatment resulted in higher odds of being in clinical remission without being more expensive, making it the dominant strategy over conventional treatment in the first 2 years after diagnosis in children with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease. Trial registration number: NCT02517684

First-line treatment with infliximab versus conventional treatment in children with newly diagnosed moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease: An open-label multicentre randomised controlled trial

Objective: In newly diagnosed paediatric patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD), infliximab (IFX) is initiated once exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN), corticosteroid and immunomodulator therapies have failed. We aimed to investigate whether starting first-line IFX (FL-IFX) is more effective to achieve and maintain remission than conventional treatment. Design: In this multicentre open-label randomised controlled trial, untreated patients with a new diagnosis of CD (3-17 years old, weighted Paediatric CD Activity Index score (wPCDAI) >40) were assigned to groups that received five infusions of 5 mg/kg IFX at weeks 0, 2, 6, 14 and 22 (FL-IFX), or EEN or oral prednisolone (1 mg/kg, maximum 40 mg) (conventional). The primary outcome was clinical remission on azathioprine, defined as a wPCDAI <12.5 at week 52, without need for treatment escalation, using intention-to-treat analysis. Results: 100 patients were included, 50 in the FL-IFX group and 50 in the conventional group. Four patients did not receive treatment as per protocol. At week 10, a higher proportion of patients in the FL-IFX group than in the conventional group achieved clinical (59% vs 34%, respectively, p=0.021) and endoscopic remission (59% vs 17%, respectively, p=0.001). At week 52, the proportion of patients in clinical remission was no

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Interview mit Roland Bertelmann

Im Rahmen des Moduls Virtuelle Wissensumgebungen des Masterstudiengangs Informationswissenschaften der FH Potsdam wurde am 16.1.2017 ein Interview mit Roland Bertelmann vom GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ zum Thema Forschungsdaten und Bibliotheken durchgeführt