Relationship between urban planning and flooding in Port Harcourt city, Nigeria; insights from planning professionals

Flooding is widely recognised as a global problem which has worsened in recent years due to climate change. In Nigeria, flooding remains the most widespread environmental disaster with the population of 200 million suffering numerous threats from perennial flooding. Port Harcourt in Southern Nigeria experiences annual flooding on a significant scale. While research has linked the flooding in Port Harcourt to poor urban planning, little research has engaged with planning professionals to investigate this relationship. This paper fills this gap. It explores how urban planning is linked to flooding in Port Harcourt and reports on qualitative research undertaken with five urban planners in Port Harcourt. The findings affirm that poor planning and/or lack of compliance with planning regulations are the main factors contributing to the flooding of Port Harcourt. The urban planners gave their expert opinions on how to control the flooding and unanimously agreed that improved planning practices could control the endemic flooding problem in the city. This implies that the government needs to work more closely with urban planners and other stakeholders to effectively control and find a lasting solution to the flooding problem in Port Harcourt city

Pembrolizumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (KEYNOTE-183): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND: Pomalidomide and dexamethasone is a standard of care for patients with multiple myeloma in whom bortezomib and lenalidomide treatment has failed. KEYNOTE-183 assessed efficacy and safety of pomalidomide and dexamethasone with or without pembrolizumab in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Here, we present the findings of an unplanned, ad-hoc interim analysis at the request of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). METHODS: KEYNOTE-183 was a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial done at 97 medical centres across 11 countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and USA). Patients aged at least 18 years with multiple myeloma, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1, previously treated with at least two lines of therapy (excluding pomalidomide) and refractory to the last line were randomly assigned 1:1 to the pembrolizumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone group or the pomalidomide and dexamethasone group via an interactive voice response or integrated web response system. Patients received oral pomalidomide 4 mg daily on days 1-21 and oral low-dose dexamethasone 40 mg on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 in 28-day cycles, with or without intravenous pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks. The dual primary endpoints were progression-free survival and overall survival. Efficacy was assessed in all randomly assigned patients and safety was assessed in patients who received at least one dose of study treatment. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02576977, and it is closed for accrual. FINDINGS: Between Jan 18, 2016, and June 7, 2017, 249 patients were randomly assigned to either the pembrolizumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone group (n=125) or the pomalidomide and dexamethasone group (n=124). On July 3, 2017, the FDA established that risks associated with the triple combination outweighed benefits and halted the study. Median follow-up was 8\ub71 months (IQR 4\ub75-10\ub79). Median progression-free survival was 5\ub76 months (95% CI 3\ub77-7\ub75) in the pembrolizumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone group versus 8\ub74 months (5\ub79-not reached) in the pomalidomide and dexamethasone group; progression-free survival estimates at 6 months were 48% (95% CI 37-58) versus 60% (49-69) at 6 months (hazard ratio [HR] 1\ub753; 95% CI 1\ub705-2\ub722; p=0\ub798). Median overall survival was not reached (95% CI 12\ub79-not reached) versus 15\ub72 months (12\ub77-not reached; HR 1\ub761; 95% CI 0\ub791-2\ub785; p=0\ub795); overall survival estimates at 6 months were 82% (95% CI 74-88) versus 90% (82-95). Serious adverse events occurred in 75 (63%) of 120 patients in the pembrolizumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone group versus 56 (46%) of 121 patients in the pomalidomide and dexamethasone group. Four (3%) treatment-related deaths occurred in the pembrolizumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone group (one each of unknown cause, neutropenic sepsis, myocarditis, and Stevens-Johnson syndrome); myocarditis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome were considered related to pembrolizumab. No treatment-related deaths were reported in the pomalidomide and dexamethasone group. INTERPRETATION: The results from this unplanned, FDA-requested, interim analysis showed that the benefit-risk profile of pembrolizumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone is unfavourable for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. FUNDING: Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of Merck & Co (Kenilworth, NJ, USA)