Group-based exercise in daily clinical practice to improve physical fitness in men with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy:study protocol

INTRODUCTION: Level 1 evidence supports the use of supervised exercise to mitigate the adverse effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with prostate cancer. The data, however, have been generated in controlled research settings and might not be transferable to daily clinical practice. This article describes the design of an ongoing prospective observational study to evaluate the potential benefits of exercise in daily clinical practice. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Men diagnosed with prostate cancer starting or already receiving ADT at our facility are invited to participate in a 12-week exercise programme implemented as the standard of care. Exclusion criteria are opioid-demanding treatment for skeletal pain, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status above 2 or the inability to perform floor and machine exercises independently. The intervention consists of an initial educational session of 1½ hours followed by 12 weeks of group-based supervised training two times a week. The focus of the exercise is progressive resistance training in combination with aerobic training. Participants are measured at baseline, after 12 weeks and after 24 weeks as part of the programme. Primary endpoints of this study are changes in physical fitness evaluated by the 30 s Chair-Stand Test and Graded Cycling Test with Talk Test. Secondary endpoints include changes in quality of life, body composition and safety of exercise. Inclusion started in August 2014, with 169 participants being included by December 2015. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been reviewed by the Scientific Ethical Committee of the Capital Region of Denmark (reference number H-3-2013-FSP39). The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed international journals and will be presented at national and international conferences and symposiums. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02631681; Pre-results

A randomized placebo-controlled phase II study of clarithromycin or placebo combined with VCD induction therapy prior to high-dose melphalan with stem cell support in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Abstract Background The objective of this randomized placebo-controlled study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of clarithromycin in combination with bortezomib–cyclophosphamide–dexamethasone (VCD) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma eligible for high-dose therapy. Methods Patients were randomized to receive tablet clarithromycin 500 mg or matching placebo tablet twice daily during the first 3 cycles of VCD induction therapy. Primary endpoint was to compare the rate of very good partial response (VGPR) or better response after three cycles of VCD combined with clarithromycin or placebo. Results The study was prematurely stopped for safety reasons after the inclusion of 58 patients (36% of the planned study population). The patients were randomly assigned to clarithromycin (n = 27) or placebo (n = 31). VGPR or better response after the VCD induction therapy was obtained in 12 patients (44.4%, 95% CI 25.5–64.7) and in 16 patients (51.6%, 33.1–69.8) (p = 0.59) in the clarithromycin group and the placebo group, respectively. Seven patients (25.9%) in the clarithromycin group developed severe gastrointestinal complications (≥ grade 3) comprising pain, neutropenic enterocolitis, paralytic ileus or peptic ulcer. These complications occurred in only one patient in the placebo group. Septicemia with Gram negative bacteria was observed in 5 patients in the clarithromycin group in contrast to one case of pneumococcal septicemia in the placebo group. Patient-reported QoL were negatively affected in the clarithromycin group compared to the placebo group. Conclusion The study was prematurely stopped due to serious adverse events, in particular serious gastrointestinal complications and septicemia. The response data do not suggest any effect of clarithromycin when added to the VCD regimen. The combination of clarithromycin and bortezomib containing regimens is toxic and do not seem to offer extra anti-myeloma efficacy. Trial registration EudraCT (no. 2014-002187-32, registered 7 October 2014, https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2014-002187-32/DK) and ClinicalTrials.gov (no NCT02573935, retrospectively registered 12 October 2015, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02573935?term=Gregersen&cntry=DK&rank=9

GTn repeat polymorphism in heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) correlates with clinical outcome after myeloablative or nonmyeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a treatment for various hematologic diseases where efficacy of treatment is in part based on the graft versus tumour (GVT) activity of cells in the transplant. The cytoprotective enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation and it has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory functions. In humans a (GT)n repeat polymorphism regulates the expression of HO-1. We conducted fragment length analyses of the (GT)n repeat in the promotor region of the gene for HO-1 in DNA from donors and recipients receiving allogeneic myeloablative- (MA) (n = 110) or nonmyeloablative- (NMA-) (n = 250) HCT. Subsequently, we compared the length of the (GT)n repeat with clinical outcome after HCT. We demonstrated that transplants from a HO-1high donor after MA-conditioning (n = 13) is associated with higher relapse incidence at 3 years (p = 0.01, n = 110). In the NMA-conditioning setting transplantation of HO-1low donor cells into HO-1low recipients correlated significantly with decreased relapse related mortality (RRM) and longer progression free survival (PFS) (p = 0.03 and p = 0.008, respectively). Overall, our findings suggest that HO-1 may play a role for the induction of GVT effect after allogeneic HCT

The Danish National Lymphoma Registry:Coverage and Data Quality

BACKGROUND:The Danish National Lymphoma Register (LYFO) prospectively includes information on all lymphoma patients newly diagnosed at hematology departments in Denmark. The validity of the clinical information in the LYFO has never been systematically assessed. AIM:To test the coverage and data quality of the LYFO. METHODS:The coverage was tested by merging data of the LYFO with the Danish Cancer Register and the Danish National Patient Register, respectively. The validity of the LYFO was assessed by crosschecking with information from medical records in subgroups of patients. A random sample of 3% (N = 364) was made from all patients in the LYFO. In addition, four subtypes of lymphomas were validated: CNS lymphomas, diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, peripheral T-cell lymphomas, and Hodgkin lymphomas. A total of 1,706 patients from the period 2000-2012 were included. The positive predictive values (PPVs) and completeness of selected variables were calculated for each subgroup and for the entire cohort of patients. RESULTS:The comparison of data from the LYFO with the Danish Cancer Register and the Danish National Patient Register revealed a high coverage. In addition, the data quality was good with high PPVs (87% to 100%), and high completeness (92% to 100%). CONCLUSION:The LYFO is a unique, nationwide clinical database characterized by high validity, good coverage and prospective data entry. It represents a valuable resource for future lymphoma research

The Impact of the Biological Variability or Assay Performance on AMH Measurements: A Prospective Cohort Study With AMH Tested on Three Analytical Assay-Platforms

This study examined longitudinal, age-related and intra-individual variation in Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) in regular menstruating women and correlated the hormonal levels to the antral follicle count (AFC). The impact of variations on an algorithm for calculation of follitropin-dose for ovarian stimulation were also tested. The study was carried out at a fertility clinic of a tertiary university hospital and had a prospective trial design. Twenty-six healthy women not receiving infertility treatment aged 22 to 50 years participated. Blood sampling for hormonal analysis was done every fifth day throughout three consecutive menstrual cycles, AFC was determined with 3-dimentional ultrasound and AMH measured by different assays from Beckman Coulter, Roche and Ansh Labs. Outcome measures were maximum and minimum difference in absolute and relative terms for each study subject during the test-period, coefficient of variation (Cv) for AMH for each cycle and cycle-day and correlation between AMH and AFC. The impact from variable AMH levels on an algorithm calculating follitrophin-delta dose in ovarian stimulation was explored. A significant longitudinal age-independent variation in AMH-levels and coefficient of variation in cycles and cycle days was found. A strong correlation between AMH-levels and AFC was confirmed and a case of significant divergence between assays was seen. Variations in AMH had a significant impact on an algorithm calculated dosage of gonadotrophins in ovarian stimulation. The finding of a substantial longitudinal variation in AMH question one recording being sufficient in quantifying gonadotrophins for ovarian stimulation, decision making and prognostication related to infertility treatment and counseling. Occasionally, commercial assays may fail to recognize specific AMH cleavage-products