Immunotherapy in gastrointestinal cancers

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers such as gastric, esophageal, pancreas, hepatobiliary, colorectal and anal cancers are a major cause of cancer related mortality worldwide. Traditional treatment options such as chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, monoclonal antibodies and anti-angiogenic agents have been the backbone of treatment of GI cancers in various stages. Current cancer research is moving forward to incorporate immunotherapies in the treatment of GI cancers either as single agent or in combination with current available treatment modalities. This review summarizes the existing and ongoing immunotherapies in the treatment of GI cancers

Penyuluhan Hukum dan Peningkatan Pemahaman Terhadap Produk Unggulan Pada Masyarakat Kedepatian Semerap

Artikel ini merupakan hasil dari pengabdian kepada masayarakat mengenai terhadap peningkatan pemahaman terhadap produk unggulan di masyarakat kedepatian, Semerap, Kerinci.. Pengabdian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatan pengetahuan masyarakat tentang pentingnya memahami produk unggulan daerah . sehingga dapat meningkatkan rasa kecintaan terhadap produk unggulan daerah tempatan. Metode yang digunakan adalah ceramah, Pengabdian ini sangat direspon oleh masyarakat. Hal ini terbukti dengan banyaknya pertanyaan yang diajukan terkait dengan masalah masalah yang sering terjadi dilapangan. Kegiatan ini dapat dilakukan secara rutin, baik di lokasi yang sama maupun di lokasi yang berbeda dengan tujuan untuk mencerdaskan masyarakat, bahwa dengan adanya produk unggulan mampu menimbulkan potensi peningkatan ekonomi masyarakat

A simple method to combine multiple molecular biomarkers for dichotomous diagnostic classification

BACKGROUND: In spite of the recognized diagnostic potential of biomarkers, the quest for squelching noise and wringing in information from a given set of biomarkers continues. Here, we suggest a statistical algorithm that – assuming each molecular biomarker to be a diagnostic test – enriches the diagnostic performance of an optimized set of independent biomarkers employing established statistical techniques. We validated the proposed algorithm using several simulation datasets in addition to four publicly available real datasets that compared i) subjects having cancer with those without; ii) subjects with two different cancers; iii) subjects with two different types of one cancer; and iv) subjects with same cancer resulting in differential time to metastasis. RESULTS: Our algorithm comprises of three steps: estimating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for each biomarker, identifying a subset of biomarkers using linear regression and combining the chosen biomarkers using linear discriminant function analysis. Combining these established statistical methods that are available in most statistical packages, we observed that the diagnostic accuracy of our approach was 100%, 99.94%, 96.67% and 93.92% for the real datasets used in the study. These estimates were comparable to or better than the ones previously reported using alternative methods. In a synthetic dataset, we also observed that all the biomarkers chosen by our algorithm were indeed truly differentially expressed. CONCLUSION: The proposed algorithm can be used for accurate diagnosis in the setting of dichotomous classification of disease states

PENYULUHAN AQUAPONIK DALAM MASA PANDEMI COVID-19 DI RT. 003, RW. 006 DESA KABASIRAN

Tujuan dari pelaksanaan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat yang berjudul“Penyuluhan Aquaponik Dalam Masa Pandemi Covid-19 Pada RT. 003, RW. 006Desa Kabasiran” adalah sebagai upaya pemenuhan kewajiban Tri DharmaPerguruan Tinggi. Pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk membantumasyarakat khususnya pada masyarakat di desa Kabasiran dalam berwirausahasaat masa Pandemi Covid-19 yaitu mengenai sistem budidaya Aquaponik.Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat dilakukan di RT. 003, RW. 006 Desa KabasiranBogor, pada tanggal 26-28 Juni 2020.Berdasarkan hal di atas, kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat denganmemberikan informasi dan atau tambahan pengetahuan mengenai pengembangankemampuan masyarakat dalam budidaya Aquaponik yaitu cara menanamtanaman dan memelihara ikan dalam satu wadah, sebagai wujud eksistensiPerguruan Tinggi yang bertujuan untuk memberikan konstribusi besar kepadapengembangan dan penerapan ilmu kepada masyarakat.Metode yang digunakan pada Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat ini berupaekspositori yaitu penyampaian materi secara verbal dan inquiry yaitupembelajaran yang menekankan pada proses berpikir kreatif kritis dan analitisterkait materi dan praktik budidaya Aquaponik, diharapkan masyarakat dapatmempraktekkan budidaya Aquaponik ini sebagai salah satu alternatif usaha ditengah pandemi Covid-19.Hasil Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat yang diperoleh adalah masyarakatdapat mengetahui dan mempraktekkan sistem budidaya Aquaponik dalamsebuah wadah, namun masyarakat masih perlu mendalami kembali sistembudidaya Aquaponik ini agar hasilnya dapat lebih maksimal.Kata Kunci : Aquaponik, Masa Pandemi Covid-19, Desa Kabasira

A phase II study of axalimogene filolisbac for patients with previously treated, unresectable, persistent/recurrent loco-regional or metastatic anal cancer

Squamous cell carcinoma of the anorectal canal (SCCA) is a rare HPV-related malignancy that is steadily increasing in incidence. A high unmet need exists for patients with persistent loco-regional and metastatic disease. Axalimogene filolisbac (ADXS11-001) is an investigational immunotherapy that stimulates tumor-specific responses against HPV-associated cancers, and has demonstrated benefit in metastatic cervical cancer. We conducted this single-arm, multicenter, phase 2 trial in patients with persistent/recurrent, loco-regional or metastatic SCCA. Patients received ADXS11-001, 1 × 1

Phase II trial of levocetirizine with capecitabine and bevacizumab to overcome the resistance of antiangiogenic therapies in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer

Background: Despite the clinical success of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) blockade in metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRC), resistance to anti-angiogenic drugs invariably develops. IL-8 and other cytokines have been implicated in development of resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy. Levocetirizine is a second generation H1 antihistamine with anti-inflammatory and IL-8 suppression properties. We conducted a phase II trial combining levocetirizine with capecitabine and bevacizumab to potentially overcome anti-angiogenic therapy resistance in patients with refractory mCRC. Methods: This was a single-center open-label prospective trial in refractory mCRC patients. Treatment consisted of oral capecitabine 850 mg/m Results: Forty-seven patients were enrolled in the trial to have 36 evaluable patients. Arm A enrolled 23 patients and Arm B enrolled 24 patients. Fifty percent of patients had progressive disease and 62% of patients had stable disease in each arm as best response. There was no demonstrable difference in PFS between the two arms (log-rank test P=0.83). Median time to progression was 3.4 months in Arm A and 3.5 months in Arm B. Conclusions: Median PFS in the trial was comparable to and appeared to be better than other regimens used in the refractory setting (e.g., median PFS of 1.9 months for regorafenib). Cytokine measurement with IL-8 levels did not show any correlation with progression free survival but patients with stable disease showed overall lower levels of IL-8 as compared to patients with progressive disease in the cytokine analysis

Phase Ib/II study combining tosedostat with capecitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with limited therapeutic options. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the aminopeptidase inhibitor tosedostat with capecitabine in advanced PDAC. Methods: We conducted a phase Ib/II trial of tosedostat with capecitabine as second-line therapy for advanced PDAC. Planned enrollment was 36 patients. Eligible patients were treated with capecitabine 1,000 mg/m Results: Sixteen patients were enrolled. Tosedostat 120 mg oral twice daily with capecitabine 1,000 mg/m Conclusions: Tosedostat with capecitabine displayed tolerable toxicity, and prolonged disease control in a subset of patients. These data encourage further exploration of aminopeptidase inhibitors in pancreatic cancer

Somatosensory predictors of response to pregabalin in painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study

Painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating and treatment-resistant sequela of many chemotherapeutic medications. Ligands of a2d subunits of voltage-gated Ca21 channels, such as pregabalin, have shown efficacy in reducing mechanical sensitivity in animal models of neuropathic pain. In addition, some data suggest that pregabalin may be more efficacious in relieving neuropathic pain in subjects with increased sensitivity to pinprick. We hypothesized that greater mechanical sensitivity, as quantified by decreased mechanical pain threshold at the feet, would be predictive of a greater reduction in average daily pain in response to pregabalin vs placebo. In a prospective, randomized, double-blinded study, 26 patients with painful CIPN from oxaliplatin, docetaxel, or paclitaxel received 28-day treatment with pregabalin (titrated to maximum dose 600 mg per day) and placebo in crossover design. Twenty-three participants were eligible for efficacy analysis. Mechanical pain threshold was not significantly correlated with reduction in average pain (P 5 0.97) or worst pain (P 5 0.60) in response to pregabalin. There was no significant difference between pregabalin and placebo in reducing average daily pain (22.5% vs 10.7%, P 5 0.23) or worst pain (29.2% vs 16.0%, P 5 0.13) from baseline. Post hoc analysis of patients with CIPN caused by oxaliplatin (n 5 18) demonstrated a larger reduction in worst pain with pregabalin than with placebo (35.4% vs 14.6%, P 5 0.04). In summary, baseline mechanical pain threshold tested on dorsal feet did not meaningfully predict the analgesic response to pregabalin in painful CIPN

Pacritinib to inhibit JAK/STAT signaling in refractory metastatic colon and rectal cancer

Background: Treatment options for patients with refractory colorectal cancer are limited and typically provide a chance of only modest benefit. The goal of this study was to evaluate the benefit of inhibiting the JAK/STAT inflammatory pathway with single agent pacritinib in patients with metastatic refractory colorectal adenocarcinoma. Methods: A single arm institutional trial was initiated and enrolled patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to at least two standard lines of treatment. Pacritinib 400 mg daily was administered orally continuously in 28 day cycles. Results: The trial was discontinued prior to reaching the planned accrual due to an FDA hold on pacritinib and a lack of treatment benefit. Eleven patients were enrolled and seven were evaluated for response. Median baseline C-reactive protein level was 12.1 (2.1-147) mg/L. One patient had stable disease at eight weeks by RECIST criteria and six progressed. There were no grade 4 or 5 adverse events while patients were on study. The grade 2 and lower AE events experienced were consistent with prior pacritinib trials. Conclusions: In seven evaluable patients there were no objective responses. The trial was discontinued prior to completing planned accrual based on a low likelihood that the progression free survival goal of 4 months would be met