Prolongation of survival of dogs with oral malignant melanoma treated by en bloc surgical resection and adjuvant CSPG4-antigen electrovaccination

Reported post-surgery 1-year survival rate for oral canine malignant melanoma (cMM) is around 30%; novel treatments are needed as the role of adjuvant chemotherapy is unclear. This prospective study regards adjuvant electrovaccination with human chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan-4 (hCSPG4)-encoded plasmid in 23 dogs with resected II/III-staged CSPG4-positive oral cMM compared with 19 dogs with resected only II/III-staged CSPG4-positive oral cMM. Vaccination resulted in 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month survival rate of 95.6, 73.9, 47.8 and 30.4%, respectively [median survival time (MST) 684 days, range 78–1694, 8 of 23 dogs alive] and 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month disease-free interval (DFI) rate of 82.6, 47.8, 26.1 and 17.4%, respectively (DFI 477 days, range 50–1694). Non-vaccinated dogs showed 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month survival rate of 63.2, 26.3, 15.8 and 5.3%, respectively (MST 200 days, range 75–1507, 1 of 19 dogs alive) and 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month DFI rate of 52.6, 26.3, 10.5 and 5.3%, respectively (DFI 180 days, range 38–1250). Overall survival and DFI of vaccinated dogs was longer in those <20 kg. In vaccinated and non-vaccinated dogs local recurrence rate was 34.8 and 42%, respectively while lung metastatic rate was 39 and 79%, respectively

Prolongation of survival of dogs with oral malignant melanoma treated by en bloc surgical resection and adjuvant CSPG4-antigen electrovaccination

Reported post-surgery 1-year survival rate for oral canine malignant melanoma (cMM) is around 30%; novel treatments are needed as the role of adjuvant chemotherapy is unclear. This prospective study regards adjuvant electrovaccination with human-CSPG4-encoded plasmid in 23 dogs with resected II/III-staged CSPG4-positive oral cMM compared with 19 dogs with resected only II/III-staged CSPG4-positive oral cMM. Vaccination resulted in 6/12/18/24-month survival rate of respectively 95.6/73.9/47.8/30.4% (MST 684 days, range 78-1694, 8/23 dogs alive) and 6/12/18/24-month DFI rate of respectively 82.6/47.8/26.1/17.4% (DFI 477 days, range 50-1694). Non-vaccinated dogs showed 6/12/18/24-month survival rate of respectively 63.2/26.3/15.8/5.3% (MST 200 days, range 75-1507, 1/19 dogs alive) and 6/12/18/24-month DFI rate of respectively 52.6/26.3/10.5/5.3% (DFI 180 days, range 38-1250). Overall survival and DFI of vaccinated dogs was longer in those <20 Kg. In vaccinated and non-vaccinated dogs local recurrence rate was respectively 34.8% and 42% while lung metastatic rate was respectively 39% and 79%

Incremental Volatility and Related Portfolio Analytics

In this note the authors prove a simple formula to compute the Incremental Volatility, i.e. the change in the portfolio volatility due to the removal of one asset from the portfolio. The common practice adopted in the literature and in the industry is to avoid the full recalculation of the portfolio volatility and to use a first order approximation based on the gradient of the portfolio volatility. Here, the authors introduce a new exact formula that does not require to recompute the volatility of the new portfolio, but exploits quantities computed previously. Using the new formula, they can easily compute the effect on the portfolio volatility of any arbitrary change in the weight of one asset as well as to determine the optimal trade, i.e. the weight change that allows the maximum reduction in the portfolio volatility. A simulation exercise and an empirical analysis illustrate the clear advantage, in terms of accuracy, saving in computational time and calculation of portfolio analytics, respect to the full re-evaluation and the commonly used linear approximation. Due to their striking simplicity, the new formulas provide important portfolio analytics of immediate use in the asset management industry

Equally Diversified or Equally Weighted?

We show how to decompose the portfolio volatility into undiversified volatility and diversification components. Our decomp osition has a clear statistical interpretation because it relates the diversification component to the partial covariances,i.e.the covariances between the residuals of the regressions of the weighted asset returns with respect to the portfolio return. On this basis, we advocate the construction of an equally diversified p ortfolio. An empirical analysis illustrates the superior out-of-sample performance of the equally diversified portfolios with respect to the equally weighted portfolio

Canine pancreatic islet cell tumours secreting insulin-like growth factor type 2: A rare entity

Insulin-like growth factor type II (IGF-II) is the main cause of non-islet cell tumour hypoglycaemia (NICTH) and insulin is thought to be the only factor causing hypoglycaemia in insulinomas. However, two case reports of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PNETs) producing IGF-II have been previously published: a human and a canine patient. In this study, we investigated clinical, histopathological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features, and biological behaviour of canine pancreatic IGF-II-omas, a subgroup of PNETs that has not been previously characterized. Case records of 58 dogs with confirmed PNETs and hypoglycaemia were reviewed: six patients were affected by IGF-II-omas. Surgery was performed in all cases and two dogs had metastases. Four patients remained alive and in remission at 370, 440, 560 and 890days post-diagnosis; two died of non-tumour-related causes. IGF-II-omas can be differentiated from insulinomas through hypoinsulinaemia, IGF-II positive and insulin negative immunostaining. The prevalence of this neoplasia is low, accounting for just 6% of PNETs