Phase 1 study of chemoradiotherapy combined with nivolumab +/- Ipilimumab for the curative treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Background: Muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) has a poor prognosis. Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in selected patients has comparable results to radical cystectomy. Results of neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) before radical cystectomy are promising. We hypothesize that ICI concurrent to CRT (iCRT) is safe and may improve treatment outcomes. Objective: To determine the safety of iCRT for MIBC. Design, setting, and participants: This multicenter, phase 1b, open-label, dose-escalation study determined the safety of CRT with three ICI regimens in patients with nonmetastatic (T2-4aN0-1) MIBC. Twenty-six patients received mitomycin C/capecitabine and 20 x 2.75 Gy to the bladder. Tolerability was evaluated in a cohort of up to ten patients. If two or fewer out of the first six patients or three or fewer of ten patients experienced dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), accrual continued in the next cohort. Intervention: Patients received nivolumab 480 mg (NIVO480), nivolumab 3 mg/kg and ipilimumab 1 mg/kg (NIVO3 + IPI1), or nivolumab 1 mg/kg and ipilimumab 3 mg/kg (IPI3 + NIVO1). Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: The primary endpoint was safety. Secondary objectives were response rate, disease-free survival, metastatic-free survival (MFS), and overall survival (OS). Results and limitations: In the NIVO480 cohort, no patients experienced DLT. The NIVO3 + IPI1 2 patients experienced DLT, thrombocytopenia (grade 4), and asystole (grade 5). IPI3 + NIVO1 was discontinued after three out of six patients experienced DLT. Clinically significant adverse events (AEs) of grade >= 3 occurred in zero, three, and five patients in the NIVO480, NIVO3 + IPI1, and IPI3 + NIVO1 groups, respectively. The most common AEs were immune related and gastrointestinal. MFS and OS were 90% at 2 yr for NIVO480 and 90% at 1 yr for NIVO3 + IPI1. Limitations include the absence of a centralized pathology and radiology review, and a lack of biomarker analysis. Conclusions: In this dose-finding study of iCRT, the regimens of nivolumab monotherapy and nivolumab 3 mg/kg with ipilimumab 1 mg/kg have acceptable toxicity. Patient summary: We tested the safety of a new bladder-sparing treatment modality for muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients, combiningimmunecheckpoint inhibitors simultaneously with chemoradiotherapy. We report that two regimens, nivolumab monotherapy and nivolumab 3 mg/kg with ipilimumab 1 mg/kg, are safe and can be used in phase 3 trials

Search for composite and exotic fermions at LEP 2

A search for unstable heavy fermions with the DELPHI detector at LEP is reported. Sequential and non-canonical leptons, as well as excited leptons and quarks, are considered. The data analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 48 pb^{-1} at an e^+e^- centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV and about 20 pb^{-1} equally shared between the centre-of-mass energies of 172 GeV and 161 GeV. The search for pair-produced new leptons establishes 95% confidence level mass limits in the region between 70 GeV/c^2 and 90 GeV/c^2, depending on the channel. The search for singly produced excited leptons and quarks establishes upper limits on the ratio of the coupling of the excited fermio

Search for lightest neutralino and stau pair production in light gravitino scenarios with stau NLSP

Promptly decaying lightest neutralinos and long-lived staus are searched for in the context of light gravitino scenarios. It is assumed that the stau is the next to lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) and that the lightest neutralino is the next to NLSP (NNLSP). Data collected with the Delphi detector at centre-of-mass energies from 161 to 183 \GeV are analysed. No evidence of the production of these particles is found. Hence, lower mass limits for both kinds of particles are set at 95% C.L.. The mass of gaugino-like neutralinos is found to be greater than 71.5 GeV/c^2. In the search for long-lived stau, masses less than 70.0 to 77.5 \GeVcc are excluded for gravitino masses from 10 to 150 \eVcc . Combining this search with the searches for stable heavy leptons and Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model staus a lower limit of 68.5 \GeVcc may be set for the stau mas

CD5L is a canonical component of circulatory IgM

Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is an evolutionary conserved key component of humoral immunity, and the first antibody isotype to emerge during an immune response. IgM is a large (1 MDa), multimeric protein, for which both hexameric and pentameric structures have been described, the latter additionally containing a joining (J) chain. Using a combination of single-particle mass spectrometry and mass photometry, proteomics, and immunochemical assays, we here demonstrate that circulatory (serum) IgM exclusively exists as a complex of J-chain-containing pentamers covalently bound to the small (36 kDa) protein CD5 antigen-like (CD5L, also called apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage). In sharp contrast, secretory IgM in saliva and milk is principally devoid of CD5L. Unlike IgM itself, CD5L is not produced by B cells, implying that it associates with IgM in the extracellular space. We demonstrate that CD5L integration has functional implications, i.e., it diminishes IgM binding to two of its receptors, the FcαµR and the polymeric Immunoglobulin receptor. On the other hand, binding to FcµR as well as complement activation via C1q seem unaffected by CD5L integration. Taken together, we redefine the composition of circulatory IgM as a J-chain containing pentamer, always in complex with CD5L

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Bacterial genetics in meningitis: Associating meningococcal and pneumococcal genes with clinical outcome

The objective of this thesis is to provide more insight in the association of bacterial genetics with clinical characteristics of patients with bacterial meningitis. In a genetic association study using a cohort of 258 meningococcal meningitis patients, we show that specific meningococcal clonal complexes, meningococcal factor H binding protein (fHbp) types and meningococcal two-partner secretion system distribution are associated with clinical outcome. In a study contributing to vaccine research, we describe the genetic distribution of the 3 meningococcal antigens that are included in the serogroup B meningococcal vaccine in meningococcal isolates collected in the Netherlands over a period of 50 years. We report the availability of the N. meningitidis serogroup B H44/76 genome sequence, a strain widely used in molecular genetics studies. Also we analyze the genome of a clinical meningococcal meningitis isolate without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and show that a mutation located in lpxH, which encodes an enzyme in the lipid A biosynthesis pathway, explains its LPS-deficiency. Finally we identified pneumococcal arginine biosynthesis genes to be associated with clinical outcome in patients with pneumococcal meningitis, using a clinical phenotype-based approach combined with bacterial whole-genome sequencing. This thesis, in which more than half of our analyses are based on newly sequenced bacterial whole genome sequences, serves as a proof of principle that bacterial whole-genome sequencing can give answers to research questions that previously remained unanswered. This thesis has contributed to a better understanding of the role of bacterial genetics in the clinical course and outcome of bacterial meningitis

Motion Analysis of 100 Mediastinal Lymph Nodes: Potential Pitfalls in Treatment Planning and Adaptive Strategies

Purpose: The motion of mediastinal lymph nodes may undermine local control with involved-field radiotherapy. We studied patterns of nodal and tumor motion in 41 patients with lung cancer. Methods and Materials: Four-dimensional (4D) computed tomography planning scans were retrospectively evaluated to identify patients with clearly visible mediastinal lymph nodes. One hundred nodes from 14 patients with Stage I and 27 patients with Stage III were manually contoured in all 41) computed tomography respiratory phases. Motion was derived from changes in the nodal center-of-mass position. Primary tumors were also delineated in all phases for 16 patients with Stage III disease. Statistical analysis included a multivariate mixed-effects model of grouped data. Results: Average 3D nodal motion during quiet breathing was 0.68 cm (range, 0.17-1.64 cm); 77% moved greater than 0.9 cm, and 10% moved greater than 1.0 cm. Motion was greatest in the lower mediastinum (p = 0.002), and nodes measuring 2 cm or greater in diameter showed motion similar to that in smaller nodes. In 11 of 16 patients studied, at least one node moved more than the corresponding primary tumor. No association between 3D primary tumor motion and nodal motion was observed. For mobile primary tumors, phase offsets between the primary tumor and nodes of two or more and three or more phases were observed for 33% and 12% of nodes, respectively. Conclusions: Mediastinal nodal motion is common, with phase offsets seen between the primary tumor and different nodes in the same patient. Patient-specific information is needed to ensure geometric coverage, and adaptive strategies based solely on the primary tumor may be misleading. (C) 2009 Elsevier In