Baseline absolute neutrophil count (ANC), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and outcome in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with nivolumab or docetaxel: a preliminary analysis

Nivolumab (N) is a novel therapeutic option in NSCLC, with a significant survival gain compared with Docetaxel (D). However, predictive biomarkers are lacking and no strategies have been adopted to date for optimal patients (pts) selection. The presence of systemic inflammation has been correlated with poor outcome in many cancer types. We aimed to evaluate whether there is a correlation between some indicators of inflammation and response in pts treated with N or D

Precision of gestational age assessment in the neonate

The precision of the Ballard scale for assessing gestational age (GA) was evaluated in a consecutive sample of 227 preterm and/or low-birth-weight neonates. Each newborn was rated independently by two neonatologists and the difference in GA estimation between them was computed. The estimated precision was not high, the 95% tolerance interval estimate being as large as 7.4 weeks. The precision of the neurologic and physical parts of the scale was poorer than that of the complete scale (95% of differences less than 10.5 and 9.2 weeks respectively), and more influenced by the type of delivery. These findings are not unexpected from statistical theory, and cast doubts on the use of only the physical part of the Ballard scale in assessing GA, since greater accuracy could be accompanied by reduced precision

Positional cloning, association analysis and expression studies provide convergent evidence that the cadherin gene FAT contains a bipolar disorder susceptibility allele

A susceptibility locus for bipolar disorder was previously localized to chromosome 4q35 by genetic linkage analysis. We have applied a positional cloning strategy, combined with association analysis and provide evidence that a cadherin gene, FAT, confers susceptibility to bipolar disorder in four independent cohorts (allelic P-values range from 0.003 to 0.024). In two case–control cohorts, association was identified among bipolar cases with a family history of psychiatric illness, whereas in two cohorts of parent–proband trios, association was identified among bipolar cases who had exhibited psychosis. Pooled analysis of the case–control cohort data further supported association (P = 0.0002, summary odds ratio = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.49–3.59). We localized the bipolar-associated region of the FAT gene to an interval that encodes an intracellular EVH1 domain, a domain that interacts with Ena/VASP proteins, as well as putative β-catenin binding sites. Expression of Fat, Catnb (β-catenin), and the three genes (Enah, Evl and Vasp) encoding the Ena/VASP proteins, were investigated in mice following administration of the mood-stabilizing drugs, lithium and valproate. Fat was shown to be significantly downregulated (P = 0.027), and Catnb and Enah were significantly upregulated (P = 0.0003 and 0.005, respectively), in response to therapeutic doses of lithium. Using a protein interaction map, the expression of genes encoding murine homologs of the FAT (ft)-interacting proteins was investigated. Of 14 interacting molecules that showed expression following microarray analysis (including several members of the Wnt signaling pathway), eight showed significantly altered expression in response to therapeutic doses of lithium (binomial P = 0.004). Together, these data provide convergent evidence that FAT and its protein partners may be components of a molecular pathway involved in susceptibility to bipolar disorder.12 page(s