Serum levels of soluble CD30 improve international prognostic score in predicting the outcome of advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma

The International Prognostic Score (IPS) and circulating levels of the soluble form of CD30 molecule (sCD30) have both been associated with poor outcome in patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic power of the combined evaluation of sCD30 and IPS in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 101 patients with advanced HL, treated with ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine) or MOPP (mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine and prednisone)/ABVD chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy. All were tested for pre-treatment sCD30 levels. RESULTS: Six-year estimated overall survival (OS) and failure-free survival (FFS) was 89% +/- 3% and 75% +/- 4%, respectively. Thirty-three patients (33%) had IPS >2; their FFS was 60% compared with 82% in the remaining patients (P = 0.027). Serum sCD30 levels were > or =100 U/ml in 41 (41%) patients; their FFS at 6 years was 58%, compared with 87% in patients with sCD30 or =100 U/ml and IPS >2, FFS was significantly worse (44%) than in patients with low sCD30 and low IPS (89%) (P 2 and serum sCD30 levels > or =100 U/ml identifies a sizeable subgroup (18%) of advanced HL patients with very poor FFS, who might take advantage of intensified up-front treatment strategie

Serum levels of soluble CD30 improve International Prognostic Score in predicting the outcome of advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma

The International Prognostic Score (IPS) and circulating levels of the soluble form of CD30 molecule (sCD30) have both been associated with poor outcome in patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic power of the combined evaluation of sCD30 and IPS in these patients

Very rapid cooling of the energetic pyroclastic density currents associated with the 5 November 2010 Merapi eruption (Indonesia)

International audienceUnderstanding the thermal behavior of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) is crucial for forecasting impact scenarios for exposed populations as it affects their lethality and destructiveness. Here we report the emplacement temperatures of PDC deposits produced during the paroxysmal explosive eruption of Merapi (Central Java) on 5 November 2010 based on the reflectance of entombed charcoal fragments. This event was anomalously explosive for Merapi, and destroyed the summit dome that had been rapidly growing, with partial collapses and associated PDCs, since October 26. Results show mean reflectance values mainly between 0.17 and 0.41. These new data provide a minimum temperature of the flow of 240-320 °C, consistent with previous estimations determined from independent field, engineering, and medical observations published in the literature for this eruption. A few charcoal fragments recorded higher values, suggestive of temperatures up to 450 °C, and we suggest that this is due to the thermal disequilibrium of the deposits, with larger block-size clasts being much hotter than the surrounding ash matrix. Charring temperatures show no major differences between proximal and distal PDC deposits and are significantly lower than those that may be associated with a fast growing dome dominated by dense and vitric non-vesicular rocks. We therefore infer that the decrease in temperature from that at fragmentation (>900 °C) occurred in the very initial part of the current, <2 km from source. We discuss possible processes that allow the very fast cooling of these energetic PDCs, as well as the conservative thermal behavior shown during the depositional phase, across the entire depositional area

Italian, Multicenter, Phase III, Randomized Study of Cisplatin Plus Etoposide With or Without Bevacizumab as First-Line Treatment in Extensive-Disease Small-Cell Lung Cancer: The GOIRC-AIFA FARM6PMFJM Trial

Purpose Considering promising results in phase II studies, a randomized phase III trial was designed to assess the efficacy of adding bevacizumab to first-line cisplatin plus etoposide for treatment of extensive-disease (ED) small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Patients and Methods Treatment-naive patients with ED-SCLC were randomly assigned to receive either cisplatin plus etoposide (arm A) or the same regimen with bevacizumab (arm B) for a maximum of six courses. In the absence of progression, patients in arm B continued bevacizumab alone until disease progression or for a maximum of 18 courses. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Results Two hundred four patients were randomly assigned and considered in intent-to-treat analyses (103 patients in arm A and 101 patients in arm B). At a median follow-up of 34.9 months in arm A and arm B, median OS times were 8.9 and 9.8 months, and 1-year survival rates were 25% and 37% (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.58 to 1.06; P = .113), respectively. A statistically significant effect of bevacizumab on OS in patients who received maintenance was seen (hazard ratio, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.91; P = .011). Median progression-free survival times were 5.7 and 6.7 months in arm A and arm B, respectively (P = .030). Regarding hematologic toxicity, no statistically significant differences were observed; for nonhematologic toxicity, only hypertension was more frequent in arm B (grade 3 or 4, 1.0% v 6.3% in arms A v B, respectively; P = .057). Conclusion The addition of bevacizumab to cisplatin and etoposide in the first-line treatment of ED-SCLC had an acceptable toxicity profile and led to a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival, which, however, did not translate into a statistically significant increase in OS. Further research with novel antiangiogenic agents, particularly in the maintenance setting, is warranted

Deformata Reformare. Programmi di vita religiosa, di riforma spirituale e amministrativa di canoniche e cenobi nel Quattrocento Veneto

L'importanza dell'azione di Ludovico Barbo nella nascita e nello sviluppo della Congregazione "de Unitate". Il suo impegno culturale e organizzativo entro le direttrici della sua forte situazione spirituale e scritturistica. I rapporti con il papato e con i poteri politici di Venezia. Il suo legame con le esperienze venete e con i papi sino alla metà del Quattrocento

Motor neuron degeneration, severe myopathy and TDP-43 increase in a transgenic pig model of SOD1-linked familiar ALS

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neural disorder gradually leading to paralysis of the whole body. Alterations in superoxide dismutase SOD1 gene have been linked with several variants of familial ALS. Here, we investigated a transgenic (Tg) cloned swine model expressing the human pathological hSOD1G93A allele. As in patients, these Tg pigs transmitted the disease to the progeny with an autosomal dominant trait and showed ALS onset from about 27 months of age. Post mortem analysis revealed motor neuron (MN) degeneration, gliosis and hSOD1 protein aggregates in brainstem and spinal cord. Severe skeletal muscle pathology including necrosis and inflammation was observed at the end stage, as well. Remarkably, as in human patients, these Tg pigs showed a quite long presymptomatic phase in which gradually increasing amounts of TDP-43 were detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Thus, this transgenic swine model opens the unique opportunity to investigate ALS biomarkers even before disease onset other than testing novel drugs and possible medical devices