European clinical guidelines for Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Part II: pharmacological treatment

To develop a European guideline on pharmacologic treatment of Tourette syndrome (TS) the available literature was thoroughly screened and extensively discussed by a working group of the European Society for the Study of Tourette syndrome (ESSTS). Although there are many more studies on pharmacotherapy of TS than on behavioral treatment options, only a limited number of studies meets rigorous quality criteria. Therefore, we have devised a two-stage approach. First, we present the highest level of evidence by reporting the findings of existing Cochrane reviews in this field. Subsequently, we provide the first comprehensive overview of all reports on pharmacological treatment options for TS through a MEDLINE, PubMed, and EMBASE search for all studies that document the effect of pharmacological treatment of TS and other tic disorders between 1970 and November 2010. We present a summary of the current consensus on pharmacological treatment options for TS in Europe to guide the clinician in daily practice. This summary is, however, rather a status quo of a clinically helpful but merely low evidence guideline, mainly driven by expert experience and opinion, since rigorous experimental studies are scarce

Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countries, from 1990 to 2019. Because GBD is highly standardised and comprehensive, spanning both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, and uses a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of hierarchical disease and injury causes, the study provides a powerful basis for detailed and broad insights on global health trends and emerging challenges. GBD 2019 incorporates data from 281 586 sources and provides more than 3.5 billion estimates of health outcome and health system measures of interest for global, national, and subnational policy dialogue. All GBD estimates are publicly available and adhere to the Guidelines on Accurate and Transparent Health Estimate Reporting. From this vast amount of information, five key insights that are important for health, social, and economic development strategies have been distilled. These insights are subject to the many limitations outlined in each of the component GBD capstone papers.Peer reviewe

Ophthalmological assessment of crizotinib in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVES: During crizotinib clinical evaluation, visual disturbances, generally of grade 1 severity, were frequently reported adverse events (AE). Consequently, ophthalmologic assessments were included in a patient subgroup enrolled in PROFILE 1001 (NCT00585195), a phase 1, open-label, single-arm trial of crizotinib in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer and are reported here. MATERIALS AND METHODS: At least 30 patients were required to undergo ophthalmologic assessments, including: best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), refractive error, pupil size, slit-lamp anterior segment biomicroscopy, intraocular inflammation, intraocular pressure, retinal fundoscopic exams, fundus photography, ocular characteristics, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Scheduled assessments included those at baseline, Cycle 1 Day 15, Cycle 3 Day 1 (C3D1), annually during treatment, and end of treatment (28 days after last crizotinib dose). RESULTS: Thirty-three patients completed all required ophthalmologic assessments through C3D1, and 22 (66.7 %) had abnormal findings on ≥1 ophthalmologic test. Clinically important changes were ≥2-line loss in BCVA in 10 patients (30.3 %), >±1.25-diopter change in refractive error in 3 patients (9.1 %), >±2-mm change pupillary diameter change in 3 patients (9.1 %), and >50 μm increase in OCT center point thickness in 7 patients (21.2 %). Three patients (15 %) reported clinically significant abnormalities in anterior segment biomicroscopy (grade 1 cataract [n = 2], grade 1 Visual Impairment [n = 1]). No permanent treatment discontinuations were associated with ophthalmologic findings changes. Twenty-four patients (72.7 %) reported ≥1 ocular all-causality treatment-emergent AE (TEAE); none required dose reduction or permanent discontinuation, but 2 required temporary dosing interruption. Although TEAEs and ophthalmologic findings may not have occurred concurrently, of 24 patients with ≥1 all-causality ocular TEAE, 18/24 (75.0 %) had ≥1 abnormal ophthalmologic finding and 6/24 (25 %) had none; and of 9 patients without an all-causality ocular TEAE, 4/9 (44.4 %) had ≥1 abnormal ophthalmologic finding and 5/9 (55.6 %) had none. Of the 18 patients with ≥1 abnormal ophthalmologic finding, 9 (50 %) had preexisting ocular conditions. CONCLUSION: During crizotinib treatment, ophthalmologic changes from baseline did not appear to be associated with patient-reported ocular TEAEs. Abnormal ophthalmologic findings occurred in the context of preexisting conditions for a number of patients. No ophthalmologic changes from baseline or ocular all-causality TEAEs required permanent treatment discontinuation

Final Overall Survival Analysis From a Study Comparing First-Line Crizotinib Versus Chemotherapy in ALK-Mutation-Positive Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose The phase III PROFILE 1014 trial compared crizotinib with chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) -positive advanced nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer. Here, we report the final overall survival (OS) results. Patients and Methods Patients were randomly assigned to receive oral crizotinib 250 mg twice daily (n = 172) or intravenous pemetrexed 500 mg/m(2) plus cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) or carboplatin (area under the concentration-time curve of 5 to 6 mgmL/min) every 3 weeks for a maximum of six cycles (n = 171). Crossover to crizotinib was permitted after disease progression. OS was analyzed using a stratified log-rank test and a prespecified rank-preserving structural failure time model to account for crossover. Results Median follow-up duration for OS was approximately 46 months for both arms. In the chemotherapy arm, 144 patients (84.2%) received crizotinib in subsequent lines. Hazard ratio for OS was 0.760 (95% CI, 0.548 to 1.053; two-sided P = .0978). Median OS was not reached (NR) with crizotinib (95% CI, 45.8 months to NR) and 47.5 months with chemotherapy (95% CI, 32.2 months to NR). Survival probability at 4 years was 56.6% (95% CI, 48.3% to 64.1%) with crizotinib and 49.1% (95% CI, 40.5% to 57.1%) with chemotherapy. After crossover adjustment, there was an improvement in OS that favored crizotinib (hazard ratio, 0.346; 95% bootstrap CI, 0.081 to 0.718). The longest OS was observed in crizotinib-treated patients who received a subsequent ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor. No new safety signals were identified. Conclusion The final analysis of the PROFILE 1014 study provides a new benchmark for OS in patients with ALK-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer and highlights the benefit of crizotinib for prolonging survival in this patient population.

Phase 3 study of first-line crizotinib vs pemetrexed−cisplatin/carboplatin in East Asian patients with ALK+ advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Lung Cancer—Non-Small Cell MetastaticBackground: The phase 3 study PROFILE 1014 showed a superior outcome of crizotinib over PCC in ALK+ NSCLC. A phase 3 study of similar design (ongoing; NCT01639001) was conducted in an East Asian population in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand. Methods: The study was designed to detect an improvement in median PFS from 6.4 to 10 mo with 80% power and 1-sided type I error of 0.025. Between Sep 2012 and Jul 2014, 207 pts with previously untreated ALK+ advanced NSCLC were randomized 1:1 (stratification: ECOG PS 0/1 vs 2) to receive crizotinib 250 mg PO BID (n = 104) or pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 with either cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin AUC 5–6, IV q3w for ≤ 6 cycles (n = 103). Continuation of/crossover to crizotinib after PD (per independent radiological review) was allowed. The primary endpoint was PFS; key secondary endpoints were ORR, OS, safety, and PROs. Results: In the crizotinib and PCC arms, respectively, 91% and 93% were Han Chinese, 95% and 95% had ECOG PS 0/1, and 20% and 31% had brain metastases. The study met its primary objective: crizotinib significantly prolonged PFS vs PCC (HR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.29–0.57; 1-sided P < 0.0001; median 11.1 and 6.8 mo). The ORR was significantly higher with crizotinib (87.5% vs 45.6%; 2-sided P < 0.0001). At data cutoff, 82 pts (80%) on PCC had crossed over to crizotinib and 59% of pts (122/207) remained in follow-up. With only 35% of OS events, there was a numerical (not statistically significant) improvement in OS with crizotinib (HR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.56–1.45; 1-sided P = 0.33). Crizotinib and PCC safety profiles were consistent with those previously published. The most common all-causality AEs with crizotinib were elevated transaminases (69%), diarrhea (59%), and vision disorder (56%); the most common grade 3/4 AEs were neutropenia (16%) and elevated transaminases (12%). Two grade 5 AEs (death of unknown cause, interstitial lung disease) were considered crizotinib-related. Conclusions: These results confirm the findings from PROFILE 1014 and demonstrate that first-line crizotinib significantly improves PFS and ORR vs PCC in an East Asian population with ALK+ advanced NSCLC with an acceptable safety profile. Clinical trial information: NCT01639001

Complex renal cysts associated with crizotinib treatment

An apparent causal association between crizotinib treatment and renal cyst development emerged during clinical trials in anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Serious adverse event (SAE) reports of renal cysts from a safety database of 1375 patients from four clinical trials were reviewed. A blinded, retrospective, independent radiologic review (IRR) was performed using scans from patients on study for ≥ 6 months in three clinical trials; risk factors for renal cyst development were assessed. Among 17 patients with renal cysts reported as SAEs, evidence of invasion into adjacent structures was noted in seven patients, with no evidence of malignancy found. These patients generally did not require dose reductions, none required permanent crizotinib discontinuation due to this AE, and most continued treatment with clinical benefit. In the blinded IRR, among 255 crizotinib-treated patients, 22%, 3%, and 2% had preexisting simple cysts, complex cysts, or both, respectively. At the 6-month tumor assessment, 9% of all patients had acquired new cysts, and 2% of patients with preexisting cysts had developed new cysts and enlargements (>50%) of preexisting simple cysts. Asians appeared to have an increased risk of developing new cysts on treatment; Koreans in particular had 5.18 times higher odds of developing cysts than non-Asians (95% confidence interval, 1.51-17.78; P = 0.05). Crizotinib treatment appears to be associated with an increased risk of development and progression of renal cysts in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC. While close monitoring is recommended, dosing modification was not generally necessary, allowing patients to remain on crizotinib treatment

Crizotinib in ROS1-rearranged advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): updated results, including overall survival, from PROFILE 1001

BACKGROUND: In the ongoing phase I PROFILE 1001 study, crizotinib showed antitumor activity in patients with ROS1-rearranged advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we present updated antitumor activity, overall survival (OS) and safety data (additional 46.2 months follow-up) for patients with ROS1-rearranged advanced NSCLC from PROFILE 1001. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ROS1 status was determined by FISH or reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. All patients received crizotinib at a starting dose of 250 mg twice daily. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients received crizotinib, with a median duration of treatment of 22.4 months. At data cut-off, treatment was ongoing in 12 patients (23%). The objective response rate (ORR) was 72% [95% confidence interval (CI), 58% to 83%], including six confirmed complete responses and 32 confirmed partial responses; 10 patients had stable disease. Responses were durable (median duration of response 24.7 months; 95% CI, 15.2-45.3). ORRs were consistent across different patient subgroups. Median progression-free survival was 19.3 months (95% CI, 15.2-39.1). A total of 26 deaths (49%) occurred (median follow-up period of 62.6 months), and of the remaining 27 patients (51%), 14 (26%) were in follow-up at data cut-off. Median OS was 51.4 months (95% CI, 29.3 to not reached) and survival probabilities at 12, 24, 36, and 48 months were 79%, 67%, 53%, and 51%, respectively. No correlation was observed between OS and specific ROS1 fusion partner. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were mainly grade 1 or 2, per CTCAE v3.0. There were no grade ≥4 TRAEs and no TRAEs associated with permanent discontinuation. No new safety signals were reported with long-term crizotinib treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings serve as a new benchmark for OS in ROS1-rearranged advanced NSCLC, and continue to show the clinically meaningful benefit and safety of crizotinib in this molecular subgroup. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00585195