Study of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) on the access to oncology drugs and predictive biomarkers in Spain

Altres ajuts: This study was funded by SEOM.The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) has carried out a study to analyse the conditions of access to oncology drugs in clinical practice in Spain. For the first time, the access of predictive biomarkers has also been analyzed. A questionnaire was sent to 146 hospitals in Spain to collect information on the process of approval of 11 oncology drugs of an unquestionable clinical benefit and five predictive biomarkers of mandatory determination for specific treatments. Results highlight the still existing differences in the access of oncology drugs, as well as the newly identified differences in the access to predictive biomarkers between Autonomous Communities (AACC) in Spain, as well as between different hospitals within the same Autonomous Community. Conclusions The SEOM considers it necessary to reduce the differences identified, increase homogeneity, and improve conditions of access to oncology drugs and biomarkers, and makes proposals to address these issues

Fish-Kills in the Urban Stretch of the Tiber River After a Flash-Storm: Investigative Monitoring with Effect-Based Methods, Targeted Chemical Analyses, and Fish Assemblage Examinations

In 2020 and 2021, fish-kills events occurred in the Tiber river in the city of Rome. These events, which caused the death of thousands of fish of different species (e.g., Barbus spp., Cyprinus carpio, Squalius spp.), were preceded the days before by severe flash-storms. Heavy rains in urban areas in recent years are linked to climate change and fish-kills events. With the aim to investigate the causes of these events, effect-based methods (EBMs) and targeted chemical analyses have been performed on a specific site of river Tiber in the center of the city. Additionally, examination and classification of the floating dead fishes have been performed. The chemical analysis performed on several groups of contaminants showed the presence of some pharmaceuticals, insecticides, and PFAS at up to ng/L. Results with the Fish Embryo Toxicity (FET) test confirmed lethal and sub-lethal effects, while acute effects were not detected with the Daphnia magna acute test. The fish-kills events probably can be generated by several factors as a consequence of an increasing human anthropization of the area with the contribution of different stressors together with chemical releases and emissions. This study shows that in multiple stressor scenarios characterized by heavy rainfall, droughts, and strong anthropogenic pressures, the application of EBMs, chemical analysis, and fish assemblage examinations can represent a useful support in the investigation of the causes of extensive fish-kills events

Treatment options beyond immunotherapy in patients with wild-type lung adenocarcinoma: a Delphi consensus

Purpose: Immunotherapy-based approaches are standard first-line treatments for advanced/metastatic lung cancer or for chemoradiotherapy consolidation in locally advanced disease. Uncertainty on how to treat patients at disease progression prompted us to develop a consensus document on post-immunotherapy options in Spain for patients with advanced wild-type lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: After extensive literature review, a 5-member scientific committee generated 33 statements in 4 domains: general aspects (n = 4); post-durvalumab in locally advanced disease (n = 6); post-first-line immunotherapy ± chemotherapy in advanced/metastatic disease (n = 11); and post-first-line platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced/metastatic disease (n = 12). A panel of 26 lung cancer experts completed 2 Delphi iterations through an online platform rating their degree of agreement/disagreement (first-round scale 1–5 and second-round scale 1–4, 1 = strongly disagree, 4/5 = strongly agree) for each statement. Second-round consensus: ≥ 70% of responses were in categories 1/2 (disagreement) or 3/4 (agreement). Results: Consensus was reached for 2/33 statements in the first Delphi round and in 29/31 statements in the second round. Important variables informing treatment at disease progression with an immunotherapy-based treatment include: disease aggressiveness, previous treatment, accumulated toxicity, progression-free interval, PD-L1 expression, and tumour mutational burden. A platinum-based chemotherapy should follow a first-line immunotherapy treatment without chemotherapy. Treatment with docetaxel + nintedanib may be appropriate post-durvalumab in refractory patients or following progression to first-line chemotherapy + immunotherapy, or second-line chemotherapy after first-line immunotherapy, or first-line chemotherapy in some patients with low/negative PD-L1 expression, or second-line immunotherapy after first-line chemotherapy. Conclusions: To support decision making following progression to immunotherapy-based treatment in patients with advanced wild-type lung adenocarcinoma, a consensus document has been developed.The project was funded by Boehringer Ingelheim

Comparison of the material quality of AlxIn1-xN (x ~ 0-0.50) films deposited on Si (100) and (111) by reactive RF sputtering

Here, we compare the material quality of AlxIn1-xN layers deposited on Si with different crystallographic orientations, (100) and (111), via radio-frequency (RF) sputtering. To modulate their Al content, the Al RF power was varied from 0 to 225 W, whereas the In RF power and deposition temperature were fixed at 30 W and 300oC, respectively. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal a c-axis-oriented wurtzite structure with no phase separation regardless of the Al content (x = 0-0.50), which increases with the Al power supply. The surface morphology of the AlxIn1-xN layers improves with increasing Al content and it is similar for samples grown on both Si substrates (the root-mean-square roughness decreases from 12 nm to 2.5 nm). Furthermore, from TEM images we notice a similar grain-like columnar morphology and defect density on samples deposited on both Si substrates under the same conditions. Simultaneously grown AlxIn1-xN-on-sapphire samples point to a residual n-type carrier concentration in the 1020-1021 cm-3 range. The optical band gap energy of these layers evolves from 1.75 eV to 2.56 eV with increasing Al content, consistent with the blue shift of their low-temperature photoluminescence. In general, the material quality of the AlxIn1-xN films on Si is similar for both crystallographic orientations. Nonetheless, samples deposited on sapphire show an improved structural and morphological characteristic likely due to the lower difference in lattice constants between the nitride and the sapphire substrate

Perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid exposures of the Italian general population

The serum concentrations of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were determined in 230 subjects of the Italian general population. Participants were enrolled in 2008 in two Italian towns (Brescia, Northern Italy, and Rome, Central Italy) and belonged to the three age ranges: 20-35. years, 36-50. years, and 51-65. years.PFOS and PFOA were quantified by HPLC interfaced to a mass spectrometer operating in the electrospray negative mode. Data were acquired using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The isotope dilution technique was applied throughout.The median serum concentrations of all participants were 6.31ngg-1 and 3.59ngg-1 for PFOS and PFOA, respectively, and the pertinent 90th percentiles were 12.38 and 6.92.Men had higher concentrations of PFOS and PFOA than women, regardless of age. The differences were statistically significant in the 20-35 and 36-50. years groups, but not in the 51-65 group.An increase of PFOS and PFOA serum concentrations with age was observed. The Median test showed a statistically significant difference (p≪0.01) between the three age groups for both PFOS and PFOA when applied to the entire dataset (males and females). When the test was applied to the groups of males and females separately, a significant difference was observed for females (p≪0.005) but not for males (p>0.1).The observed strong correlation between PFOS and PFOA concentrations suggests same or similar exposure routes. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd

Current exposure of Italian women of reproductive age to PFOS and PFOA: a human biomonitoring study

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) concentrations were determined in serum samples collected in 2011-2012 from 549 nulliparous Italian women of reproductive age who resided in six different Italian Regions. Assessment of exposure to perfluorinated compounds was part of a large human biomonitoring study (Project Life Plus "Womenbiopop") that aimed at examining the exposure of women of reproductive age to priority organic pollutants. The median concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were 2.43, and 1.55ngg-1, respectively. Significant differences in the concentrations of both compounds were observed among the six Regions. Women from central Italy had the highest levels of both compounds, followed by women from northern Italy, and southern Italy. No differences in the PFOS concentrations were found between women from urban/industrial areas and women from rural areas, whereas the levels of PFOA were significantly higher in women residing in urban/industrial areas than in women residing in rural areas. Taken together, the observed concentrations confirm that the overall exposure of the Italian population is among the lowest observed in industrialized countries. A downward temporal trend in exposure was observed for both compounds when comparing the results from the present study with those assessed in a study conducted in 2008

Use of archival versus newly collected tumor samples for assessing PD-L1 expression and overall survival : an updated analysis of KEYNOTE-010 trial

Background: In KEYNOTE-010, pembrolizumab versus docetaxel improved overall survival (OS) in patients with programmed death-1 protein (PD)-L1-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A prespecified exploratory analysis compared outcomes in patients based on PD-L1 expression in archival versus newly collected tumor samples using recently updated survival data. Patients and methods: PD-L1 was assessed centrally by immunohistochemistry (22C3 antibody) in archival or newly collected tumor samples. Patients received pembrolizumab 2 or 10 mg/kg Q3W or docetaxel 75 mg/m2 Q3W for 24 months or until progression/intolerable toxicity/other reason. Response was assessed by RECIST v1.1 every 9 weeks, survival every 2 months. Primary end points were OS and progression-free survival (PFS) in tumor proportion score (TPS) 50% and 1%; pembrolizumab doses were pooled in this analysis. Results: At date cut-off of 24 March 2017, median follow-up was 31 months (range 23-41) representing 18 additional months of follow-up from the primary analysis. Pembrolizumab versus docetaxel continued to improve OS in patients with previously treated, PD-L1-expressing advanced NSCLC; hazard ratio (HR) was 0.66 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57, 0.77]. Of 1033 patients analyzed, 455(44%) were enrolled based on archival samples and 578 (56%) on newly collected tumor samples. Approximately 40% of archival samples and 45% of newly collected tumor samples were PD-L1 TPS 50%. For TPS 50%, the OS HRs were 0.64 (95% CI: 0.45, 0.91) and 0.40 (95% CI: 0.28, 0.56) for archival and newly collected samples, respectively. In patients with TPS 1%, OS HRs were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.93) and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.48, 0.73) for archival and newly collected samples, respectively. In TPS 50%, PFS HRs were similar across archival [0.63 (95% CI: 0.45, 0.89)] and newly collected samples [0.53 (95% CI: 0.38, 0.72)]. In patients with TPS 1%, PFS HRs were similar across archival [0.82 (95% CI: 0.66, 1.02)] and newly collected samples [0.83 (95% CI: 0.68, 1.02)]. Conclusion: Pembrolizumab continued to improve OS over docetaxel in intention to treat population and in subsets of patients with newly collected and archival samples