Stimulation of melanin synthesis in melanoma cells by cold plasma

Journal Name: Biological Chemistry
Issue: Ahead of print


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Chemistry and biochemistry of cold physical plasma derived reactive species in liquids

Journal Name: Biological Chemistry
Issue: Ahead of print


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Cancers, Vol. 10, Pages 466: Prognostic Markers in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated with Nivolumab

Cancers, Vol. 10, Pages 466: Prognostic Markers in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated with Nivolumab

Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers10120466

Authors: Daisuke Nishikawa Hidenori Suzuki Yusuke Koide Shintaro Beppu Shigenori Kadowaki Michihiko Sone Nobuhiro Hanai

To investigate whether peripheral blood biomarkers predict the outcome of anti-PD-1 antibody treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Patients treated with nivolumab for platinum-refractory recurrent or metastatic HNSCC were retrospectively reviewed. Fifty-three patients treated between April 2017 and March 2018 were included in the study. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 2.5 and 8.7 months, respectively. In the univariate analysis, performance status (PS) ≥ 3, relative neutrophil count ≥ 0.65, relative lymphocyte count ≥ 0.17, and relative eosinophil count (REC) ≥ 0.015 were significantly associated with both PFS and OS. On multivariate analysis, PS ≥ 3 and REC ≥ 0.015 were significantly associated with PFS and OS. Low REC and poor PS were independent poor prognostic factors for both PFS and OS in patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC treated with nivolumab.

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Impact of systemic inflammation biomarkers on the survival outcomes of cervical cancer patients

Abstract

Background

Inflammatory biomarkers have recently attracted attention as valuable prognosticators and predictors of survival outcomes in many cancers. We describe a new pre-treatment biomarker, expressed as the eosinophil–lymphocytes ratio (ELR) and validate other biomarkers such as the level of circulating eosinophils, neutrophil–lymphocytes ratio (NLR), platelet–lymphocytes ratio (PLR) and systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) as prognostic factors in cervical cancer (CC) patients.

Methods

A retrospective cohort of 151 consecutive patients diagnosed with CC and treated according to the European guidelines with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy and/or surgery in our institution from 2009 to 2016 were evaluated. Patients were categorized into two different groups based on the optimal cut-off for each biomarker, according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Impact of blood biomarkers on overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CCS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were examined.

Results

Higher values of ELR, eosinophils and age ≥ 50 years were associated with better OS in univariate Cox analysis, while high NLR, PLR, SII, neutrophils ≥ 7.0, Bulky tumor and FIGO stage III–IV at diagnosis were prognosticators of worse survival outcomes. In multivariate analysis, the only factors independently impacting OS were ELR ≥ 0.07 (HR = 0.49, p = 0.048) and FIGO stage III–IV (HR = 2.5, p = 0.018). High PLR and SII were associated with shorter PFR.

Conclusions

Increased values of ELR and eosinophils portend better OS in CC. To our best knowledge, this is the first report describing eosinophils-related biomarker as an independent prognostic factor in CC.

https://ift.tt/2QdSJib

Review article: the pharmacological causes of colon ischaemia

Summary

Background

Colon ischaemia is the most common ischaemic disorder of the gastrointestinal system, can affect any segment of the colon, and may present with a range of symptoms. Diagnosis can be challenging due to symptom overlap with other conditions, varied aetiology, and often rapid and self‐resolving course.

Aim

To review comprehensively the literature regarding the pharmacological aetiologies of colonic ischaemia to enhance the understanding of the various mechanisms of disease, presentations, distribution, and outcomes.

Methods

A PubMed search for "colon ischaemia" and "ischaemic colitis" alone as well as in combination with various known pharmacologic causes was performed. Only the highest quality and relevant literature was included in this review. The quality of the literature for each association was rated by the authors and a consensus was made when discrepancies were encountered. Only associations that were deemed "moderate" or "strong" were included.

Results

The literature considering pharmacologically associated colonic ischaemia is diverse, lacks codification and is characterised by numerous case reports and case series. Constipation‐inducing drugs, digoxin, hormonal therapies, illicit drugs, immunomodulators, laxatives, and NSAIDs were strongly associated with colonic ischaemia. Antimicrobials, appetite suppressants, chemotherapies, decongestants, diuretics, ergot alkaloids, serotonin agents, statins, and vasopressor agents were moderately associated.

Conclusions

Patients presenting with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, or bloody stool need to be evaluated for the possibility of this condition and treated accordingly. Timely diagnosis is necessary to improve patient outcomes. This review aims to increase awareness among clinicians regarding the presentation of pharmacologically induced colonic ischaemia.

https://ift.tt/2BsdGOn

Sustained virologic response rates in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 6 treated with ledipasvir+sofosbuvir or sofosbuvir+velpatasvir

Summary

Background

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 6 (GT 6) is the predominant genotype among certain Asian populations. The availability of newer DAA options is limited in many parts of Asia.

Aim

To compare sustained virologic response (SVR‐12) rates between ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (LDV+SOF) and velpatasvir+SOF (SOF+VEL) for patients with HCVGT6 infection.

Method

Retrospective study of consecutive adult HCVGT6 patients identified via ICD 9 code: 070.5 from United States treatment centers. Treatment was LDV+SOF or SOF+VEL for 8‐24 weeks. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) on HCV RNA, cirrhosis, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, platelets, and fibrosis score was conducted among the treatment‐naïve HCVGT6 patients to balance groups and isolate treatment effects.

Results

After exclusion criteria, 149 patients remained (n = 135 treatment‐naïve; n = 14 treatment‐experienced). The mean age was 63.8 ± 10.2 years, 66.9% male, and 93.9% Vietnamese. In treatment‐naïve arm, 52.2% LDV+SOF cohort were cirrhotic compared to 11.6% SOF+VEL cohort (P < 0.0001). SVR‐12 for LDV+SOF was 96.4% and 100% for the SOF+VEL cohort (P = 0.22). SVR‐12 for cirrhotic patients was 95.4% (n = 41/43) for LDV+SOF and 100.0% (n = 5/5) for SOF+VEL (P = 0.62). After PSM (n = 33 per group), LDV+SOF SVR‐12 rate was 97.0% compared to SOF+VEL SVR‐12 of 100% (P = 0.31). The treatment‐experienced group (n = 14), were all treated with LDV+SOF‐SVR‐12 of 92.3%.

Conclusion

Whether treatment‐naïve, treatment‐experienced, or cirrhotic patients with HCV GT 6 residing in the US had excellent outcomes when treated with SOF+VEL or LDV+SOF. Since LDV+SOF is more readily available globally, our results may provide clinicians with a treatment option when cost and availability limit the treatment choice.

https://ift.tt/2KrIbXu

The dual effect of morphine on tumor development

Abstract

Morphine is a classic opioid drug used for reducing pain and is commonly prescribed as an effective drug to control cancer pain. Morphine has a direct role in the central nervous system to relieve pain, but because of its peripheral functions, morphine also has some side effects, such as nausea, constipation, and addiction (Gupta et al. in Sci World J 2015:10, 2015). In addition to its analgesic effect, the role of morphine in tumor development is an important question that has been investigated for many years with conflicting results. Numerous studies suggest that morphine has a role in both promoting and inhibiting tumor growth. In this extensive review, we attempt to comprehensively understand the effects of morphine and summarize both its positive and negative influences on various aspects of tumors, including tumor growth, angiogenesis, metastasis, inflammation, and immunomodulation.

https://ift.tt/2BtTZWi