Therapeutic advances in respiratory disease
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Ther Adv Respir Dis · Jan 2018
ReviewSingle-inhaler triple therapy utilizing the once-daily combination of fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium and vilanterol in the management of COPD: the current evidence base and future prospects.
Maintenance pharmacological treatment for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is based on inhaled drugs, including long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists (LAMA), long-acting β2-adrenoceptor agonists (LABA) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Inhaled pharmacological treatment can improve patients' daily symptoms and reduce decline of pulmonary function and acute exacerbation rate. ⋯ This review focuses on the role of single-inhaler triple therapy with once-daily fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol fixed-dose combination, which is in phase III clinical development for maintenance treatment of severe-to-very severe COPD. In this review, we summarize evidence providing the rationale for its use in COPD and discuss the gaps to be filled in this pharmacotherapeutic area.
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Ther Adv Respir Dis · Jan 2018
Multicenter Study Observational StudyUse of glucocorticoids in patients with COPD exacerbations in China: a retrospective observational study.
Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are common in patients with underlying moderate to severe COPD and are associated with increased health and economic burden. International and Chinese guidelines recommend using glucocorticoids for the management of AECOPD because glucocorticoid therapy has been shown to benefit clinical outcomes. However, only scant data are available for current status of glucocorticoid therapy in hospitalized AECOPD patients in China. The aim of the study was to identify current use of glucocorticoids for the treatment of AECOPD in China. ⋯ Our study was the first study of the treatment pattern of glucocorticoids in the management of hospitalized AECOPD patients in China. Data indicates that there is a gap in the implementation of international guidelines for the treatment of AECOPD in China. Further studies are warranted to clarify the appropriate glucocorticoids strategy for the management of AECOPD to determine the optimal route of administration, dose and duration, and resulting clinical outcomes.
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Immune checkpoint inhibitors, mainly drugs targeting the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) pathways, represent a remarkable advance in lung cancer treatment. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 are approved for the treatment of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, with impressive clinical activity and durable responses in some patients. This review will summarize the mechanism of action of these drugs, the clinical development of these agents and the current role of these agents in the management of patients with lung cancer. In addition, the review will discuss the role of predictive biomarkers for optimal patient selection for immunotherapy and management of autoimmune side effects of these agents.