Clinical therapeutics
-
Clinical therapeutics · Aug 2007
ReviewReducing the risk for breast cancer recurrence after completion of tamoxifen treatment in postmenopausal women.
In postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive early stage breast cancer, the risk for relapse persists after 5 years of treatment with adjuvant tamoxifen. Because tamoxifen is not indicated for adjuvant therapy beyond 5 years, the need for another therapy in the extended adjuvant setting to reduce late recurrence risk is clear. The National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group MA.17 and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-33 trial found that extended adjuvant therapy with an aromatase inhibitor (AI) (eg, letrozole, exemestane, or anastrozole) rendered additional benefit in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The MA.17 trial was unblinded at the first interim analysis (median follow-up, 2.4 years) due to a significant reduction in relative risk for recurrence (P < 0.001). Following the publication of the final analysis, several other MA.17 trial analyses and a postblinding analysis were also conducted. Recent data on the NSABP B-33 trial, which investigated exemestane in the extended adjuvant setting, and Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group (ABCSG) trial 6a, which evaluated anastrozole in the extended adjuvant setting, have also been reported. ⋯ Current evidence supports the use of letrozole and perhaps exemestane in the extended adjuvant setting, while data on anastrozole are emerging. Based on the results from this review, initiation of letrozole treatment following a prolonged interval after completion of 5 years of tamoxifen treatment might be beneficial.
-
Clinical therapeutics · Aug 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialPharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic assessments of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor PHX1149: double-blind, placebo-controlled, single- and multiple-dose studies in healthy subjects.
PHX1149 is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitor that is currently in clinical development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. PHX1149 is a small (molecular weight = 241.16 Da), highly water-soluble (>2 g/mL), orally active molecule with a selectivity index of 15- to 319-fold relative to those of other members of the DPP family. The biochemical median inhibitory concentration of DPP4 is 2.5 nmol/L. ⋯ The PK parameters and PD properties of PHX1149 were suitable (eg, tl/2, DPP4 inhibition) for once-daily dosing in this group of 58 healthy subjects. All doses were well tolerated.
-
Clinical therapeutics · Aug 2007
A retrospective evaluation of the use of gabapentin and pregabalin in patients with postherpetic neuralgia in usual-care settings.
Both gabapentin and pregabalin are approved for the management of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), although dosing and pharmacokinetic differences between these medications may affect their use in actual practice. ⋯ In these patients with PHN in the usual-care setting, opioid use increased after the initiation of gabapentin and decreased after the initiation of pregabalin. Few of those prescribed gabapentin received a prescription for a therapeutic dose, whereas a greater proportion of patients who were prescribed pregabalin received a prescription for a therapeutic dose.
-
Clinical therapeutics · Aug 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyEfficacy and safety of inhaled zanamivir in the prevention of influenza in community-dwelling, high-risk adult and adolescent subjects: a 28-day, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Influenza can cause significant morbidity and mortality in subjects at high risk for complications, including the elderly (age >or=65 years) and those with chronic respiratory, cardiovascular, or metabolic conditions. Effective prophylaxis can significantly reduce the disease burden in this population. Previous studies conducted primarily in non-high-risk subjects have reported the efficacy of inhaled zanamivir in preventing influenza. ⋯ Zanamivir, administered once daily for 28 days, was efficacious in preventing infection with the predominant circulating strains in the 2000- 2001 influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere (influenza A/New Calendonia/20/99-1ike and influenza B/ Sichuan/379/99-like) in these high-risk community- dwelling subjects aged >or=12 years. Zanamivir was well tolerated, with a safety profile comparable to that of placebo. No emergence of resistant virus was detected.
-
Clinical therapeutics · Aug 2007
Meta AnalysisNegative binomial meta-regression analysis of combined glycosylated hemoglobin and hypoglycemia outcomes across eleven Phase III and IV studies of insulin glargine compared with neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
This analysis first modeled the interaction between hypoglycemia and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in clinical trials that compared insulin glargine (glargine) with human neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin (NPH) in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. The model was then used to compare rates of hypoglycemia associated with use of these insulins. ⋯ Based on the results of this analysis, calculated unadjusted hypoglycemia event rates appear to underestimate the differences between glargine and NPH. In most of the present analyses, unadjusted rates were significantly lower with glargine than NPH. Adjustment for end-point HbA1c resulted in greater relative reductions in the risk of hypoglycemia for glargine compared with NPH. The adjusted risk reduction with glargine was highest in the Phase IV studies.