Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Sep 2016
Implications of Programmed Cell Death 1 Ligand 1 Heterogeneity in the Selection of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer to Receive Immunotherapy.
The use of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a predictive biomarker to select patients to receive programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or PD-L1 inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is limited by the definitions of positivity, interassay agreement, and intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity of expression. Although PD-L1 expression enriches for responses, the lack of expression does not exclude clinical benefit.
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Sep 2016
The clinical utility of PD-L1 testing in selecting non-small cell lung cancer patients for PD1/PD-L1-directed therapy.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States and worldwide. Long thought to be nonimmunogenic, immunotherapy in lung cancer has historically been met with disappointing results. Programmed death-1 (PD-1), and the PD-1 ligand, PD-L1, are immune checkpoint proteins that fine-tune the antigen-specific T-cell response after stimulation of the T-cell receptor and are crucial for self-tolerance. ⋯ In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two immuno-oncology agents, the PD-1 inhibitors nivolumab and pembrolizumab, for the treatment of previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Coincident with the clinical trials that led to these regulatory approvals has been the development of several immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests of PD-L1 expression, which may serve to select patients who will derive the most benefit from PD1- or PD-L1-directed therapy. The PD-L1 IHC assays are distinct in their methods and interpretation, which poses a challenge to clinicians selecting patients for these therapies.
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Jul 2016
Maternal use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors and risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.
Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in late pregnancy has been associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), a rare condition with substantial infant mortality and morbidity. Although the increase in absolute risk is small on a population level, it may be of concern to many patients. It remains unclear the extent to which the increased risks reported for PPHN are explained by the underlying maternal illness rather than the use of SSRIs.
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · May 2016
Comparative StudySevere hypoglycemia in users of sulfonylurea antidiabetic agents and antihyperlipidemics.
Drug-drug interactions causing severe hypoglycemia due to antidiabetic drugs is a major clinical and public health problem. We assessed whether sulfonylurea use with a statin or fibrate was associated with severe hypoglycemia. We conducted cohort studies of users of glyburide, glipizide, and glimepiride plus a statin or fibrate within a Medicaid population. ⋯ Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for sulfonylurea+statins were consistent with no association. Most overall HRs for sulfonylurea+fibrate were elevated, with sulfonylurea-specific adjusted HRs as large as 1.50 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24-1.81) for glyburide+gemfibrozil, 1.37 (95% CI: 1.11-1.69) for glipizide+gemfibrozil, and 1.63 (95% CI: 1.29-2.06) for glimepiride+fenofibrate. Concomitant therapy with a sulfonylurea and fibrate is associated with an often delayed increased rate of severe hypoglycemia.