Drug Des Dev Ther
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
The efficacy and safety of pemetrexed-based doublet therapy compared to pemetrexed alone for the second-line treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: an updated meta-analysis.
Pemetrexed is currently recommended as the second-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it is unclear whether pemetrexed-based doublet therapy improves treatment efficacy and safety. Thus, this meta-analysis was performed to resolve this controversial question. ⋯ Among patients with advanced NSCLC, pemetrexed-based doublet treatment tended to be associated with improved PFS, ORR, and increased toxicity, but not OS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Phase III study of pasireotide long-acting release in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors and carcinoid symptoms refractory to available somatostatin analogues.
In a randomized, double-blind, Phase III study, we compared pasireotide long-acting release (pasireotide LAR) with octreotide long-acting repeatable (octreotide LAR) in managing carcinoid symptoms refractory to first-generation somatostatin analogues. Adults with carcinoid tumors of the digestive tract were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive pasireotide LAR (60 mg) or octreotide LAR (40 mg) every 28 days. Primary outcome was symptom control based on frequency of bowel movements and flushing episodes. ⋯ The most frequent drug-related adverse events (pasireotide vs octreotide) included hyperglycemia (28.3% vs 5.3%), fatigue (11.3% vs 3.5%), and nausea (9.4% vs 0%). We conclude that, among patients with carcinoid symptoms refractory to available somatostatin analogues, similar proportions of patients receiving pasireotide LAR or octreotide LAR achieved symptom control at month 6. Pasireotide LAR showed a trend toward higher tumor control rate at month 6, although it was statistically not significant, and was associated with a longer PFS than octreotide LAR.
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Review Meta Analysis
A meta-analysis for CXCR4 as a prognostic marker and potential drug target in non-small cell lung cancer.
Recent reports have shown that C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) is a candidate oncogene in several types of human tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the correlation between CXCR4 expression and clinicopathological characteristics of NSCLC remains controversial and has not been emphasized. The aim of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the association of CXCR4 expression with the incidence of NSCLC and clinicopathological characteristics by performing a meta-analysis. ⋯ The present meta-analysis indicated that CXCR4 protein expression is associated with an increased risk and worse survival in NSCLC patients. The aberrant CXCR4 protein and mRNA expression play an important role in the carcinogenesis and metastasis of NSCLC.
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Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric illnesses, with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) being one of the most common. Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in GAD patients. While treatment with pregabalin has been found to be associated with significant improvement in GAD-related sleep disturbance across many controlled clinical trials, mediational analysis has suggested that a substantial portion of this effect could be the result of a direct effect of pregabalin. Thus, the objective of this study was to model the longitudinal latent effect of pregabalin or usual care (UC) therapies on changes in sleep in outpatients with GAD under routine clinical practice. ⋯ A substantial proportion of the incremental improvements in anxiety-related sleep disturbances with pregabalin vs UC were explained by its direct effect, not mediated by improvements in anxiety symptoms.
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Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major public health issue in developing countries, and its chemotherapy is compromised by poor drug compliance and severe side effects. This study aimed to synthesize and characterize new multimodal PEGylated liposomes encapsulated with clinically commonly used anti-TB drugs with linkage to small interfering RNA (siRNA) against transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). The novel NP-siRNA liposomes could target THP-1-derived human macrophages that were the host cells of mycobacterium infection. ⋯ The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis data showed that there were over 40 signaling pathways involved in the proteomic responses to NP-siRNA liposome exposure in human macrophages, with 160 proteins mapped. The top five canonical signaling pathways were eukaryotic initiation factor 2 signaling, actin cytoskeleton signaling, remodeling of epithelial adherens junctions, epithelial adherens junction signaling, and Rho GDP-dissociation inhibitor signaling pathways. Collectively, the novel synthetic targeting liposomes represent a promising delivery system for anti-TB drugs to human macrophages with good selectivity and minimal cytotoxicity.