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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Over the last several years, many advances have been made in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with the development of direct-acting antivirals. Paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir with dasabuvir (PrOD) is a novel combination of a nonstructural (NS) 3/4A protein inhibitor boosted by ritonavir, an NS5A protein inhibitor, and an NS5B nonnucleoside polymerase inhibitor. This review aims to discuss the pharmacology, efficacy, safety, drug interactions, and viral drug resistance of PrOD in the treatment of HCV genotype 1 infections. ⋯ Additionally, promising data exist for the use of PrOD in liver-transplant recipients. The most common adverse drug events associated with PrOD included nausea, pruritus, insomnia, diarrhea, asthenia, dry skin, vomiting, and anemia. The high efficacy rates seen coupled with a favorable side effect profile seen with PrOD with or without ribavirin have led to its addition as a recommended treatment regimen for HCV genotype 1 infection.
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Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. Many approved therapies often do not achieve durable responses in patients. ⋯ Immune checkpoints offer a molecular target for modulating the immune response and a promising therapeutic target in metastatic melanoma. Here we discuss the recent approval of pembrolizumab by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and its impact on future management of the disease.
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Isoniazid (INH) is an essential component of first-line anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment. However, treatment with INH is complicated by polymorphisms in the expression of the enzyme system primarily responsible for its elimination, N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), and its associated hepatotoxicity. The objective of this study was to develop an individualized INH dosing regimen using a pharmacogenetic-driven model and to apply this regimen in a pilot study. ⋯ The use of individualized pharmacogenetic-guided INH dosage regimens that incorporate NAT2 genotype and body weight may help to ensure achievement of therapeutic concentrations of INH in the TB patients.
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We reported a 1-1-12 wash-in scheme for desflurane-nitrous oxide (N2O) low flow anesthesia that is simple, rapid, and predictable. There remain some situations where N2O should be avoided, which limits the generalizability of this wash-in scheme. The objective of our study was to determine the performance of this scheme in contexts where N2O is not used. ⋯ Performance of the 1-1-12 wash-in scheme is independent of the use of N2O. Respective FADs of 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, and 7% can be expected at 0.6, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 6 minutes.