BMC pharmacology & toxicology
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Dec 2017
The clinical efficacy of Afatinib 30 mg daily as starting dose may not be inferior to Afatinib 40 mg daily in patients with stage IV lung Adenocarcinoma harboring exon 19 or exon 21 mutations.
Afatinib is a second-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Compared to cytotoxic chemotherapy, afatinib has been shown to have better efficacy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR mutations. However, 40 mg daily as the initial dose is often accompanied by serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and 28 to 53.3% of patients required a dose reduction. No previous study has compared the clinical efficacy and ADRs of different initial doses (40 mg vs. 30 mg daily) of afatinib in lung cancer treatment. ⋯ An initial afatinib dose of 30 mg daily had similar response and progression-free survival rates as an initial dose of 40 mg daily, but resulted in fewer serious ADRs in this study.
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Dec 2017
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudyHead to head comparison of Prasugrel versus Ticagrelor in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Prasugrel and Ticagrelor are emerging antiplatelet drugs that might have the potential to replace currently used antiplatelet agents. Previous analyses comparing prasugrel with ticagrelor mainly focused on an indirect comparison whereas direct comparison was reported only in a few recently published trials. We aimed to systematically carry out a head to head comparison of the adverse clinical outcomes which were associated with prasugrel versus ticagrelor in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ⋯ In patients with ACS, both prasugrel and ticagrelor showed similar adverse cardiovascular outcomes and bleeding events. No significant difference was observed between these two newer antiplatelet agents during this head to head comparison. However, upcoming trials with long term follow up periods might be expected to completely solve this important clinical issue.
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Dec 2017
Effects of metamizole, MAA, and paracetamol on proliferation, apoptosis, and necrosis in the pancreatic cancer cell lines PaTu 8988 t and Panc-1.
Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is one of the most aggressive cancer diseases affecting the human body. Recent research has shown the importance of the perioperative phase in disease progression. Particularly during this vulnerable phase, substances such as metamizole and paracetamol are given as general anesthetics and postoperative analgesics. Therefore, the effects of metamizole and paracetamol on tumor progression should be investigated in more detail because the extent to which these substances influence the carcinogenesis of pancreatic carcinoma is still unclear. This study analyzed the influence of metamizole and its active metabolites MAA (4-N-methyl-aminoantipyrine) and paracetamol on the proliferation, apoptosis, and necrosis of the pancreatic cancer cell lines PaTu 8988t and Panc-1 in vitro. ⋯ The oncogenic potential of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is mainly characterized by its extreme growth rate. Non-opioid analgesics such as metamizole and paracetamol are given as general anesthetics and postoperative analgesics. The combination of metamizole or paracetamol with cytotoxic therapeutic approaches may achieve synergistic effects. Further studies are necessary to identify the underlying mechanisms so that new therapeutic options may be developed for the treatment of this aggressive tumor.