Publications by authors named "Amberly Brown"

Purpose: Vitamin D analogues remodel the desmoplastic stroma, and improve vascularity and efficacy of chemotherapy in preclinical pancreas cancer models.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of the vitamin D analogue paricalcitol in combination with nanoliposomal irinotecan (Nal-iri) plus 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV) in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who had progressed on gemcitabine-based therapy. Two dose levels (DL) of paricalcitol were tested: fixed dose weekly (75 mcg, DL1) and weight-based weekly (7 mcg/kg, /DL2).

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Article Synopsis
  • Targeting focal adhesion kinase (FAK) with the drug defactinib, combined with gemcitabine and pembrolizumab, shows promise in treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in a multi-center phase I study.* -
  • The study involved two phases: one to determine the optimal dosage and another to treat patients with either refractory or stable PDAC, where an 80% disease control rate was observed among those with refractory disease.* -
  • Preliminary results indicate the treatment combination is well-tolerated and shows potential efficacy, suggesting future studies may benefit from using stronger chemotherapy agents alongside it.*
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  • The study explored combining levocetirizine, a second-generation antihistamine with anti-inflammatory properties, with capecitabine and bevacizumab to tackle resistance in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients.
  • Patients in a phase II trial received this combination, aiming to measure progression-free survival (PFS) and assess cytokine levels in relation to treatment response.
  • Results showed no significant difference in PFS between treatment groups, with median progression times of 3.4 months and 3.5 months for the two arms, indicating that levocetirizine did not improve outcomes in mCRC resistant to anti-angiogenic therapy.
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Background: Treatment options for patients with refractory colorectal cancer are limited and typically provide a chance of only modest benefit. The goal of this study was to evaluate the benefit of inhibiting the JAK/STAT inflammatory pathway with single agent pacritinib in patients with metastatic refractory colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Methods: A single arm institutional trial was initiated and enrolled patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to at least two standard lines of treatment.

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Objective: Examine the efficacy of armodafinil in improving cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Background: Many patients with MS experience cognitive difficulties. Armodafinil has shown promise as a cognitive enhancer in other patient populations.

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