Publications by authors named "Fakih M"

Importance: Serial circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a routine surveillance strategy for patients with resected colorectal cancer, but how serial ctDNA monitoring is associated with potential curative outcomes has not been formally assessed.

Objective: To examine whether there is a benefit of adding serial ctDNA assays to standard-of-care imaging surveillance for potential curative outcomes in patients with resected colorectal cancer.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this single-center (City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California), retrospective, case cohort study, patients with stage II to IV colorectal cancer underwent curative resection and were monitored with serial ctDNA assay and National Cancer Center Network (NCCN)-guided imaging surveillance from September 20, 2019, to April 3, 2024.

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Research Question: How safe and effective is transrectal oocyte retrieval (TROR) for fertility preservation in nulliparous virginal women?

Design: This was a retrospective single-centre study of 105 nulliparous women from five satellite centres of Fakih IVF, UAE, who underwent TROR for oocyte cryopreservation. Extensive bowel preparation and rectal cleansing was performed prior to oocyte retrieval. Patient characteristics, stimulation protocol, and procedure outcome and safety data were collected.

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Background: Optimizing outcomes of hospitalized patients anchors on standardizing processes in medical management, interventions to reduce the risk of decompensation, and prompt intervention when a patient decompensates.

Methods: A quality improvement initiative (optimized sepsis and respiratory compromise management, reducing health care-associated infection and medication risk, swift management of the deteriorating patient, feedback on performance, and accountability) was implemented in a multistate health system. The primary outcome was risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality.

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Background: Combination regorafenib, ipilimumab, and nivolumab (RIN) was evaluated in a phase 1 nonrandomized study (NCT04362839) of refractory microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer. Promising antitumor activity was previously reported in the non-liver metastatic (NLM) population. This updated analysis describes long-term survival outcomes in the NLM cohort and highlights durable remissions with potential cure following completion of RIN therapy.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study explored the link between a specific genetic variation (rs3804099) in a gene related to immune response and its impact on amebiasis infections in Lebanese children.
  • It included 180 participants, with 68 diagnosed with amebiasis, and utilized advanced genetic analysis methods to examine polymorphisms.
  • The findings indicated that the rare CC genotype significantly increased the risk of infection, with odds ratios showing a threefold risk compared to controls, highlighting a potential genetic factor in susceptibility to the disease.
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  • There is no agreed-upon definition of clinically meaningful outcomes in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for treating refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), despite various recommendations since 2014.
  • Many recent RCTs for oncology drug approvals fail to meet the recommended benchmarks set by organizations like ASCO and ESMO, highlighting the need for better standards.
  • Quality of life (QoL) is increasingly emphasized alongside efficacy and safety in clinical trials, with the SUNLIGHT trial showing that treatment options like FTD/TPI with bevacizumab can achieve clinically meaningful outcomes while preserving QoL.
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Objective: To determine the impact of abnormal sperm morphology of the pre-washed semen sample on the day of intrauterine insemination (IUI) on clinical pregnancy rates (CPR).

Design: Cross sectional retrospective chart review.

Setting: Academic fertility center.

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  • Recommended first and second line treatments for unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) include fluorouracil-based chemotherapy, anti-VEGF therapy, and anti-EGFR-targeted therapies, with trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) + bevacizumab (BEV) emerging as a significant third line option based on the SUNLIGHT trial results.
  • For patients who are not candidates for intensive chemotherapy due to factors like age or comorbidities, capecitabine (CAP) + BEV is typically recommended; however, FTD/TPI + BEV has shown similar outcomes in certain cases.
  • The SOLSTICE trial indicated that FTD/TPI + BE
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Background: There have been conflicting reports on the predictive impact of metastatic disease sites on the response to checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) in microsatellite instability (MSI) metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRC). Recent studies have highlighted peritoneal metastases, ascites, and liver metastases as possible indicators of resistance to CPI.

Methods: We performed a detailed analysis of high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) mCRC treated with programmed cell death (PD-1) or PD-1/cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 CPI in a single center.

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Background: Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosolized chemotherapy (PIPAC) is a novel, minimally invasive, safe, and repeatable method to treat carcinomatosis. Evidence regarding the clinical benefit (quality of life and survival) of PIPAC compared with that of conventional standard therapy (ST) is lacking.

Methods: This is the secondary analysis of the phase 1 US-PIPAC trial for refractory colorectal and appendiceal carcinomatosis.

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Biliary tract cancers are a rare diagnosis with a rising incidence. Up to 20% of patients have peritoneal metastases, resulting in symptoms of ascites, abdominal pain and potential bowel obstruction. A standard of care systemic treatment comprises gemcitabine, cisplatin and durvalumab (gem/cis/durva).

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Background: Patients with microsatellite-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancers (CRC) may experience long-lasting benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) upon stopping therapy. However, optimal timing and patient selection criteria for early treatment withdrawal remain undefined. In this single-center retrospective study, we characterized the clinical response and associated survival outcomes of patients who received elective early versus late treatment discontinuation.

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The optimal conditions of applied factors to reuse Aluminium AA6061 scraps are (450, 500, and 550) ⁰C preheating temperature, (1-15) % Boron Carbide (BC), and Zirconium (ZrO) hybrid reinforced particles at 120 min forging time via Hot Forging (HF) process. The response surface methodology (RSM) and machine learning (ML) were established for the optimisations and comparisons towards materials strength structure. The Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) strength and Microhardness (MH) were significantly increased by increasing the processed temperature and reinforced particles because of the material dispersion strengthening.

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What Is This Summary About?: This is a summary describing the results from a phase 3 clinical trial called SUNLIGHT. The study looked at treatment with orally administered trifluridine/tipiracil plus intravenously administered bevacizumab in people with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) that is refractory to treatment.This study included people whose cancer had grown or spread beyond its original location after no more than two previous treatments.

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Purpose: To provide guidance, via multidisciplinary consensus statements, on the safety interactions between systemic anticancer agents (such as radiosensitizing chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy) and transarterial radioembolization (TARE) with yttrium-90 (Y)-labeled microspheres in the treatment of primary and metastatic liver malignancies.

Materials And Methods: A literature search identified 59 references that informed 26 statements on the safety of Y TARE combined with systemic therapies. Modified Delphi method was used to develop consensus on statements through online anonymous surveys of the 12 panel members representing the fields of interventional radiology, medical oncology, surgical oncology, hepatology, and pharmacy, focusing on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), neuroendocrine tumors, metastatic breast cancer, and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

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Microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer (MSS mCRC; mismatch repair proficient) has previously responded poorly to immune checkpoint blockade. Botensilimab (BOT) is an Fc-enhanced multifunctional anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) antibody designed to expand therapy to cold/poorly immunogenic solid tumors, such as MSS mCRC. BOT with or without balstilimab (BAL; anti-PD-1 antibody) is being evaluated in an ongoing expanded phase 1 study.

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KRAS mutations contribute substantially to the overall colorectal cancer burden and have long been a focus of drug development efforts. After a lengthy preclinical road, KRAS inhibition via the G12C allele has finally become a therapeutic reality. Unlike in NSCLC, early studies of KRAS inhibitors in CRC struggled to demonstrate single agent activity.

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Background: POLE and POLD1 proofreading deficiency (POLE/D1pd) define a rare subtype of ultramutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC; over 100 mut/Mb). Disease-specific data about the activity and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in POLE/D1pd mCRC are lacking and it is unknown whether outcomes may be different from mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) mCRCs treated with ICIs.

Patients And Methods: In this global study, we collected 27 patients with mCRC harboring POLE/D1 mutations leading to proofreading deficiency and treated with anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1 alone +/- anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 agents.

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Background: The phase 1b KEYNOTE-651 study evaluated pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in microsatellite stable or mismatch repair-proficient metastatic colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients with microsatellite stable or mismatch repair-proficient metastatic colorectal cancer received pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks plus 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin (previously untreated; cohort B) or 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan (previously treated with fluoropyrimidine plus oxaliplatin; cohort D) every 2 weeks. Primary end point was safety; investigator-assessed objective response rate per RECIST v1.

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Background: Nintedanib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with efficacy in bevacizumab-resistant colorectal cancer models. This phase I/II study evaluated the recommended phase II dose and efficacy of nintedanib and capecitabine in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.

Methods: Key eligibility criteria included refractory metastatic colorectal cancer and ECOG performance status of 1 or lower.

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Aortic stenosis is the most common heart valve disease, especially among the elderly. Symptomatic aortic valve stenosis is linked to a poor prognosis and a high mortality rate if left untreated. The only effective treatment for severe symptomatic aortic stenosis is aortic valve replacement using either a mechanical or a biological prosthesis.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The KEYNOTE-651 study assessed the combination of pembrolizumab and binimetinib, with or without chemotherapy, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that was microsatellite stable/mismatch repair-proficient.
  • - Cohorts showed varying levels of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), with the most significant occurring in cohort C at 33%, leading to a halt in dose escalation for that group and a dose reduction in cohort E.
  • - Overall, the study found binimetinib combined with pembrolizumab was tolerable in cohort A, but the objective response rates were low across all cohorts, with no significant additional benefit from adding binimetinib to pembrolizumab.
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