HLA DQA1*05 and risk of anti-TNF treatment failure and anti-drug antibody development in children with Crohn's Disease: HLA DQA1*05 and Pediatric Crohn's Disease.

Objectives: HLA DQA1*05 has been associated with the development of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) to tumor necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) and treatment failure among adults with Crohn's disease (CD). However, findings from other studies have been inconsistent with limited pediatric data.

Methods: We analyzed banked serum from patients with CD < 21 years of age enrolled in COMBINE, a multi-center, prospective randomized trial of anti-TNF monotherapy vs.

Low Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Levels During Maintenance Phase Are Associated With Treatment Failure in Children With Crohn's Disease.

Background: Higher drug levels and combination therapy with low-dose oral methotrexate (LD-MTX) may reduce anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment failure in pediatric Crohn's disease. We sought to (1) evaluate whether combination therapy with LD-MTX was associated with higher anti-TNF levels, (2) evaluate associations between anti-TNF levels and subsequent treatment failure, and (3) explore the effect of combination therapy on maintenance of remission among patients with therapeutic drug levels (>5 µg/mL for infliximab and >7.5 µg/mL for adalimumab).

Travel Time to Treating Center is Associated With Diagnostic Delay in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background & Aims: Delayed diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) leads to prolonged symptoms and worse long-term outcomes. We sought to evaluate whether race, ethnicity, disease type, and social factors are associated with delayed diagnosis of pediatric IBD.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of newly diagnosed pediatric patients with IBD at 22 United States sites from 2019 to 2022.

Novel Combination Treatment for Melanoma: FLASH Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy Delivered by a Radiopaque and Radiation Responsive Hydrogel.

Immunotherapies have become the standard treatment for melanoma. To further improve patient responses, combinations of immunotherapies and radiotherapy (RT) are being studied, since radiotherapies can potentially provide additional immune stimulation, in addition to direct antitumor effects. FLASH-RT is a novel, ultrahigh dose rate, radiation delivery approach, with the potential of at least equivalent tumor control efficacy and reduced damage to healthy tissue.