Phase II Trial of Carfilzomib Plus Irinotecan in Patients With Small-cell Lung Cancer Who Have Progressed on Prior Platinum-based Chemotherapy.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of carfilzomib plus irinotecan (C/I) in patients with relapsed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Patients And Methods: Patients with SCLC who progressed after 1 platinum-containing regimen for recurrent or metastatic disease were eligible. Patients were stratified as: sensitive (SS) (progressive disease > 90 days after chemotherapy) or refractory (RS) (progressive disease 30 to 90 days after chemotherapy) and received up to 6 cycles of C/I; imaging was performed every 2 cycles.

Impact of initial imaging with gallium-68 dotatate PET/CT on diagnosis and management of patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Background: Somatostatin analog functional imaging with gallium-68 (Ga-68) dotatate positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has demonstrated superiority in lesion detection in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The clinical impact of this imaging modality on US surgical and medical oncology practices has not been established.

Methods: Consecutive patients with NET at our institution who received an initial Ga-68 dotatate PET/CT between July 2017 and September 2018 were included.

Protein phosphatase 1 β paralogs encode the zebrafish myosin phosphatase catalytic subunit.

Background: The myosin phosphatase is a highly conserved regulator of actomyosin contractility. Zebrafish has emerged as an ideal model system to study the in vivo role of myosin phosphatase in controlling cell contractility, cell movement and epithelial biology. Most work in zebrafish has focused on the regulatory subunit of the myosin phosphatase called Mypt1.

The impact of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy on perioperative outcomes, tumor pathology, and survival in clinical stage II and III esophageal cancer.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCR) on perioperative outcomes, tumor pathology, and survival following surgical resection of clinical stage II and III esophageal cancer.

Methods: Patients undergoing esophagectomy for clinical stage II and III cancer were divided into two groups: those who received NCR and those who underwent primary surgery (1991-2011).

Results: A total of 173 (50.

Validation of the severity index by cardiac catheterization and Doppler echocardiography in patients with aortic sclerosis and stenosis.

The severity index is a new echocardiographic measure that is thought to be an accurate indicator of aortic leaflet pathology in patients with AS. However, it has not been validated against cardiac catheterization or Doppler echocardiographic measures of AS severity nor has it been applied to patients with aortic sclerosis. The purposes of this study were to compare the severity index to invasive hemodynamics and Doppler echocardiography across the spectrum of calcific aortic valve disease, including aortic sclerosis and AS.

Chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer.

The past decade has seen a significant survival improvement for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, fueled in large part by the arrival of active novel chemotherapeutic drugs and their incorporation into combination regimens. Several randomized trials have successfully integrated oxaliplatin and irinotecan into previously existing 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based regimens for advanced colorectal cancer, resulting in median survivals that have risen from 9 months to almost 2 years. Even as the ideal combinations and sequences of these regimens are elucidated, targeted therapies such as recently approved bevacizumab and cetuximab have been added to treatment protocols, with favorable consequences.

Association between progression of aortic valve calcification and coronary calcification: assessment by electron beam tomography.

Rationale And Objectives: It has been demonstrated that aortic valve calcification (AVC) shares many similarities with coronary atherosclerosis, including risk factors and pathologic characteristics. We sought to examine the relationship of AVC to coronary artery calcification (CC), to assess whether similar risk factors affect the process in a similar way.

Materials And Methods: The study included 620 asymptomatic persons (513 men and 107 women, mean age 59 years range [30-82]) who underwent two consecutive electron beam tomography (EBT) scans at least 1 year apart (mean 3.

Usefulness of aortic valve calcium scores by electron beam computed tomography as a marker for aortic stenosis.

This study was undertaken to determine whether aortic valve calcium (AVC) scores measured by electron beam tomography can identify patients with echocardiographically defined aortic stenosis. Electron beam tomography is increasingly being used to detect coronary artery calcium. AVC can also be measured on electron beam tomographic (EBT) scans obtained to screen for coronary calcium.