Transabdominal motor evoked potential neuromonitoring of lumbosacral spine surgery.

Background Context: Transcranial Motor Evoked Potentials (TcMEPs) can improve intraoperative detection of femoral plexus and nerve root injury during lumbosacral spine surgery. However, even under ideal conditions, TcMEPs are not completely free of false-positive alerts due to the immobilizing effect of general anesthetics, especially in the proximal musculature. The application of transcutaneous stimulation to activate ventral nerve roots directly at the level of the conus medularis (bypassing the brain and spinal cord) has emerged as a method to potentially monitor the motor component of the femoral plexus and lumbosacral nerves free from the blunting effects of general anesthesia.

Prospective Randomized Trial of Docetaxel Versus Best Supportive Care in Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Previously Treated With Platinum-Based Chemotherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate whether treatment with single-agent docetaxel would result in longer survival than would best supportive care in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who had previously been treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Secondary end points included assessment of response (docetaxel arm only), toxicity, and quality of life.

Unlabelled: PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with performance statuses of 0 to 2 and stage IIIB/IV non-small-cell lung cancer with either measurable or evaluable lesions were eligible for entry onto the study if they had undergone one or more platinum-based chemotherapy regimens and if they had adequate hematology and biochemistry parameters.

Nanoparticle Albumin-bound Paclitaxel Plus Carboplatin Induction Followed by Nanoparticle Albumin-bound Paclitaxel Maintenance in Squamous Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer (ABOUND.sqm): A Phase III Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: We evaluated maintenance nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab) paclitaxel in the treatment of advanced squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients with treatment-naive squamous non-small-cell lung cancer received four 21-day cycles of nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m on days 1, 8, 15 plus carboplatin area under the curve 6 on day 1 as induction therapy. Patients without disease progression after induction were randomized 2:1 to maintenance nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m (days 1 and 8 every 21 days) plus best supportive care (BSC) or BSC alone.

The Role of Fibrinogen-Like Protein 2 on Immunosuppression and Malignant Progression in Glioma.

Background: Virtually all low-grade gliomas (LGGs) will progress to high-grade gliomas (HGGs), including glioblastoma, the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults. A key regulator of immunosuppression, fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2), may play an important role in the malignant transformation of LGG to HGG. We sought to determine the mechanism of FGL2 on tumor progression and to show that inhibiting FGL2 expression had a therapeutic effect.

-paclitaxel/carboplatin induction in squamous NSCLC: longitudinal quality of life while on chemotherapy.

Background: Longitudinal data on the impact of treatment on quality of life (QoL) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are limited. In this palliative setting, treatment that does not deteriorate QoL is key. Here we report longitudinal QoL in patients with squamous NSCLC, receiving ≤4 cycles of -paclitaxel/carboplatin combination chemotherapy.