The characteristics and outcomes of patients with multiple myeloma dual refractory or intolerant to bortezomib and lenalidomide in the era of carfilzomib and pomalidomide.

Patients with multiple myeloma who are refractory or intolerant to both bortezomib and lenalidomide have a poor prognosis. Next-generation therapies carfilzomib and pomalidomide have shown promising activity in this dual refractory population. Here we describe the clinical characteristics and ascertain the effects of carfilzomib and pomalidomide on survival in this patient cohort.

Clinical and laboratory factors associated with negative oral food challenges.

Children with food-specific IgE (FSIgE) ≤2 kUa/L to milk, egg, or peanut (or ≤5kUa/L to peanut without history of previous reaction) are appropriate candidates for oral food challenge (OFC) to investigate resolution of food allergy, because these FSIgE cutoffs are associated with ∼50% likelihood of negative OFC. This study was designed to identify characteristics of children undergoing OFC, based on these FSIgE levels, who are most likely to show negative OFC. We collected demographics, severity of previous reaction, history of atopic diseases, total IgE and FSIgE values, and skin tests results on children who underwent OFCs to milk, egg, or peanut, based on the recommended FSIgE cutoffs.

A novel technique of vascular anastomosis to prevent juxta-anastomotic stenosis following arteriovenous fistula creation.

Objectives: Juxta-anastomotic stenosis (JAS) is one of the predominant causes of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) failure, with the reported incidence as high as 65%. We hypothesized that technical modification to alter the outflow vein configuration using the novel piggyback Straight Line Onlay Technique (pSLOT) would prevent JAS and improve AVF maturation.

Methods: Intention-to-treat analysis of the outcomes of consecutive distal radiocephalic (RC) fistulas performed by a single operator with three different anastomotic techniques using a prospectively maintained database.

Lower frequency of allele loss on chromosome 18q in human breast cancer than in colorectal tumors.

Inactivation of tumor suppressor genes is thought to be a critical step in tumorigenesis. The DCC (deleted in colorectal carcinoma) gene, located on the long arm of chromosome 18, has been shown to be frequently deleted in colorectal tumors. To investigate the involvement of allelic deletions on chromosome 18q in breast cancer tumorigenesis we analyzed 28 primary breast tumors and 28 colorectal tumors (24 carcinomas, 4 adenomas) with four different polymorphic DNA markers detecting RFLPs on chromosome 18q.