Publications by authors named "Meers S"
Article Synopsis
- Magnesium (Mg) alloys, particularly those with gadolinium, are emerging as promising materials for temporary bone implants due to their biocompatibility and mechanical properties, presenting a potential replacement for traditional titanium and stainless-steel implants.
- A study involving rat tibias over various time periods (10, 20, and 32 weeks) used advanced imaging techniques to evaluate the implants' degradation behavior and their integration with bone tissues.
- Results indicate that the Mg-xGd implants not only form a stable degradation layer and support bone remodeling similar to titanium but also do not accumulate harmful levels of Mg or Gd in organs, making them suitable for use in bone repair.
Article Synopsis
- The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected individuals with hematological malignancies due to their weakened immune systems, resulting in higher mortality rates and severe outcomes.
- Data from the EPICOVIDEHA registry, which compiles COVID-19 cases from these patients worldwide, was collected from 2020 to 2022, including 8,767 cases from 152 centers across 41 countries.
- Findings show a significant drop in critical infections and overall mortality rates, but hospitalization (especially in ICU) remains a serious risk factor; vaccination is linked to better survival outcomes, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring and support for these patients.
Despite the motivation of oncology patients to take part in clinical trials, only a minority of them are enrolled in clinical trials. Implementation of new practical procedures can become a barrier that withholds patients from participating in clinical trials. Treating physicians are crucial in augmenting trial accrual.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sabatolimab is an immunotherapy targeting T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-3 (TIM-3), an immuno-myeloid regulator expressed on immune cells and leukaemic stem cells. In this trial, we compared the efficacy and safety of sabatolimab plus hypomethylating agent with placebo plus hypomethylating agents in previously untreated patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.
Methods: STIMULUS-MDS1 was a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 study done at 54 investigational sites in 17 countries.
Patients affected by multiple myeloma (MM) have an increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and subsequent coronavirus (20)19 disease (COVID-19)-related death. The changing epidemiological and therapeutic scenarios suggest that there has been an improvement in severity and survival of COVID-19 during the different waves of the pandemic in the general population, but this has not been investigated yet in MM patients. Here we analyzed a large cohort of 1221 patients with MM and confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection observed between February 2020, and August 2022, in the EPICOVIDEHA registry from 132 centers around the world.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an overall improvement in patient mortality. However, haematological malignancy patients continue to experience significant impacts from COVID-19, including high rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mortality. In comparison to other haematological malignancy patients, individuals with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) generally have better prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Elderly patients with hematologic malignancies face the highest risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. The infection's impact on different age groups remains unstudied in detail.
Methods: We analyzed elderly patients (age groups: 65-70, 71-75, 76-80, and >80 years old) with hematologic malignancies included in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between January 2020 and July 2022.
Introduction: Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir are antivirals used to prevent progression to severe SARS-CoV-2 infections and decrease hospitalisation and mortality rates. Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was authorised in Europe in December 2021, whereas molnupiravir is not yet licensed in Europe as of February 2022. Molnupiravir may be an alternative to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir because it is associated with fewer drug-drug interactions and contraindications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with myelodysplastic syndromes suffer from an impaired quality of life that is only partially explained by physical symptoms. In an observational study, we aimed to investigate the impact of current MDS treatments and the influence of disease perception on quality of life. Serial measurement of health-related quality of life was performed by 'the QUALMS', a validated MDS-specific patient reported outcome tool.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment decreases the hospitalisation rate in immunocompetent patients with COVID-19, but data on efficacy in patients with haematological malignancy are scarce. Here, we describe the outcome of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment in a large cohort of the latter patients.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study from the multicentre EPICOVIDEHA registry (NCT04733729) on patients with haematological malignancy, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between January and September 2022.
Background: Patients with Philadelphia-negative chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) typically incur high rates of infections and both drugs and comorbidities may modulate infection risk.
Objectives: The present study aims to assess the effect of immunosuppressive agents on clinical outcomes of MPN patients affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Design: This is an observational study.
Background: The outcome of patients with simultaneous diagnosis of haematological malignancies (HM) and COVID-19 is unknown and there are no specific treatment guidelines. Methods: We describe the clinical features and outcome of a cohort of 450 patients with simultaneous diagnosis of HM and COVID-19 registered in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between March 2020 to February 2022. Results: Acute leukaemia and lymphoma were the most frequent HM (35.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- * The study noted that only 16.2% of the patients were vaccinated with two or more doses prior to COVID-19 diagnosis, and vaccination status was linked to lower mortality rates.
- * Key risk factors for increased mortality included older age, active malignancy, severe COVID-19 symptoms, and ICU admission, with additional findings showing no significant difference in survival rates between NHL and CLL patients.
The multicenter observational BiRD study investigated the real-world effectiveness and safety of ibrutinib in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) in Belgium. This interim analysis reports results for patients with CLL, with a median follow-up of 34 months. Overall, patients had predominantly relapsed/refractory disease (73%) and were elderly (median age 72 years) with high-risk features such as del17p and/or TP53 mutations (59%).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- * The Omicron variant was the most common strain detected (68.7%), with a notable 9% mortality rate within 30 days of diagnosis, which is lower compared to the pre-vaccine era's 31%.
- * Factors like older age, active HM, and severe COVID-19 increased mortality, while treatment with monoclonal antibodies reduced the death rate, demonstrating that even vaccinated patients with HM remain at significant risk for severe outcomes.
Purpose: To report a case of bilateral Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH)-like granulomatous pan uveitis secondary to brentuximab vedotin (BV) administration to treat for classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL).
Observations: A case of bilateral pan uveitis is described, following administration of BV, with features of VKH-like uveitis: presence of inflammatory cells in the anterior and posterior segment, multiple small serous detachments around the optic disc and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) folds confirmed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) as well as hypocyanesent dark dots, disc hyperfluorescence and fuzzy vascular patterns seen on indocyanine green and fluorescein angiography. There were no systemic features of VKH disease.
Background: Patients with hematological malignancies (HM) are at high risk of mortality from SARS-CoV-2 disease 2019 (COVID-19). A better understanding of risk factors for adverse outcomes may improve clinical management in these patients. We therefore studied baseline characteristics of HM patients developing COVID-19 and analyzed predictors of mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour species of Limonius wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae), L. californicus, L. canus, L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFData on clinical use of ponatinib are limited. This prospective registry aimed to evaluate outcomes of ponatinib treatment in routine practice over 3 years (2016-2019) in Belgium (NCT03678454). Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were treated with ponatinib per current label.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF