Introduction: Recent trial-level meta-analyses have established disease-free survival (DFS) as a valid surrogate for overall survival (OS) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer (BC), irrespective of disease stage, and in early-stage hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/HER2- BC. To advance the understanding of the association between additional DFS endpoints and OS, this study assessed the patient-level correlations between DFS and OS, invasive DFS (IDFS) and OS, and distant DFS (DDFS) and OS in Medicare beneficiaries with early-stage HER2- BC, overall and in subgroups of patients with HR+/HER2- BC and triple-negative BC (TNBC).
Methods: Patients with stages I-III HER2- BC aged ≥ 66 years were identified from SEER-Medicare data (2010-2019).
Evaluation of benefits beyond quantitative academic outputs is essential in determining translational research value. We used the Translational Science Benefits Model (TSBM) to examine the impact of the QUARTET USA trial using 30 benefits across 4 domains: Clinical, Community, Economic, and Policy. We found that the QUARTET USA trial demonstrated impact in six areas within the Clinical, and Community domains and had potential impact in two additional areas within the Community and Economic domains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: This study aimed to describe treatment patterns and quantify the economic impact of recurrence in early-stage human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer (BC).
Materials & Methods: Medicare beneficiaries with stages I-III HER2-negative BC and lumpectomy or partial/total mastectomy were identified from SEER-Medicare data (2010-2019). Perioperative therapies were reported in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting.
The photoinduced molecular reorientation of liquid crystals (LCs) caused by their nonlinear optical responses has attracted much attention due to their large refractive index change, leading to promising applications in optical devices. This reorientation is typically induced by light irradiation above a threshold intensity and is temporary, with the initial orientation recovering unless the LCs are polymerized and cross-linked. Our report highlights the memory effect of molecular reorientation in LCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Hyponatremia treatment guidelines recommend limiting the correction of severe hyponatremia during the first 24 hours to prevent osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS). Recent evidence suggests that slower rates of correction are associated with increased mortality.
Objective: To evaluate the association of sodium correction rates with mortality among hospitalized adults with severe hyponatremia.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in men and women. Its metastatic pattern is predicted depending on the location, with aggressivity and local spread more common in the mucinous types. The incidence has been higher over the last decade due to increased screening.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
November 2024
Breast and gynecologic cancers are common across the world and are associated with substantial societal and economic burden. Pembrolizumab was among the first immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting programmed cell death protein 1 to be approved for the treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial cancer. Recent clinical trials have established pembrolizumab regimens as a standard of care treatment for these tumor types.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Honduras became the first lower middle-income country (LMIC) to adopt amotosalen/UVA pathogen-reduced (PR) platelet concentrates (PCs) as a national platelet safety measure in 2018. The Honduran Red Cross (HRC) produces ~70% of the national platelet supply using the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) method. Between 2015 and 2018, PCs were screened with bacterial culture and issued as individual, non-pooled PRP units with weight-based dosing and 5-day shelf-life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: Low selectivity and high frequency of side-effects are the major problems of currently used chemotherapeutics. Among natural compounds, the polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol, guttiferone E, isolated from Brazilian red propolis, has attracted attention due to its marked anticancer properties and was evaluated here for its role against osimertinib-resistant H1975 cells (with double mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor: EGFR L858R/T790M).
Materials And Methods: Guttiferone E was obtained from red propolis using established extraction procedures.
Background: Systematic reviews (SRs) worldwide suffer from methodological deficiencies, potentially biasing intervention decisions, and Peruvian SRs are no exception. Evaluating SRs led by Peruvian researchers is a crucial step to enhance quality and transparency in decision-making and to identify topics where SRs are either scarce or prioritized for research.
Objective: To describe the characteristics and assess the methodological quality of SRs with Peruvian first authors.
Background: Hemorrhage originating from the intercavernous sinuses during transsphenoidal approaches for skull base injury is a common occurrence, but it can be easily controlled. However, in specific cases, it may necessitate suspending the surgery or result in hemodynamic instability.
Case Description: We present the case of a 7-year-old female patient who underwent transsphenoidal endoscopic endonasal for craniopharyngioma resection.
Propolis is a complex mixture formed from exudates that bees collect from plants and then mix with beeswax and their own salivary enzymes. Chilean propolis is characterized by the presence of phenolic compounds, which are considered responsible for the biological activities. The endemic species (Ruiz and Pav.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hyponatremia is a common complication following endoscopic endonasal resection (EER) of pituitary adenomas. We report a single-center, multisurgeon study detailing baseline clinical data, outcomes, and factors associated with postoperative hyponatremia.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing EER for pituitary adenoma at Tufts Medical Center.
Background: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and fecal virome transplantation (FVT, sterile filtrated donor feces) have been effective in treating recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections, possibly through bacteriophage-mediated modulation of the gut microbiome. However, challenges like donor variability, costly screening, coupled with concerns over pathogen transfer (incl. eukaryotic viruses) with FMT or FVT hinder their wider clinical application in treating less acute diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus spread by mosquitos that causes arthralgias and arthritis that may last for years. The objective of this study was to describe the arthritis progression and T cell immunology over a two-year period.
Methods: A cohort of 40 cases of serologically confirmed CHIKV from Magdalena and Atlántico, Colombia were followed in 2019 and again in 2021.
Metabolic syndrome encompasses amongst other conditions like obesity and type-2 diabetes and is associated with gut microbiome (GM) dysbiosis. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been explored to treat metabolic syndrome by restoring the GM; however, concerns on accidentally transferring pathogenic microbes remain. As a safer alternative, fecal virome transplantation (FVT, sterile-filtrated feces) has the advantage over FMT in that mainly bacteriophages are transferred.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To report an unusual absent right common carotid artery with embryological and clinical emphasis.
Methods: A 63-year-old female with a multilobulated anterior communicating artery saccular aneurysm was referred to our center for definite treatment. An analysis of her carotid system on CTA and DSA with 3D modeling was performed to assess the embryology of an absent right common carotid and its association with aneurysm development.
Background: The registry of cerebral aneurysms <5 mm, known for their low risk of rupture, is significant, given their high incidence globally. Our study aimed to identify, in small aneurysms (<5 mm), the potential morphological characteristics, risk factors that can predict the risk of rupture, and the risk or benefit of treating them with endovascular or conservative treatment in ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms.
Methods: The medical records of patients with cerebral aneurysms <5 mm were retrospectively reviewed between January 2014 and December 2022 at two neurovascular centers in Colombia.