Coronavirus disease 2019 and cardiovascular system: A narrative review.

At the end of 2019, a viral pneumonia disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2), emerged in Wuhan, China. This novel disease rapidly spread at an alarming rate that as a result, it has now been declared pandemic by the World Health Organization. Although this infective disease is mostly characterized by respiratory tract symptoms, increasing numbers of evidence had shown considerable amounts of patients with cardiovascular involvements and these were associated with higher mortality among COVID-19 patients.

Phase II Study of Dovitinib in Patients Progressing on Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Therapy.

Background: Prior work identified the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) pathway as a mediator of resistance to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy. We tested dovitinib, an inhibitor of both FGF and VEGF receptors, in patients progressing on anti-VEGF treatment.

Methods: Patients with measurable advanced colorectal or non-small cell lung cancer with progression despite anti-VEGF treatment within 56 days, good performance status and adequate organ function were eligible.

Long-Term Progression-Free Survival in a Patient with Locally Advanced, Unresectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is amongst the most lethal malignancies with dismal five-year survival rates. Surgical excision is the mainstay of therapy and unresectable disease is considered incurable. Herein, we describe a patient with unresectable, advanced stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma with a remarkable clinical course following definitive chemoradiotherapy.

Pharmacodynamic separation of gemcitabine and erlotinib in locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer: therapeutic and biomarker results.

Purpose: Erlotinib marginally improves survival when administered continuously with gemcitabine to patients with advanced pancreatic cancer; however, preclinical data suggest that there is antagonism between chemotherapy and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors when these are delivered concurrently. We tested a pharmacodynamic separation approach for erlotinib plus gemcitabine and interrogated EGFR signaling intermediates as potential surrogates for the efficacy of this strategy.

Methods: Patients with measurable, previously untreated locally advanced unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer were treated with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m(2) as an intravenous infusion over 30-min on days 1, 8, 15 and erlotinib 150 mg/day on days 2-5, 9-12, 16-26 of each 28-day cycle.

Escalating weekly doses of cetuximab and correlation with skin toxicity: a phase I study.

Background: Cetuximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The recommended dosage is an initial load of 400 mg/m² intravenously (IV) followed by a weekly maintenance dose of 250 mg/m². It has been reported retrospectively that cetuximab efficacy was correlated with dose-related severity of skin rash.

A phase II study of lapatinib in patients with advanced biliary tree and hepatocellular cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the response to lapatinib, an inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptors 1 and 2, in patients with advanced bilary tree cancer (BTC) and hepatocellular cancer (HCC).

Methods: Lapatinib was dosed at 1,500 mg/day orally continuously.

Results: Fifty-seven patients were accrued (BTC 17, HCC 40).

Population-based phase I trial of irinotecan and epirubicin.

Objectives: Preclinical studies have demonstrated anticancer synergism with the combination of inhibitors of topoisomerases I and II. A population-based phase I trial was conducted to determine a population-based maximum tolerated dose (pMTD) for combining 2 topoisomerase inhibitors, irinotecan and epirubicin.

Methods: Two cohorts of patients with advanced solid tumors were enrolled: 27 patients had and 22 patients had not received prior chemotherapy.

Phase III randomized, intergroup trial assessing imatinib mesylate at two dose levels in patients with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors expressing the kit receptor tyrosine kinase: S0033.

Purpose: To assess potential differences in progression-free or overall survival when imatinib mesylate is administered to patients with incurable gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) at a standard dose (400 mg daily) versus a high dose (400 mg twice daily).

Patients And Methods: Patients with metastatic or surgically unresectable GIST were eligible for this phase III open-label clinical trial. At registration, patients were randomly assigned to either standard or high-dose imatinib, with close interval follow-up.

Phase I study of two different schedules of bortezomib and pemetrexed in advanced solid tumors with emphasis on non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: Bortezomib and pemetrexed are approved anticancer agents with non-overlapping mechanisms of action and toxicity. We examined the safety and tolerability of pemetrexed in combination with two different schedules of bortezomib in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Methods: Two separate dose-escalating arms (arm A and arm B) were conducted simultaneously.

A phase II study of paclitaxel, carboplatin, and radiation with or without surgery for esophageal cancer.

Background: Cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has been a standard treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer. However, cisplatin is associated with significant toxicity. We conducted a phase II clinical trial of concurrent paclitaxel, carboplatin, and radiation with or without surgery as an alternative to the standard cisplatin-based CRT for localized and metastatic esophageal cancer.

Phase III trial of fluorouracil-based chemotherapy regimens plus radiotherapy in postoperative adjuvant rectal cancer: GI INT 0144.

Purpose: Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after or before resection of high-risk rectal cancer improves overall survival (OS) and pelvic control. We studied three postoperative fluorouracil (FU) radiochemotherapy regimens.

Patients And Methods: After resection of T3-4, N0, M0 or T1-4, N1, 2M0 rectal adenocarcinoma, 1,917 patients were randomly assigned to arm 1, with bolus FU in two 5-day cycles every 28 days before and after radiotherapy (XRT) plus FU via protracted venous infusion (PVI) 225 mg/m2/d during XRT; arm 2 (PVI-only arm), with PVI 42 days before and 56 days after XRT + PVI; or arm 3 (bolus-only arm), with bolus FU + leucovorin (LV) in two 5-day cycles before and after XRT, plus bolus FU + LV (levamisole was administered each cycle before and after XRT).

Phase II trial of R115777 (NSC #70818) in patients with advanced colorectal cancer: a Southwest Oncology Group study.

Purpose: The purpose of this Phase II multi-institutional trial was to determine the efficacy and toxicity of R115777 in previously untreated patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: Patients were required to have histologically confirmed colorectal cancer with distant metastatic disease that was not surgically curable. They could not have received prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease.

An evaluation of barriers to accrual in the era of legislation requiring insurance coverage of cancer clinical trial costs in California.

Purpose: Clinical trials are essential to improve cancer therapy, but only 3% of newly diagnosed adult cancer patients enroll annually. We previously conducted a prospective analysis of factors affecting trial accrual at the UC Davis Cancer Center between 1997 and 2000. It was found that the accrual rate was 14% and that patients with private insurance were significantly less likely than patients with government insurance to enroll, suggesting that fear of insurance denial was a barrier.

Population-based maximum tolerated dose of irinotecan and carboplatin.

A novel schema of intrapatient dose escalation was applied to determine a population-based maximum tolerated dose (pMTD) for irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar) and carboplatin (Paraplatin) in a phase I trial. A total of 74 patients with advanced solid tumors were enrolled with the following characteristics: men/women, 46/28; median age, 61 years; 51 patients with and 23 patients without prior chemotherapy; performance status of 0-1 (93%) and 2 (7%). Patients were started at dose level 1 with irinotecan at 200 mg/m2, and carboplatin at an area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of 5 mg/mL x min, administered every 21 days.

Phase I trial of gemcitabine and paclitaxel in advanced solid tumors.

Purpose: Gemcitabine and paclitaxel are chemotherapeutic agents with clinical antitumor activity in a broad range of malignant solid tumors. Because of preclinical synergy, unique mechanisms of action and resistance, and nonoverlapping toxicities, gemcitabine and paclitaxel combinations are attractive for testing in clinical trials. Prior weekly gemcitabine and paclitaxel regimens administered on a 28-day cycle have been limited by cumulative hematological toxicity on day 15, thus reducing the planned gemcitabine dose intensity.

Premedication strategy for weekly paclitaxel.

Purpose: Dexamethasone and histamine antagonists have been employed commonly as premedications for prophylaxis of hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) to paclitaxel. Frequent premedications for weekly administration of paclitaxel are associated with added side-effects and extra cost. We analyzed our experience of HSRs to paclitaxel administered every 3-4 weeks, and designed a treatment algorithm to eliminate premedications in a majority of patients receiving weekly paclitaxel.