Efficacy, Toxicity, and Pharmacokinetics of Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy Versus Intravenous Chemotherapy for Retinoblastoma in Animal Models and Patients.

Purpose: Through controlled comparative rabbit experiments and parallel patient studies, our purpose was to understand mechanisms underlying differences in efficacy and toxicity between intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) and intravenous chemotherapy (IVC).

Methods: In rabbits, ocular tissue drug levels were measured following IAC and IVC. Retinal toxicity was assessed using electroretinography, fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography.

The tumor microenvironment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance: a perplex relationship.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers with a high mortality rate even among patients with early-stage disease. Although recent studies with novel therapeutic approaches have led to modest improvement in survival outcomes, limited progress is achieved for the use of immunotherapeutics in this challenging cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, thus far, single-agent or in combination, have not yielded significant improvement in survival outcomes except in mismatch repair-deficient pancreatic cancer.

Rabbit Model of Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy Toxicity Demonstrates Retinopathy and Vasculopathy Related to Drug and Dose, Not Procedure or Approach.

Purpose: To use our intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) rabbit model to assess the impact of IAC procedure, drug, dose, and choice of technique on ocular structure and function, to study the nature and etiology of IAC toxicity, and to compare to observations in patients.

Methods: Rabbits received IAC melphalan (0.4-0.

Metastases and death rates after primary enucleation of unilateral retinoblastoma in the USA 2007-2017.

Background/aims: Enucleation for retinoblastoma is performed less often in the past decade due to increasingly widespread alternative therapies, but enucleation remains an important option. There is a paucity of reports on the current incidence of metastases and metastatic deaths in unilateral retinoblastoma from US centres.

Methods: Retrospective chart review at five tertiary retinoblastoma centres in the USA for unilateral retinoblastoma patients treated with primary enucleation, 2007-2017, with 1 year of follow-up or treatment failure.

The Ephrin-A1/EPHA2 Signaling Axis Regulates Glutamine Metabolism in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer.

Dysregulation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) contributes to cellular transformation and cancer progression by disrupting key metabolic signaling pathways. The EPHA2 RTK is overexpressed in aggressive forms of breast cancer, including the HER2(+) subtype, and correlates with poor prognosis. However, the role of EPHA2 in tumor metabolism remains unexplored.

y+ cationic amino acid transport of arginine in packed red blood cells.

Background: Transfusion of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) is associated with morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms are not fully understood. Packed red blood cells deplete extracellular arginine and possess transporters for arginine, an amino acid essential for normal immunity.