Systemic Treatment of Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer: ASCO Resource-Stratified Guideline.

Purpose: To guide clinicians and policymakers in three global resource-constrained settings on treating patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) when Maximal setting-guideline recommended treatment is unavailable.

Methods: A multidisciplinary, multinational panel reviewed existing ASCO guidelines and conducted modified ADAPTE and formal consensus processes.

Results: Four published resource-agnostic guidelines were adapted for resource-constrained settings; informing two rounds of formal consensus; recommendations received ≥75% agreement.

Pyrimidine-chloroquinoline hybrids: Synthesis and antiplasmodial activity.

Triazole tethered 7-chloroquinoline-pyrimidine-5-carboxylate hybrids were synthesized and evaluated for antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine sensitive (CQ) NF54 strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The most active hybrids of the series were further screened against the chloroquine resistant (CQ) Dd2 strain of the parasite and for in vitro cytotoxicity against mammalian Vero cell lines. Further, their physico-chemical properties, binding studies with hemin (monomeric &μ-oxo dimeric) and DNA [pUC-18, calf thymus (CT)] led us to plausible proposed binding mode of the most active member of the present series.

Improving Access to Cancer Treatments: The Role of Biosimilars.

Biologics play a key role in cancer treatment and are principal components of many therapeutic regimens. However, they require complex manufacturing processes, resulting in high cost and occasional shortages in supply. The cost of biologics limits accessibility of cancer treatment for many patients.

A Randomized Noninferiority Trial of Intravenous Iron Isomaltoside versus Oral Iron Sulfate in Patients with Nonmyeloid Malignancies and Anemia Receiving Chemotherapy: The PROFOUND Trial.

Study Objective: A safe alternative to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents to treat anemia is warranted in patients with cancer and anemia; thus the objective of this trial was to compare the efficacy and safety of intravenous (IV) iron isomaltoside with oral iron in patients with cancer and anemia by testing the noninferiority of IV versus oral iron.

Design: Phase III, prospective, open-label, comparative, randomized, noninferiority, multicenter trial.

Setting: Forty-seven hospitals or private cancer clinics in Asia, the United States, and Europe.

A probe with aggregation induced emission characteristics for screening of iodide.

The dilution controlled aggregation enhanced emission of spherically aggregated form of a triazole based probe dies down upon detecting iodide over other inorganic anions. The sensing is realised as a dynamic quenching mechanism dominated event. Being highly selective for iodide, the probe finds application in the detection of iodide in human urine.

Ferrocene-pyrimidine conjugates: Synthesis, electrochemistry, physicochemical properties and antiplasmodial activities.

The promise of hybrid antimalarial agents and the precedence set by the antimalarial drug ferroquine prompted us to design ferrocene-pyrimidine conjugates. Herein, we report the synthesis, electrochemistry and anti-plasmodial evaluation of ferrocenyl-pyrimidine conjugates against chloroquine susceptible NF54 strain of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Also their physicochemical properties have been studied.

Pyrene-based chemosens or detects picric acid upto attogram level through aggregation enhanced excimer emission.

A pyrene-based small molecular weight probe, exhibiting aggregation enhanced excimer emission has been synthesized. The crystalline emissive form detects 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (picric acid) at parts-per-billion concentration in solution and as low as 0.46 attogram in direct contact mode, operating predominantly in a static quenching mechanism, proposed on the basis of steady state and life-time fluorescence measurements.

Validation of a method to establish practice-based stroke and TIA registers.

This study compares two methods to establish stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA) practice-based registers, which are of particular relevance to practices with limited diagnostic coding. Both arms involved a notes review of all patients taking antiplatelets or anticoagulants, and, either a further notes review of all patients with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) or diabetes (extensive arm), or asking about a history of stroke or TIA during IHD or diabetic clinics (pragmatic arm). The extensive arm involved searching 11% of the practice notes, whereas the pragmatic arm only involved 3% and had almost as high a yield.

Treatment of breast cancer in countries with limited resources.

Early and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer is important for optimizing treatment. Local treatment of early stage breast cancer involves either mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery followed by whole-breast irradiation. The pathologic and biologic properties of a woman's breast cancer may be used to estimate her probability for recurrence of and death from breast cancer, as well as the magnitude of benefit she is likely to receive from adjuvant endocrine therapy or cytotoxic chemotherapy.

Diagnosis of breast cancer in countries with limited resources.

Accurate diagnosis is a necessary step in the management of breast cancer. In women with breast cancer, diagnosis can confirm the presence of the disease, reduce treatment delays, and clarify the predictive and prognostic features of the cancer, which help in planning treatment and counseling women. In women with benign breast conditions, accurate diagnosis avoids erroneous treatment for breast cancer, which can have devastating consequences for the woman and unnecessarily consumes resources.