Combination Therapy

BACKGROUND: More than half of neuroendocrine tumor (NET) patients will experience liver metastasis, and interventional therapy represented by transarterial embolization (TAE) is the main local treatment method. Surufatinib is recommended as a standard systemic treatment for advanced NETs. The efficacy and safety of surufatinib combined with TAE in the treatment of liver metastasis are undetermined. This study was conducted to compare the clinical outcome of surufatinib combined with TAE versus surufatinib monotherapy in liver metastatic NETs...

BACKGROUND: Histological transformation (HT) to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a common complication of follicular lymphoma (FL) and is usually associated with a dismal outcome. However, the survival rate of these patients has improved over the last 20 years with the introduction of rituximab. This study aimed to access the outcome of transformation to DLBCL (t-DLBCL) from FL in a retrospective series that began after the widespread use of rituximab use. In addition, we also compared survival between t-DLBCL and primary DLBCL (p-DLBCL) in the same timeframe...

BACKGROUND: There is a growing, global awareness and recognition of the important, interdependent relationships between our natural world and human health. Several contemporary health organizations have placed calls to action and emphasize an urgent need for collaboration and interdisciplinary research, education, and clinical work to address the increasing degradation of our planetary and human health. With more research dedicated to nature's health impacts, health professions schools would benefit by including such training in their programs while also cultivating a comprehensive mind-body health perspective to support both the health of student practitioners and their future patients...

3D polymerase, also known as RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, is encoded by all known picornaviruses, and their structures are highly conserved. In the process of picornavirus replication, 3D polymerase facilitates the assembly of replication complexes and directly catalyzes the synthesis of viral RNA. The nuclear localization signal carried by picornavirus 3D polymerase, combined with its ability to interact with other viral proteins, viral RNA and cellular proteins, indicate that its noncatalytic role is equally important in viral infections...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Vitamin E is widely prescribed for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Saroglitazar, a novel dual peroxisome proliferator-activator receptor ɑ/γ agonist, is approved in India for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). No head-to-head comparative study for vitamin E and saroglitazar is available. We studied the efficacy and safety of saroglitazar and vitamin E in NAFLD/NASH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively randomised 175 NAFLD patients into four arms as Saroglitazar 4 mg daily alone (n = 44), vitamin E 800IU daily alone (n = 41), vitamin E and saroglitazar combination (n = 47), and control arm (n = 43)...

BACKGROUND: Injectable cabotegravir (CAB)/rilpivirine (RPV) is the only combination long-acting (LA) antiretroviral regimen approved for HIV. RPV may not be effective among individuals with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) resistance, which has >10% prevalence in many countries. Lenacapavir (LEN) is an LA capsid inhibitor given every 6 months, but has not been studied in combination with other LA agents. METHODS: We assembled a case series from 4 US academic medical centers where patients with adherence challenges were prescribed LEN subcutaneously every 26 weeks/CAB (+/- RPV) intramuscularly every 4 or 8 weeks...

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen-presenting cells that are crucial for maintaining self-tolerance, initiating immune responses against pathogens, and patrolling body compartments. Despite promising aspects, DC-based immunotherapy faces challenges that include limited availability, immune escape in tumors, immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, and the need for effective combination therapies. A further limitation in DC-based immunotherapy is the low population of migratory DC (around 5%-10%) that migrate to lymph nodes (LNs) through afferent lymphatics depending on the LN draining site...

Paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors which overproduce catecholamines (CAs). They are extra-adrenal, catecholamine-secreting tumors occurring outside the adrenal glands. Gastric PGLs originating from extra-adrenal paraganglia are exceptionally rare, and their presentation in geriatric patients further adds to the complexity of diagnosis and management. A 72-year-old male patient presented with enduring left upper abdominal pain and anemia persisting for over a year, and hypertension for six months...

BACKGROUND: The first phase of the GAIL study ("Girls treated with an Aromatase Inhibitor and Leuprorelin," ISRCTN11469487) has shown that the combination of anastrozole and leuprorelin for 24 months is safe and effective in improving the predicted adult height (PAH) in girls with early puberty and compromised growth prediction by +1.21 standard deviation score (SDS; +7.51 cm) compared to inhibition of puberty alone, +0.31 SDS (+1.92 cm). OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES: In the second phase of the GAIL study, we assessed the adult height (AH)/near-adult height (NAH) at the end of the first phase and, in addition, the efficacy of anastrozole monotherapy thereafter in further improving NAH...

Clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) can occur in young people and could be associated with an aggressive behavior. While for the first-line treatment in metastatic disease, there is an agreement to rely on an immunotherapy (IO)-based combination regimen, no standard second-line regimens exist. Generally, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are employed, even in sequence, although no trials have demonstrated yet the best succession. Herein, we present the case of a 39-year-old male, with a very aggressive ccRCC with somatic VHL mutation and distant metastases at diagnosis...

INTRODUCTION: Smoking cessation is the best strategy for reducing tobacco-related morbimortality. The goal of this randomized controlled trial was to test whether using the genetically favorable markers to choose a smoking cessation drug treatment (precision medicine) was superior to using the most effective drug (varenicline) in terms of abstinence rates. Additionally, combination therapy was tested when monotherapy failed. METHODS: This partially blind, single-center study randomized (1:1) 361 participants into two major groups...

The low incidence of combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA) is an important factor limiting research progression. Our study extensively included nearly three decades of relevant literature and assembled the most comprehensive database comprising 5,742 patients with cHCC-CCA. We summarized the characteristics, tumor markers, and clinical features of these patients. Additionally, we present the evolution of cHCC-CCA classification and explain the underlying rationale for these classification standards...

Advanced stages of breast cancer are frequently complicated by bone metastases, which cause significant cancer-related bone destruction and mortality. However, the early precise theranostics of bone metastasis remains a formidable challenge in clinical practice. Herein,a novel all-in-one nanotheranostic system (ABI NYs) combining NIR-II FL/PA dual-modal imaging with photothermal-immunity therapeutic functionalities in one component was designed to precisely localize bone metastasis microscopic lesions and achieve complete tumor ablation at an early stage...

BACKGROUND: The HACEK group comprises Haemophilus spp., Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans , Cardiobacterium hominis , Eikenella corrodens , and Kingella kingae , are Gram-negative bacteria that are slow-growing and fastidious. These organisms are common causes of culture-negative endocarditis. However, brain abscesses caused by Haemophilus aphrophilus and E. corrodens have been rarely reported. The case we describe, which was promptly identified and successfully treated, will be meaningful for the diagnosis and treatment of such infectious diseases...

Salmonella is a bacterium associated with food contaminated by various animals, primarily poultry. Interest and research on bacteriophages are increasing because they can be used as an alternative against increasing antibiotic resistance. In our study, eight Salmonella -specific lytic bacteriophages were isolated from chicken feces. Two of the isolated phages (AUFM_Sc1 and AUFM_Sc3) were chosen for their characterization due to their broader host range. Based on morphological and genomic analysis, AUFM_Sc1 was identified to be close to similar Enterobacteria spp...

This study aimed to examine the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) combined with levothyroxine replacement therapy on thyroid function, oxidative stress (OS), and quality of life in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Forty-six patients diagnosed with HT were randomized to receive active LLLT ( n  = 23) and sham LLLT ( n  = 23) twice a week for three weeks. Clinical and laboratory evaluations of the participants were performed before treatment and three months after treatment...

BACKGROUND: Endogenous sex steroids influence the pubertal growth spurt and adult height. However, the impact of puberty suppression and sex steroids on growth in transgender adolescents is sparsely studied. AIM: We investigated pubertal growth, serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3, and adult height of transgender adolescents receiving hormone therapy. METHODS: Observational study of a national cohort (2016-2023) comprising 219 transgender adolescents <18 years of age...

PD-1 blockade is a first-line treatment for recurrent/metastatic cervical cancer but benefits only a small number of patients due to low preexisting tumor immunogenicity. Using immunogenic cell death (ICD) inducers is a promising strategy for improving immunotherapy, but these compounds are limited by the hypoxic environment of solid tumors. To overcome this issue, the nanosensitizer AIBA@MSNs were designed based on sonodynamic therapy (SDT), which induces tumor cell death under hypoxic conditions through azo free radicals in a method of nonoxygen radicals...

BACKGROUND: To establish a prognostic risk profile for ovarian cancer (OC) patients based on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and gain a comprehensive understanding of their role in OC progression, prognosis, and therapeutic efficacy. METHODS: Data on OC single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and total RNA-seq were collected from the GEO and TCGA databases. Seurat R program was used to analyze scRNA-seq data and identify CAFs clusters corresponding to CAFs markers...

BACKGROUND: Although oncogenic RAS mutants are thought to exert mutagenic effects upon blood cells, it remains uncertain how a single oncogenic RAS impacts non-transformed multipotent hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells (HPCs). Such potential pre-malignant status may characterize HPCs in patients with RAS-associated autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome-like disease (RALD). This study sought to elucidate the biological and molecular alterations in human HPCs carrying monoallelic mutant KRAS (G13C) with no other oncogene mutations...