• Celik Christian posted an update 5 days ago

    The aim of this study was to investigate the value of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression as a predictive biomarker for Miller/Payne grading before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in breast cancer.

    The expression of PD-L1 in pretreatment biopsies of breast cancer was assessed by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays. The results were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 statistical software.

    Of 53 female patients, 10 (18.9%) patients had a grade 5 (G5) response, and 12 (22.6%) patients showed PD-L1 expression, including 7 (13.2%) patients with staining in tumor cells (TCs) and 8 (15.1%) patients with staining in peritumoral lymphocytes (PTLCs). Logistic regression analysis revealed that G5 response to NACT was significantly associated with TCs or PTLCs PD-L1 positivity, whether with univariate analysis (TCs PD-L1 p = 0.00, OR 20.50, 95% CI 3.11-134.94; PTLCs PD-L1 p = 0.02, OR 6.50, 95% CI 1.27-33.20) or with multivariate analysis (TCs PD-L1 p = 0.00, OR 42.23, 95% CI 3.36-530.90; PTLCs PD-L1 p = 0.02, OR 9.07, 95% CI 1.37-60.02). The same trend was found in the luminal subgroup analysis (TCs PD-L1 p = 0.02, OR 23.43, 95% CI 1.66-331.58; PTLCs PD-L1 p = 0.01, OR 47.89, 95% CI 2.47-927.41).

    G5 response to NACT in breast cancer was significantly associated with TCs or PTLCs PD-L1-positive expression in pretreatment biopsies; it can be expected that PD-L1 will become a new independent biomarker of response to NACT in breast cancer.

    G5 response to NACT in breast cancer was significantly associated with TCs or PTLCs PD-L1-positive expression in pretreatment biopsies; it can be expected that PD-L1 will become a new independent biomarker of response to NACT in breast cancer.

    Obesity and overweight, including childhood obesity and overweight, pose a public health challenge worldwide. According to the available research findings, long-term interventions focusing on dietary behavior, physical activity, and psychological support are the most effective in reducing obesity in children aged 6-18 years. There are limited studies showing the financial effectiveness of such interventions.

    The objective of the present study was to evaluate cost-effectiveness of the 6-10-14 for Health weight management program using pharmacoeconomic indicators, i.e., cost-effectiveness analysis using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.

    We used anthropometric data of 3,081 children included in a 1-year-long intervention with a full financial cost assessment.

    The cost of removing a child from the overweight group (BMI >85th percentile) was PLN 27,758 (EUR 6,463), and the cost of removing a child from the obese group (BMI >95th percentile) was slightly lower, i.e., PLN 23,601 (EUR 5,495). Given the obesity-related medical costs calculated in the life-long perspective, these results can be considered encouraging. At the same time, when comparing the total costs per participant with the costs of other interventions, it can be noted that they are similar to the costs of school programs containing more than 1 type of intervention.

    The 6-10-14 for Health program can be considered cost-effective. As a result of committing financial resources in the approximate amount of EUR 1,790 per child, around half of the children participating in the program have improved their weight indicators.

    The 6-10-14 for Health program can be considered cost-effective. As a result of committing financial resources in the approximate amount of EUR 1,790 per child, around half of the children participating in the program have improved their weight indicators.

    To analyze the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and survival of real-world prostate cancer (PC) patients and to calculate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) experienced under different treatment strategies.

    PC patients undergoing active surveillance (n = 226), radiation treatment (n = 280), surgery (n = 299), or hormonal treatment (n = 62) responded to the generic 15-dimensional (15D) HRQoL questionnaire at the time of the diagnosis and were followed up 3, 6, 12, and 24 months later. SR-0813 molecular weight QALYs experienced during the follow-up were calculated for each treatment group, and variables associated with survival were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models.

    HRQoL was stable during the first 2 years after diagnosis in all other treatment groups, except in patients treated with hormonal therapy. The overall survival within 6.5-year follow-up time was 84.4%. The number of QALYs experienced during the 2-year follow-up was similar in patients in active surveillance (1.790), surgery (1.784), and radiation groups (1.767), but significantly lower in the hormonal therapy group (1.665).

    Patients receiving hormonal treatment had significantly impaired HRQoL and survival compared with other treatments. Although the number of QALYs experienced was similar in the 3 other treatment lines, there were marked differences between treatment lines on some 15D dimensions.

    Patients receiving hormonal treatment had significantly impaired HRQoL and survival compared with other treatments. Although the number of QALYs experienced was similar in the 3 other treatment lines, there were marked differences between treatment lines on some 15D dimensions.

    There is a need for refined risk stratification of sudden cardiac death and prediction of ventricular arrhythmias to correctly identify patients who are expected to benefit the most from implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy.

    We conducted a registry-based retrospective observational study on patients with either ischemic (ICMP) or nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICMP) treated with ICD between 2002 and 2013 at a tertiary referral center. We evaluated 3 vectorcardiography (VCG) indices; spatial QRS-T angle, QRS vector magnitude (QRSvm), and T-wave vector magnitude (Twvm), and their association with all-cause mortality and ventricular arrhythmias. The VCG indices were automatically computed from resting 12-lead electrocardiograms before ICD implantation.

    178 patients were included in the study; 53.4% had ICMP, 79.2% were male, and mean ejection fraction was 27.4%. During the follow-up (median 89 months), 40 patients (23%) died; 31% had appropriate ICD therapy. In multivariate analysis with dichotomized variables, QRS-T angle >152° and Twvm <0.