Effectiveness of a Gamification Strategy to Prevent Childhood Obesity in Schools: A Cluster Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-based gamification strategy to prevent childhood obesity. METHODS: Schools were randomized in Santiago, Chile, between March and May 2018 to control or to receive a nutrition and physical activity intervention using a gamification strategy (i.e., the use of points, levels, and rewards) to achieve healthy challenges. The intervention was delivered for 7 months and participants were assessed at 4 and 7 months. Primary outcomes were mean difference in BMI z score and waist circumference (WC) between trial arms at 7 months. Secondary outcomes were mean difference in BMI and systolic and diastolic blood pressure between trial arms at 7 months.  RESULTS: A total of 24 schools (5 controls) and 2,197 students (653 controls) were analyzed. Mean BMI z score was lower in the intervention arm compared with control (adjusted mean difference -0.133, 95% CI: -0.25 to -0.01), whereas no evidence of reduction in WC was found. Mean BMI and systolic blood pressure were lower in the intervention arm compared with control. No evidence of reduction in diastolic blood pressure was found. CONCLUSIONS: The multicomponent intervention was effective in preventing obesity but not in reducing WC. Gamification is a potentially powerful tool to increase the effectiveness of school-based interventions to prevent obesity.

Survivin-specific T-cell reactivity correlates with tumor response and patient survival: a phase-II peptide vaccination trial in metastatic melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic vaccination directed to induce an anti-tumoral T-cell response is a field of extensive investigation in the treatment of melanoma. However, many vaccination trials in melanoma failed to demonstrate a correlation between the vaccine-specific immune response and therapy outcome. This has been mainly attributed to immune escape by antigen loss, rendering us in the need of new vaccination targets. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This phase-II trial investigated a peptide vaccination against survivin, an oncogenic inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein crucial for the survival of tumor cells, in HLA-A1/-A2/-B35-positive patients with treatment-refractory stage-IV metastatic melanoma. The study endpoints were survivin-specific T-cell reactivity (SSTR), safety, response, and survival (OS). RESULTS: Sixty-one patients (ITT) received vaccination therapy using three different regimens. 55 patients (PP) were evaluable for response and survival, and 41/55 for SSTR. Patients achieving progression arrest (CR + PR + SD) more often showed SSTRs than patients with disease progression (p = 0.0008). Patients presenting SSTRs revealed a prolonged OS (median 19.6 vs. 8.6 months; p = 0.0077); multivariate analysis demonstrated SSTR as an independent predictor of survival (p = 0.013). The induction of SSTRs was associated with gender (female vs. male; p = 0.014) and disease stage (M1a/b vs. M1c; p = 0.010), but not with patient age, HLA type, performance status, or vaccination regimen. CONCLUSION: Survivin-specific T-cell reactivities strongly correlate with tumor response and patient survival, indicating that vaccination with survivin-derived peptides is a promising treatment strategy in melanoma.