Neighborhood disadvantage, insurance status, and molecular profiling of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is important for prognostication and determining eligibility for targeted therapies in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The use of NGS has increased in clinical practice, but variability in testing patterns still exist. The purpose of this study was to assess trends in molecular genetic sequencing in AML based on insurance status and area deprivation index (ADI), a validated metric of neighborhood disadvantage. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, cytogenetic and molecular data, and treatment patterns were collected retrospectively for 275 patients diagnosed with AML at a single institution. No significant differences in practice patterns and patient outcomes based on ADI rank were observed. In contrast, patients with Medicare or underinsured status were less likely to have genetic sequencing performed, were treated with less intensive regimens, and had inferior overall survival compared to those with Medicaid or private insurance. On univariate analysis, molecular genetic sequencing was associated with improved overall survival, suggesting that NGS data allows for better risk stratification and more informed therapeutic decision-making. These data highlight the current barriers to molecular genetic sequencing, demonstrate the positive benefits of NGS on clinical outcomes, and support universal coverage of NGS for all patients with AML.

Type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis: relapse with liver abscess / Pancreatite autoimune tipo 1: recidiva com abscesso hepático

ABSTRACT: Type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis is a cause of chronic pancreatitis related to the systemic disease known as IgG4-related Sclerosing Disease. Case report: We report the case of a 64-year-old male patient who presented recurrentepigastric pain radiating to the back, associated with jaundice, xerostomia, nausea, and vomiting, since 2014, diagnosed two years later with an unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis was questioned after a few follow-up months without clinical deterioration when it was suggested the possibility of type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis in its pseudotumoral form. The patient was then treated with glucocorticoids, obtaining significantclinical improvement. After two years of follow-up, he returned asymptomatic with images suggestive of sclerosingcholangitis and a large liver abscess. Importance of the issue: The present case denotes the difficulty found in this diagnosis due to clinical and radiological resemblances with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Besides that, it presents a seldom described disease complication, the liver abscess. (AU)

RESUMO: A pancreatite autoimune tipo 1 é uma causa de pancreatite crônica relacionada à doença sistêmica conhecida como Doença Esclerosante relacionada à IgG4. Relato do caso: Relatamos o caso de um paciente do sexo masculino,64 anos, que apresentou quadros recorrentes de dor epigástrica com irradiação para as costas, associada com icterícia, xerostomia, náuseas e vômitos desde 2014, diagnosticado após 2 anos com adenocarcinoma pancreático irressecável. O diagnóstico foi questionado após alguns meses de acompanhamento sem deterioração clínica, quando aventaram a possibilidade de forma pseudotumoral da pancreatite autoimune tipo 1. Realizou tratamento com glicocorticoides, obtendo melhora clínica importante. Após dois anos de acompanhamento, retorna assintomático com imagens sugestivas de colangite esclerosante e volumoso abscesso hepático. Importância do problema: O presente caso denota uma dificuldade encontrada no diagnóstico dessa entidade devido a semelhanças clínico-radiológicas com o adenocarcinoma pancreático. Além disso, apresenta uma complicação pouco descrita da doença, o abscesso hepático. (AU)

Comparative outcome assessment of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a network meta-analysis.

Introduction: Tyrosine kinase inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is the standard in the first line treatment of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring EGFR activating mutations. Here we aim to discern efficacy and toxicity measures through a meta-analysis of published studies that could aid treatment selection. Materials And Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of the main randomized clinical trials evaluating the currently approved EGFR-TKIs in first-line of treatment of EGFR-positive advanced NSCLC. Cochrane guidelines were used for statistical analysis. Results: 3,179 patients were included. All EGFR TKIs showed improved outcomes with respect to ORR and PFS when compared to standard platinum-doublet chemotherapy. Comparative ORR for gefitinib, erlotinib and afatinib were 52.1%, 67.3% and 61.6% respectively. HRs for PFS were 0.62 (95% CI, 0.38-1.00) for gefitinib, 0.28 (95% CI, 0.17-0.45) for erlotinib and 0.40 (95% CI, 0.20-0.83) for afatinib. HRs for OS were not statistically significant for any agent. Conclusions: Our results suggest similar clinical efficacy and higher toxicity of Afatinib treatment. As this still remains the agent with best CSF penetration, we suggest its use is limited to patients presenting with brain metastasis. We suggest the use of Gefitinib in patients without CNS involvement. Faced with the impossibility to dose-reduce Gefitinib, Erlotinib represents a tolerable and effective alternative to Afatinib and Gefitinib if response to EGFR inhibition is considered still effective.

Kinetics of enzymatic hydrolysis of olive oil in batch and fed-batch systems.

This work reports experimental data, kinetic modeling, and simulations of enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of olive oil. This reaction was performed in batch system and an ordered-sequential Bi Bi model was used to model the kinetic mechanism. A fed-batch system was proposed and experimental data were obtained and compared to the simulated values. The kinetic model used was able to correlate the experimental data, in which a satisfactory agreement between the experimental data and modeling results was obtained under different enzyme concentration and initial free water content. Therefore, the modeling allowed a better understanding of the reaction kinetics and affords a fed-batch simulation for this system. From the results obtained, it was observed that the fed-batch approach showed to be more advantageous when compared to the conventional batch system.