RESUMO
Advanced pancreatic cancer is one of the prominent contributors to cancer-related mortality globally. Chemotherapy, especially gemcitabine, is generally used for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. Despite the treatment, the fatality rate for advanced pancreatic cancer is alarmingly high. Thus, the dire need for better treatment alternatives has drawn focus to cancer vaccinations. The Wilms tumor gene (WT1), typically associated with Wilms tumor, is found to be excessively expressed in some cancers, such as pancreatic cancer. This characteristic feature is harvested to develop cancer vaccines against WT1. This review aims to systematically summarize the clinical trials investigating the efficacy and safety of WT1 vaccines in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. An extensive literature search was conducted on databases Medline, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar using the keywords "Advanced pancreatic cancer," "Cancer vaccines," "WT1 vaccines," and "Pulsed DC vaccines," and the results were exclusively studied to construct this review. WT1 vaccines work by introducing peptides from the WT1 protein to trigger an immune response involving cytotoxic T lymphocytes via antigen-presenting cells. Upon activation, these lymphocytes induce apoptosis in cancer cells by specifically targeting those with increased WT1 levels. WT1 vaccinations, which are usually given in addition to chemotherapy, have demonstrated clinically positive results and minimal side effects. However, there are several challenges to their widespread use, such as the immunosuppressive nature of tumors and heterogeneity in expression. Despite these limitations, the risk-benefit profile of cancer vaccines is encouraging, especially for the WT1 vaccine in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. Considering the fledgling status of their development, large multicentric, variables-matched, extensive analysis across diverse demographics is considered essential.
RESUMO
Myocardial infarction, an integral part of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), occurs due to atherosclerotic narrowing of the coronary (heart) blood vessels. Acute coronary syndrome, being one of the major cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), has led to a significant amount of mortality and morbidity, the majority of it due to MI. Over a long period following an MI, the physical, psychological, social, emotional, and occupational well-being are greatly impacted. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can address the above and help improve long-term well-being and overall quality of life. The benefits of CR include enhanced exercise capacity, risk factor reduction, improved quality of life (QOL), reduced mortality, and hospital readmissions. We used a systematic literature review (SLR) approach in this article to provide a global overview of cutting-edge CR in the post-MI phase. We reviewed 45 articles from journals of good repute published between 2013 and December 1st, 2023, focusing on seven selected papers for in-depth analysis. The analysis was focused on factors such as the positive outcomes of CR and the effects of CR post-MI. There are only a few statistically significant studies in a few domains of CR benefits, namely decreased mortality, cardiac events, depression, depression-associated mortality, hospital readmissions, increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), metabolic equivalent of task (MET), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), and the six-minute walk test (6MWT), and as a result, increased physical performance. Further research is needed to enhance the understanding of its mechanisms and statistically prove its effectiveness in all other domains. As CR continues to evolve, referral and participation in CR should be increased as it improves overall health and well-being.