Baydelaney5471

High levels of CA19-9 and not satisfying the Yonsei criteria were significantly associated with a high Foxp3⁺/CD8⁺ ratio [Exp(β)=3.558; 95% confidence inverval 1.000-12.658; p=0.050]. CONCLUSION Yonsei criteria may be clinically detectable biologic marker with which to predict immunologic status and survival in pancreatic cancer patients. © Copyright Yonsei University College of Medicine 2020.PURPOSE We evaluated whether adding bevacizumab to current platinum-based chemotherapy could improve clinical outcomes without affecting safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients with pathologically confirmed ovarian cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) at Yonsei Cancer Hospital. We divided the patients into groups based on the use of bevacizumab for NAC (CP group carboplatin+paclitaxel vs. BCP group bevacizumab+carboplatin+paclitaxel) and compared patient characteristics, responses to NAC, and surgical and survival outcomes between the two groups. Overall, 88 patients in the CP group and 16 patients in the BCP group received NAC. The primary endpoint was survival outcomes. Complete resection rate after interval debulking surgery (IDS), cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) normalization after NAC, and chemotherapy response score were secondary endpoints. RESULTS After NAC treatment, all patients underwent IDS. There were no significant differences in adverse events during NAC or postoperative complications between the two groups (p=0.293 and p=0.485, respectively). There were also no significant differences in CA-125 normalization after NAC (42.0% vs. 43.8%, p=0.899) or complete resection rate after IDS (47.7% vs. learn more 56.3%, p=0.530). However, although the BCP group did not show longer overall survival (OS) (log-rank p=0.854), they had significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) than the CP group (log-rank p=0.048). CONCLUSION Bevacizumab-containing NAC might be safe and provide longer PFS than chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. However, further study is necessary to investigate the impact of bevacizumab-containing NAC on OS. © Copyright Yonsei University College of Medicine 2020.The reduction of survival motor neuron (SMN) protein causes spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease. Nusinersen is an antisense oligonucleotide, approved by the FDA, which specifically binds to the repressor within SMN2 exon 7 to enhance exon 7 inclusion and augment production of functional SMN protein. Nusinersen is the first new oligonucleotide-based drug targeting the central nervous system for the treatment of SMA. This review of nusinersen will discuss its action mechanism, cellular uptake, trafficking mechanisms, and administration approaches to cross the blood-brain barrier. Furthermore, nusinersen clinical trials will be assessed in terms of pharmacokinetics, tolerability and safety, the clinical outcomes of multiple intrathecal doses, and a discussion on the primary and secondary endpoints. © Copyright Yonsei University College of Medicine 2020.BACKGROUND A considerable number of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) experience left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR). LV global longitudinal strain (LV GLS) offers sensitive and reproducible measurement of myocardial dysfunction. The authors sought to evaluate whether LV GLS at the time of diagnosis may predict LVRR in DCM patients with sinus rhythm and investigate its prognostic role in long-term follow-up in this population. METHODS We enrolled 160 DCM patients with sinus rhythm who had been initially diagnosed, evaluated, and followed at our institute. We analyzed their medical records and echocardiographic data. RESULTS During the mean follow-up duration of 37.3 ± 21.7 months, LVRR occurred in 28% of patients (n = 45). The initial LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of patients who recovered LV function was 26.1 ± 7.9%, which was not significantly different from the value of 27.1 ± 7.4% (p = 0.49) in those who did not recover. There was a moderate and highly significant correlation between baseline LV GLS (-%) and follow-up LVEF (r = 0.717; p less then 0.001). Using multivariate Cox analysis, LV GLS (hazard ratio 1.474, 95% confidence interval 1.170-1.856; p = 0.001) was an independent predictor of LVRR. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that LV GLS was an independent predictor for LVRR and the optimal cut-off point of LV GLS for LVRR was -10% in DCM patients with sinus rhythm. There was a significant correlation between baseline LV GLS and follow-up LVEF. Copyright © 2020 Korean Society of Echocardiography.BACKGROUND Stress echocardiography has a 72%-85% sensitivity and an 80%-95% specificity. In this study, we characterized patients who received a false-positive stress echocardiogram result. METHODS A total of 5,256 patients underwent a stress echocardiogram (induced by exercise, dobutamine, or dipyridamole) between 2009 to 2018, and 405 patients (7.7%) received a positive result. Among the positive patients, 300 underwent coronary angiography within 12 months, and these patients were included in this study (mean age = 64.9 ± 9.4 years, 230 men [76.7%]). Coronary artery disease was diagnosed by stenosis ≥50% in any epicardial coronary artery. Clinical and echocardiographic variables were compared between patients with true- and false-positive stress echocardiogram results. RESULTS Seventy-two patients (24%) had a false-positive stress echocardiogram, with similar rates across stressor types (p = 0.574). Patients with false positives were less frequently men (63.9% vs. 80.7%, p = 0.003), had lower diabetes mellitus prevalence (15.3% vs. 45.6%, p = 0.001), were similar to true positive patients with regard to body-mass index, arterial hypertension prevalence, hyperlipidemia and smoking, and had lower pre-test probability of coronary artery disease (23% vs. 32%, p = 0.016). The wall motion score index (WMSI) was higher in the true-positive stress group, and wall motion abnormalities were more frequent in the apical segments (70.5% vs. 56.7%, p = 0.034). In a multivariable predictive model, men (odds ratio [OR] = 2.994), diabetes (OR = 5.440), and peak WMSI (OR = 10.690) were associated with a true-positive result. CONCLUSIONS Twenty-four percent of our study population received a false-positive stress echocardiogram result, with similar rates across stressor types. Patients with true-positive stress echocardiogram results are more likely to be men, diabetic, and have a high peak WMSI. Copyright © 2020 Korean Society of Echocardiography.