Epoetin alfa is effective in improving the functional status and quality of life in anemic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, as well as increasing hemoglobin level and decreasing transfusion requirements. Improvement in functional status can be attributed to an increase in hemoglobin level, demonstrating that quality of life in this group of patients can be improved by aggressively treating anemia. Further studies will be required to define the optimal doses and schedules for epoetin alfa.

Objective To evaluate the association of subretinal hyper-reflective material (SHRM) with visual acuity (VA), geographic atrophy (GA) and scar in the Comparison of Age related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT) Design Prospective cohort study within a randomized clinical trial. Participants The 1185 participants in CATT. Methods Participants were randomly assigned to ranibizumab or bevacizumab treatment monthly or as-needed. Masked readers graded scar and GA on fundus photography and fluorescein angiography images, SHRM on time domain (TD) and spectral domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) throughout 104 weeks. Measurements of SHRM height and width in the fovea, within the center 1mm2, or outside the center 1mm2 were obtained on SD-OCT images at 56 (n=76) and 104 (n=66) weeks. VA was measured by certified examiners. Main Outcome Measures SHRM presence, location and size, and associations with VA, scar, and GA. Results Among all CATT participants, the percentage with SHRM at enrollment was 77%, decreasing to 68% at 4 weeks after treatment and 54% at 104 weeks. At 104 weeks, scar was present more often in eyes with persistent SHRM than eyes with SHRM that resolved (64% vs. 31%; p<0.0001). Among eyes with detailed evaluation of SHRM at weeks 56 (n=76) and 104 (n=66), mean [SE] VA letter score was 73.5 [2.8], 73.1 [3.4], 65.3 [3.5], and 63.9 [3.7] when SHRM was absent, present outside the central 1mm2, present within the central 1mm2 but not the foveal center, or present at the foveal center (p=0.02). SHRM was present at the foveal center in 43 (30%), within the central 1mm2 in 21 (15%) and outside the central 1mm2 in 19 (13%). When SHRM was present, the median maximum height in microns under the fovea, within the central 1 mm2 including the fovea and anywhere within the scan was 86; 120; and 122, respectively. VA was decreased with greater SHRM height and width (p<0.05). Conclusions SHRM is common in eyes with NVAMD and often persists after anti-VEGF treatment. At 2 years, eyes with scar were more likely to have SHRM than other eyes. Greater SHRM height and width were associated with worse VA. SHRM is an important morphological biomarker in eyes with NVAMD.

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The bony remodeling observed in this model system appears to be a biological phenomena and not a result of altered mechanical loading, with the depth of the focal chondral defect (partial vs. full thickness) dictating the bony remodeling response. The type of cartilage injury should be carefully controlled in studies utilizing this model to evaluate TE approaches for cartilage repair.

Analyses of AREDS2 data on natural history of GA provide representative data on GA evolution and enlargement. GA enlargement, which was influenced by lesion features, was relentless, resulting in rapid central vision loss. The genetic variants associated with faster enlargement were partially distinct from those associated with risk of incident GA. These findings are relevant to further investigations of GA pathogenesis and clinical trial planning.

A randomized comparison of the relative efficacy and toxicity of daunorubicin (DNR) at 30 or 45 mg/sq m or adriamycin (ADM) at 30 mg/sq m, given on the first 3 days of a 7-day continuous infusion of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) at 100 mg/sq m/day, shows the outcome to be dependent on anthracycline, dose, and patient age. DNR 45 is significantly better than DNR 30 or ADM 30 for inducing complete remissions (CR) in patients younger than 60 yr, (72%, 59%, 58% CRs, respectively). DNR 30 is better than DNR 45 or ADM 30 for inducing CR in patients older than 60 yr (47%, 31%, 35%, respectively). There was a corresponding shift in the induction mortality for the age, dose, and anthracycline groups. Adriamycin was significantly more toxic to the gastrointestinal tract than daunorubicin. The duration of complete remission, with cyclic courses of maintenance therapy, was independent of the patient's age, the dose, or choice of anthracycline used in induction, and of whether the maintenance courses were given every 4 wk or every 8 wk.

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