Objectives:
The main objectives of this study were to prospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in the neoadjuvant setting for resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.
Materials and Methods:
Eighteen patients were enrolled from November 2014 to June 2017. Following 3 cycles of chemotherapy, SBRT was delivered to the tumor and abutting vessel and a 3 mm planning target volume (PTV) margin to 33 Gy (6.6 Gy×5) with an optional elective PTV to 25 Gy (5 Gy×5) customized to the nodal space and mesenteric vessels. The primary endpoint is ≥grade 3 acute and late gastrointestinal toxicity.
Results:
Fifteen patients had borderline resectable tumors due to arterial abutment (n=7) or superior mesenteric vein encasement (n=8); 3 patients had resectable tumors. There were no ≥grade 3 acute or late gastrointestinal events. Following SBRT, surgery was performed in 12 patients (67%) with 11 (92%) R0 resections. The median overall survival and progression-free survival was 21 months (95% CI: 18-29) and 11 months (95% CI: 8.4-16). Progression occurred in 83% (10/12) of resected patients (distant [n=4, 40%], local-only [n=4, 40%], and local and distant [n=2, 20%]). The cumulative incidence of local failure (LF) at 12 months from resection was 50% (95% CI: 20-80). All LF were outside to the PTV33.
Conclusions:
Neoadjuvant SBRT was well tolerated, however LFs were predominantly observed outside the PTV33 volume that would have been covered with conventional RT volumes. The durability of local control after SBRT in the neoadjuvant setting merits examination relative to chemoradiation before incorporation into routine practice.
Previous work in this laboratory has shown that supplemental dietary calcium using milk as the source can lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels. Attempting to circumvent lactose intolerance, a 6-month crossover study of blood pressure and serum lipids in 50 free-living volunteers was done comparing 1,150 mg/day of supplemental calcium via yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk to 32 oz/day of orange juice. Systolic blood pressure responded dramatically initially to calcium supplementation and continued lower than on orange juice at 6 months, 120 +/- 1.5 to 115 +/- 1.5 mm Hg, P less than 0.2, vs. 118 +/- 1.7 to 117 +/- 1.6 mm Hg. Diastolic blood pressure and serum lipid changes were not significant. Dietary calcium supplementation may prove beneficial in lowering systolic blood pressure in the long term.
Introduction:The lifetime incidence of nail psoriasis in patients with psoriasis is 80-90%, with 23-27% of patients having nail psoriasis at any given time. Nail psoriasis is even more prevalent in patients with comorbid psoriatic arthritis. Complete psoriasis clearance, an achievable therapeutic goal, should ideally include the resolution of nail psoriasis. Here, we assessed simultaneous skin and nail clearance in patients with psoriasis across five head-to-head trials comparing ixekizumab with other biologics. Methods: Data were assessed in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis (with or without psoriatic arthritis) with nail psoriasis at baseline from the IXORA-R, IXORA-S, UNCOVER-2, UNCOVER-3, and SPIRIT-H2H trials. Ixekizumab patients received IXEQ2W to week 12 and IXEQ4W beyond week 12. PASI 100 depicted complete skin clearance, and PGA-F 0 (IXORA-R) or NAPSI 0 (all other trials) depicted complete nail clearance. Treatment comparisons were evaluated using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test. Nonresponder imputation was used for missing data. Results: Ixekizumab achieved significantly greater simultaneous skin and nail complete clearance than etanercept (UNCOVER-2: p \ 0.001 and UNCOVER-3: p \ 0.001) at week 12, demonstrating an efficacious and rapid response. Across all five head-to-head trials,
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