High-dose chemotherapy may improve the survival of children with newly diagnosed high-risk MB/sPNET, and, to some extent, the survival of those with relapsed MB/sPNET. Further study is necessary to elucidate the efficacy of tandem double HDCT.

Objective-Parents of children with cancer must cope with multiple challenges over time. As

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In asymptomatic diabetic patients, longer diabetes duration is associated with a higher prevalence, extent, and severity of CAD as well as risk of MACCE. Moreover, greater CAD burden increases the risk of MACCE independent of co-existing CAD risk factors.

Objective-Ferritin concentrations are often increased in patients with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus, but few reports have examined the associations between ferritin and atherosclerosis. We investigated whether any relationship between ferritin and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) >0 (as a marker of atherosclerosis) was independent of potential confounders, such as iron-binding capacity (transferrin), low-grade inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors. Methods and Results-Data were analyzed from a South Korean occupational cohort of 12 033 men who underwent a cardiac computed tomography estimation of CACS and measurements of multiple cardiovascular risk factors. One-thousand threehundred-fifteen of 12 033 (11.2%) subjects had a CACS >0. For people with a CACS >0, median (interquartile range) ferritin concentration was 196.8 (136.3-291.9) compared with 182.2 (128.1-253.6) in people with a CACS=0; P<0.001.In the highest ferritin quartile, 14.7% (442/3008) of subjects had a CACS >0 compared with 9.7% (292/3010) in the lowest quartile (P<0.0001). With increasing ferritin quartiles, there were also higher proportions of people with diabetes mellitus (P<0.0001), hypertension (P<0.0001), coronary heart disease (P=0.003), and a Framingham Risk Score >10% (P<0.0001). In logistic regression modeling with CACS >0 as the outcome, ferritin but not transferrin was independently associated with CACS >0 (odds ratio for highest quartile versus lowest quartile, 1.66 [95% CI, 1.3-1.98]; P=0.0001). Conclusion-Increased Ferritin Is Independently Associated With the Presence of Coronary Artery Calcium in 12 033 MenKi-Chul Sung, Seok-Min Kang, Eun-Joo Cho, Jeong Bae Park, Sarah H. Wild, Christopher D. ByrneStudy, plasma iron stores (transferrin saturation ≥55%) were associated with increased all-cause mortality. 9Increased tissue iron stores increase risk of diabetes mellitus, and serum ferritin levels have been shown to correlate inversely with insulin sensitivity in the genetic condition hemochromatosis, suggesting that iron metabolism affects peripheral tissue insulin action. 10 Although several lines of evidence suggest that iron may play a role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus, 11,12 the mechanism by which increased concentrations of iron cause diabetes mellitus is uncertain. Recently, it has been shown that hepatic iron load is associated with systemic insulin resistance and increased fasting blood glucose levels, and this effect is likely to be a direct effect of iron on metabolism and proinflammatory mechanisms. Coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) with cardiac computed tomography is a sensitive method to demonstrate the presence of preclinical atherosclerosis, and the use of CACS may also be useful in identifying individuals at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.14 Thus, estimation of the CACS provides a useful noninvasive tool to investigate relationships between putative cardiovascular risk factors and preclinical coronary artery atherosclerosis.Using data from a cohort ...

BackgroundAngiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) play a key role in hypertension therapy. Recently, fimasartan, the ninth ARB, was developed, but its safety and efficacy have not been well established.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine whether age, sex, concomitant disease, and current antihypertensive medications affect the safety and efficacy of fimasartan in patients with arterial hypertension.MethodsThis was a large-scale, open-label observational study to determine the safety and efficacy of fimasartan in patients with hypertension. Patients who were treated for more than 2 months with fimasartan (60 or 120 mg, once daily) were recruited, and the data were systematically collected using electronic case report forms. Written informed consent forms were obtained from all patients.ResultsA total of 14,151 patients (50.7 % males; mean age 59 ± 12 years) were evaluated, of whom 37.9 % were never treated with fimasartan, 53.5 % were switched to fimasartan, and 8.5 % had fimasartan added to their treatment. Overall, fimasartan reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) from 145.4 ± 18.1 to 126.8 ± 12.6 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) from 88.7 ± 11.8 to 79.0 ± 8.7 mmHg (all p < 0.001). The pulse rate decreased from 74.4 ± 10.3 to 71.9 ± 9.2 beats/min in comparison with before treatment (p < 0.001). The reductions were similar between sexes, age groups, and patients with and without co-morbidities, and were not dependent on prior or concomitant treatment with other antihypertensive drugs. Adverse events were reported in 3.31 % (treatment-emergent) and 2.35 % (drug-related) of patients; there were no dose differences for adverse events. The most frequent adverse events were dizziness (1.55 %) and headache (0.52 %); other adverse events were rare. The responder rate (DBP to <90 mmHg or a reduction of ≥10 mmHg) and the goal rate (combined SBP/DBP <140/90 mmHg) were 85.0 and 75.6 %, respectively. Global drug compliance was rated as excellent, very good, good, and poor in 68.1, 26.9, 3.4, and 1.7 % of patients, respectively.ConclusionThe safety, efficacy, and compliance of fimasartan were found to be excellent in a large patient population that included patients potentially at higher risk for adverse events.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40256-013-0004-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundIn our previous SMC NB-2004 study of patients with high-risk neuroblastomas, which incorporated total-body irradiation (TBI) with second high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDCT/auto-SCT), the survival rate was encouraging; however, short- and long-term toxicities were significant. In the present SMC NB-2009 study, only TBI was replaced with 131I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) treatment in order to reduce toxicities.MethodsFrom January 2009 to December 2013, 54 consecutive patients were assigned to receive tandem HDCT/auto-SCT after nine cycles of induction chemotherapy. The CEC (carboplatin + etoposide + cyclophosphamide) regimen and the TM (thiotepa + melphalan) regimen with (for metastatic MIBG avid tumors) or without (for localized or MIBG non-avid tumors) 131I-MIBG treatment (18 or 12 mCi/kg) were used for tandem HDCT/auto-SCT. Local radiotherapy, differentiation therapy with 13-cis-retinoic acid, and immunotherapy with interleukin-2 were administered after tandem HDCT/auto-SCT.ResultsFifty-two patients underwent the first HDCT/auto-SCT and 47 patients completed tandem HDCT/auto-SCT. There was no significant immediate toxicity during the 131I-MIBG infusion. Acute toxicities during the tandem HDCT/auto-SCT were less severe in the NB-2009 study than in the NB-2004 study. Late effects such as growth hormone deficiency, cataracts, and glomerulopathy evaluated at 3 years after the second HDCT/auto-SCT were also less significant in the NB-2009 study than in NB-2004 study. There was no difference in the 5-year event-free survival (EFS) between the two studies (67.5 ± 6.7% versus 58.3 ± 6.9%, P = 0.340).ConclusionsIncorporation of high-dose 131I-MIBG treatment into tandem HDCT/auto-SCT could reduce short- and long-term toxicities associated with TBI, without jeopardizing the survival rate.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03061656

This multicenter, randomized, double‐blind, parallel‐group phase III clinical trial aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of a rosuvastatin + amlodipine combination compared with that of rosuvastatin or amlodipine monotherapy in hypertensive patients with dyslipidemia. A total of 106 patients of 15 institutions in Korea were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: rosuvastatin 20 mg + amlodipine 10 mg, amlodipine 10 mg, or rosuvastatin 20 mg. After 8 weeks of treatment, the mean ± SD of change in mean sitting systolic blood pressure (msSBP) was −22.82 ± 12.99 mm Hg in the rosuvastatin + amlodipine group, the most decreased among the treatment groups. The percentage of patients whose msSBP decreased ≥20 mm Hg or msDBP decreased ≥10 mm Hg was also highest in this group (74.29%). The mean ± SD percentage change in low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) level from baseline after 8 weeks was −52.53% ± 11.21% in the rosuvastatin + amlodipine group, the most decreased among the treatment groups. More patients in the rosuvastatin + amlodipine group achieved their target LDL‐C goal at 8 weeks, compared with the other treatment groups (97.14%). No serious adverse events or adverse drug reactions were observed in all groups. In hypertensive patients with dyslipidemia, combination treatment with rosuvastatin 20 mg + amlodipine 10 mg effectively reduced blood pressure and LDL‐C levels while maintaining safety.