The purpose of this study is to evaluate
in vitro and in vivo
antitumor efficacy and subacute toxicity of triptolide (TP) prodrug, a conjugate between TP and carboxymethyl chitosan (CC). The CCTP conjugate contained 4∼ wt % TP and displayed excellent aqueous solubility (5 mg/mL) as compared to the native TP (17 μg/mL).
In vitro
cytotoxicity of CCTP conjugate was evaluated by CCK8 assay against human pancreatic cancer (PC) cell lines, showing comparable the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC
50
) values to the parent TP. In a mouse model of PC (BxPC-3), the CCTP conjugate administered orally (at dose levels as low as 0.2 mg TP equivalent/kg) showed comparable efficacy in reducing or eliminating xenograft tumor to the same dose of TP, but exhibited much lower subacute toxicity as seen in body weight loss and hematological toxicity.
BACKGROUND: Lymphopenia during definitive radiotherapy (RT) has been shown to reduce survival in patients with cervical cancer. However, there are few studies on the significance of onset time of lymphopenia during RT in patients with cervical cancer. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to exam the prognostic significance of early onset of severe lymphopenia (EOSL) during definitive RT in patients with cervical cancer. METHODS: Newly diagnosed cervical cancer patients treated with definitive RT from January 2015 to December 2019 were eligible for this retrospective study. EOSL was defined as first onset of grade 3–4 lymphopenia ⩽ 3 weeks from the start of RT. Mean body dose (MBD) was the mean radiation dose absorbed by the body during the whole course of external beam RT (EBRT) and was directly obtained from the dose volume histogram (DVH) of the EBRT planning. Logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were applied to assess relationships between clinicopathological factors and EOSL. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test. A COX regression model was developed to predict overall survival (OS). RESULTS: A total of 104 patients were included and 59.6% had EOSL. MBD (P= 0.04), concurrent cisplatin (P= 0.011), and pre-RT absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) (P= 0.001) were associated with EOSL. A linear relationship (P for non-linearity = 0.803) between MBD and risk of EOSL was found. Patients with EOSL had decreased OS (2-yr 75.1% vs 91.1%, P= 0.021) and progression-free survival (PFS) (2-yr 71.2% vs 83.7%, P= 0.071). An OS prediction COX model was developed with C-index of 0.835 and AUC of 0.872. CONCLUSIONS: EOSL during definitive RT correlates with MBD and predicts poor survival in patients with cervical cancer.
Aim
To describe the demands of family caregivers of children with ALL at different therapy stages and explore the possible interventions to address their care demands.
Design
A longitudinal investigation study.
Method
A total of 157 family caregivers of children treated in the Haematological oncology ward of a tertiary medical hospital in China between March and December in 2020 were included in this study. The Comprehensive Needs of Caregivers of Cancer Patients and Families Taking Care of Children Scale was used to investigate the family caregivers of children with ALL. The family caregivers completed the questionnaire accompanied by a researcher within two weeks of each therapy stage, which included the induction, consolidation and continuation stages.
Results
Family caregivers of children with ALL had many demands that varied based on the stage of therapy. Family caregivers in the induction therapy stage needed more information about their children's disease, having the highest score in information demands (35.60 ± 5.85). The family caregivers in the consolidation therapy stage needed more information on symptom management and socio‐economic support, having the highest score in care and support demands (36.14 ± 5.12). The family caregivers in the continuation therapy stage (including interim and maintenance therapy stages) focused more on their own and the children's social adaptation, so they scored the highest for psychosocial demands (35.96 ± 5.69).
Conclusion
Family caregivers of children with ALL had different demands that varied based on the stage of therapy. Medical personnel should be aware of the primary needs of family caregivers at different therapy stages to provide early interventions and support based on their demands, ultimately improving the physical and mental condition of family caregivers and the quality of care.
Aim
The aim of this study was to identify unobserved subgroups of Chinese parents’ caregiving ability for children with haematological malignancies and examine the associations of the latent class membership with individual characteristics.
Design
A multicentre cross‐sectional survey study was conducted.
Methods
A total of 392 parents of children with haematological malignancies in China were surveyed with the Hematologic Malignancies’ Family Caregiver Skills Scale and a study‐specific demographic information questionnaire. Latent class analysis (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression model were applied in data analysis.
Results
LCA results suggested that there existed three distinct a priori unknown classes of parents of children with haematological malignancies in regard to caregiving ability: Class 1—“high caregiving ability” class (n = 131, 33.4%), Class 2—“medium caregiving ability” class (n = 170, 43.4%) and Class 3—“low caregiving ability” class (n = 91, 23.2%). Socio‐demographics and clinical characteristics had significant associations with the latent class membership.
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