This 2 year, prospective, observational study showed that, compared to oral antipsychotics, RLAI was associated with better treatment retention, greater improvement in clinical symptoms and functioning, and greater reduction in hospital stays and days in hospital in patients with schizophrenia. Improved treatment adherence, increased efficacy and reduced hospitalization with RLAI offer the opportunity of substantial therapeutic improvement in schizophrenia.

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AimA systematic review of treatment guidelines for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) was performed to assess recommendations for monoclonal antibody therapy in these guidelines.MethodRelevant papers were identified through electronic searches of MEDLINE, MEDLINE In Process, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library; through manual searches of reference lists; and by searching the Internet.ResultsA total of 57 relevant guidelines were identified, 32 through electronic database searches and 25 through the website searches. The majority of guidelines were published between 2004 and 2010. The country publishing the most guidelines was the USA (12), followed by the UK (10), Canada (eight), France (eight), Germany (three), Australia (two), Spain (two) and Italy (one). In addition, eight European and three international guidelines were identified. As monoclonal antibody therapy for mCRC was not introduced until 2004, no firm recommendations for monoclonal antibody therapy were made in guidelines published between 2004 and 2006. Recommendations for monoclonal antibody therapy first appeared in 2007 and evolved as more data became available. The most recent international, European and US guidelines recommend combination chemotherapy with the addition of a monoclonal antibody for the first-line treatment of mCRC. Second-line treatment depends on the first-line regimen used. For chemoresistant mCRC, cetuximab or panitumumab are recommended as monotherapy in patients with wild-type KRAS tumours.ConclusionThe study indicates that recent treatment guidelines have recognized the role of monoclonal antibodies in the management of mCRC, and that treatment guidelines should be updated in a timely manner to reflect the most recently available data.

Purpose: With the emergence of new chemotherapies and biologic agents in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), the optimal combination and sequencing of these therapies are yet to be determined. This study examined the extent and pattern of chemotherapy and biologic therapy use by line of treatment. Biologic continuation and dose escalation were also examined. Methods:This study used an integrated electronic medical record database of 91 US oncology practices. Records were analyzed for 1,655 adult patients with mCRC who were treated from January 1, 2004 to January 31, 2008 with systemic therapy and could be observed for Ն 3 months beyond their diagnosis of metastatic disease. Combination and sequence of individual drugs and regimens were examined.Results: For first-line therapy, the most common chemotherapy backbone was infused fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX; 40.5% of patients), and the most common treatment regimen was FOLFOX plus bevacizumab (26.2%). For second-line therapy, fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) was the most common chemotherapy backbone (25.7%), and FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab was the most common treatment regimen (18.3%). Across the study period, 68.6%, 22%, and 7% of patients received bevacizumab, cetuximab, and panitumumab, respectively. Among 412 patients receiving bevacizumab-containing regimens as first-line therapy who then received second-line therapy, 58% continued receiving bevacizumab, with dose escalation observed in 44%. Conclusion:The most commonly used chemotherapy backbones for mCRC treatment were first-line FOLFOX and second-line FOLFIRI. Bevacizumab was the most frequently administered biologic therapy. Continuation and dose escalation with bevacizumab were frequently observed across lines of therapy.

Background: Previous research indicated that women are more vulnerable than men to adverse psychological consequences of weight gain. Other research has suggested that weight gain experienced during antipsychotic therapy may also psychologically impact women more negatively. This study assessed the impact of acute treatment-emergent weight gain on clinical and functional outcomes of patients with schizophrenia by patient gender and antipsychotic treatment (olanzapine or haloperidol).

Background: Systemic agents in cancer treatment were often associated with possible infusion reactions (IRs). This study estimated the incidence of IRs requiring medical intervention and assessed the clinical and economic impacts of IRs in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with cetuximab.Patients and methods: Details on patients with CRC receiving cetuximab in 2004–2006 were extracted from a large USA administrative claims database. IRs were identified based on the occurrence of outpatient treatment, emergency room (ER) visit, and/or hospitalization for hypersensitivity and allergic reactions. Multivariate regressions were used to examine potential risk factors and quantify the economic impact of IRs.Results: A total of 1122 CRC patients receiving cetuximab were identified. The incidence of IRs requiring medical intervention was 8.4%. Sixty-eight percent of the patients had treatment disruptions and 34% discontinued cetuximab treatment. Mean adjusted costs were $13 863 for cetuximab administrations with an IR requiring ER visit or hospitalization and $6280 for those with an IR requiring outpatient treatment, compared with $4555 for those without an IR.Conclusions: The incidence rate of cetuximab-related IRs requiring medical intervention in clinical practice was found to be higher than rates reported in the product label and clinical trials. The clinical and economic impacts of these IRs are substantial.

This paper considers the small sample properties of the mean group estimator of the long-run coefficients in dynamic heterogeneous panels, and using Monte Carlo techniques examines the effectiveness of a number of alternative bias-correction procedures in reducing the small sample bias of these estimators. Four different biascorrected estimators of the long-run coefficients are considered. A "naïve" procedure which attempts to bias-correct the estimator of the long-run coefficients by using the bias-corrected estimators of the short-run coefficients proposed by Kiviet and Phillips (1993, Econometric Theory). Two variations of a direct approach which derives biascorrections of the estimators of the long-run coefficients allowing for the variance and covariances of the short-run coefficients, referred to as DBC 1 and DBC 2 , and a bootstrap bias-correction procedure. The "naïve" bias-corrected estimator fails in all cases, and the bootstrap method performs poorly in cases where the true coefficient of the lagged dependent variable is relatively large. Both of the direct biased corrected estimators perform reasonably well, although only the DBC 1 estimator which allows for some higher order bias correction terms out-performs the bootstrap method. None of the estimators seem to be effective when the coefficient of the lagged dependent variable is around 0.8.

Objectives: Prostate cancer (PCA) is the most common cancer in men worldwide. However, there is disagreement about the benefits of existing screening programs. This is mainly due to low specificity of currently utilized biomarkers. This can lead to both inappropriate medical treatment and increasing costs of care. For the future, many biotechnological developments are promising, but not all will be affordable for routine screening. The question is how much a complementary biomarker to prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-test may cost which would be applied to avoid falsepositive results. MethOds: Conduct of a hybrid discrete-event and system-dynamics simulation by applying AnyLogic. Based on clinical guidelines and expert knowledge, a hypothetical PCA screening workflow was developed and supplemented by a proposed innovative biomarker. Demographic and patient behavior information, disease related data on incidence as well as sensitivity and specificity of PSA, digitalrectal examination and prostate biopsy were further implemented in the model. Economic consequences were calculated by considering costs for examinations, biopsy diagnosis and complications. Results: In Germany, annual screening would be recommended for 18.8 million men aged ≥ 45 years. Assuming a biomarker specificity of 80%, approximately 70% of prostate biopsies could be avoided. This could lead to a reduction of biopsy caused complications. Regarding the latter, mean costs of 204.17€ were calculated. Due to prevented check-ups and biopsy-complications, cost neutrality for the supposed biomarker will be reached when applying a price of 48.50€ . cOnclusiOns: A complementary biomarker could lead to more precise diagnosis and additional value for patients and health insurance funds. Although the price may not be high, an implementation may nevertheless be feasible for companies due to the high number of examinations.