Antipsychotic drugs: atypical advantages and typical disadvantages

2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Padraig Wright ◽  
Luke O'Flaherty
Keyword(s):  
Atypical Antipsychotic ◽  
Antipsychotic Drugs ◽  
Dose Range ◽  
Typical Antipsychotic ◽  
Line Treatment ◽  
First Line ◽  
Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs ◽  
Chemical Class ◽  
First Line Treatment

Atypical antipsychotic drugs are recommended for the first line treatment of all patients with schizophrenia. This is because it has been demonstrated that atypical antipsychotic drugs are more effective across a broader range of symptoms of schizophrenia than typical antipsychotic drugs and because they are dramatically less likely to cause the extrapyramidal and endocrine side effects that greatly impair quality of life for patients and reduce their willingness to adhere to maintenance treatment. Atypical antipsychotic drugs are not perfect but they are the most effective and the safest treatment for schizophrenia presently available.The atypical antipsychotic drugs currently marketed in Ireland for the first line treatment of schizophrenia include amisulpride, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone and ziprasidone. These agents differ somewhat in chemical class, indications, daily dose range, need for titration, daily dosing regimen and available formulations (see Table 1). Clozapine is marketed for patients unresponsive to, or intolerant of, other antipsychotic drugs and must thus be regarded as a second line treatment for schizophrenia. Zotepine is not yet available in Ireland while the marketing of sertindole has been suspended following reports of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac deaths.

Diagnosis and First-Line Treatment of Patients with Lung Cancer in Italian General Hospitals

1989 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alexan Alexanian ◽  
Giovanni Apolone ◽  
Roldano Fossati Roberto Grilli ◽  
Paola Mosconi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Small Cell ◽  
Disease Stage ◽  
Diagnostic Process ◽  
Line Treatment ◽  
First Line ◽  
General Hospitals ◽  
Diagnostic Time ◽  
First Line Treatment

The quality of diagnostic and therapeutic care was examined in a series of 380 consecutive newly diagnosed cases of primary lung cancer seen in 20 Italian general hospitals between January and June 1987. At diagnosis most patients (78%) had one or more symptoms related to the tumor, and in an additional 9 % symptoms were related to the presence of distant metastases. The median diagnostic time lag between first symptoms and final diagnosis was 50 days with a significantly longer delay in patients first seen by their general practitioner compared with those who sought first care in hospital outpatient departments. The diagnostic process was satisfactorily carried out in fewer than two-thirds of the patients leading to complete ascertainment of disease stage and histology in 58% cases with significantly better performance in more specialized institutions. Analysis of the first-line treatment profile indicated a rather aggressive therapeutic attitude In the case of patients with non-small cell lung cancer – 28% of them had chemotherapy despite the lack of any proof of efficacy in controlled clinical trials – and a failure to identify among the patients with small cell disease those amenable to more aggressive treatment. The lack of progress in the treatment of lung cancer over the last decades seems to have resulted in widely varying practice patterns where a mixture of aggressive and laissez-faire attitudes does not take into account that in the absence of effective therapies a more conservative attitude would at least have some advantage in terms of quality of remaining life for many patients.

Subanalysis of the StiL NHL 1–2003 Study: Achievement of Complete Response with Bendamustine-Rituximab (B-R) and CHOP-R in the First-Line Treatment of Indolent and Mantle Cell Lymphomas Results in Superior Survival Compared to Partial Response.

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 2724-2724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias J. Rummel ◽  
Norbert Niederle ◽  
Georg Maschmeyer ◽  
G.-Andre Banat ◽  
Ulrich von Grünhagen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Complete Response ◽  
Line Treatment ◽  
First Line ◽  
Female Patients ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Mantle Cell ◽  
Male Patients ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Line Treatment

Abstract Abstract 2724 Background: The NHL 1 study, a prospective, multicenter, randomized, phase 3 study which compared B-R and CHOP-R as first-line treatment in indolent lymphomas and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), demonstrated a significant benefit in progression-free survival (PFS) as well as improved tolerability for B-R compared with CHOP-R. Here we present an analysis of the impact of response quality on outcome. Methods: 514 patients (pts) with indolent or MCL were randomized to receive B-R or CHOP-R for a maximum of 6 cycles. Results: The overall response rate in the 514 pts (261 B-R; 253 CHOP-R) was 92.7% and 91.3% in the B-R and CHOP-R arms, respectively (as presented at the last ASCO meeting, J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 3). A complete response (CR) was observed in 39.8% in the B-R arm and in 30% in the CHOP-R arm (p=0.021). The achievement of CR was associated with a significantly prolonged PFS and overall survival (OS) (Table 1). Analysis by treatment arm revealed a trend for superior PFS and a significantly improved OS for patients achieving CR following treatment with B-R. In the CHOP-R arm, patients in CR had a significantly superior PFS compared to those in PR with a trend to superior OS. Regardless of the quality of response, PFS was superior with B-R versus CHOP-R: For patients in CR, the median PFS was not reached with B-R, whereas for CHOP-R it was 53.7 months (p=0.0204). In patients achieving PR, treatment with B-R resulted in a median PFS of 57.2 months, and this was 30.9 months with CHOP-R (p=0.0002). We noted a statistically significant difference in CR rates between male (n=272, median age 63 years) and female (n=242, median age 64 years) patients. The CR rate was 28.6% in male patients and 42.1% in female patients (p=0.0016). Female patients had a longer median PFS (51.4 months) compared to male patients (38.6 months), however, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.0866). Conclusions: Patients in CR following first-line treatment in our study had a significantly longer PFS and OS compared to those achieving a PR. Therefore, our results strongly suggest an association between quality of response and outcome. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Quality of life of acute myeloid leukemia patients in a real-world setting.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18525-e18525
Author(s):  
Bhavik J. Pandya ◽  
Anna Hadfield ◽  
Bruno C. Medeiros ◽  
Samuel Wilson ◽  
Cat N. Bui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Acute Myeloid Leukemia ◽  
Real World ◽  
Myeloid Leukemia ◽  
Line Treatment ◽  
First Line ◽  
Real World Setting ◽  
First Line Treatment ◽  
Acute Myeloid

e18525 Background: There is currently limited data on the quality-of-life (QoL) of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in the real-world setting. The objective of this analysis was to understand the impact of AML on patients receiving first-line treatment vs those who were relapsed/refractory to first-line treatment and therefore on later lines of therapy. Methods: The Adelphi AML Disease-Specific Programme, a real-world, cross-sectional survey involving 61 US hematologists/hemato-oncologists and their consulting AML patients, was conducted between February–May 2015. Physicians provided details on patient demographics and clinical information. Each patient was asked to complete both the EQ-5D-3L and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Leukemia (FACT-Leu). Scores range from −1.09–1 (EQ-5D-3L) and 0–176 (FACT-Leu), where a higher score indicates a better QoL. Data from physician-completed record forms and corresponding patient self-completion forms on a matched sample of 75 patients were analyzed. Results: Of the patients who took part in the survey, 75% (n = 56) were receiving first-line treatment for AML and 25% (n = 19) were relapsed/refractory to first-line treatment and had progressed to later lines of therapy. The first-line patients had a mean age of 56.6 years and an average of 2.1 symptoms whereas the relapsed/refractory patients had a mean age of 56.9 years and an average of 2.4 symptoms, according to the physician. First-line patients may have a directionally better QoL scores than those on later lines of therapy, according to both the EQ-5D (0.75 and 0.71 respectively, P= .51) and the FACT-Leu (103.7 and 92.5 respectively, P= .098) measures. Results from the FACT-Leu-Physical Well-Being sub-domain show that relapsed/refractory patients were significantly more likely than first-line patients to be affected physically by their AML condition (13.0 and 17.6 respectively, P= .005). Conclusions: AML patients who have relapsed or become refractory to first-line treatment report worse QoL than those still on first-line treatments. These observational data shows a need for effective and tolerable treatments that can maintain or improve patients’ QoL, especially for patients with relapsed or refractory disease.

scholarly journals Rituximab as Single Agent in Primary MALT Lymphoma of the Ocular Adnexa

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ombretta Annibali ◽  
Francesca Chiodi ◽  
Chiara Sarlo ◽  
Magdalena Cortes ◽  
Francesco M. Quaranta-Leoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Overall Response Rate ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Single Agent ◽  
Line Treatment ◽  
First Line ◽  
Indolent Disease ◽  
Anti Cd20 ◽  
First Line Treatment

Ocular Adnexal Lymphomas are the first cause of primary ocular malignancies, and among them the most common are MALT Ocular Adnexal Lymphomas. Recently systemic immunotherapy with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody has been investigated as first-line treatment; however, the optimal management for MALT Ocular Adnexal Lymphomas is still unknown. The present study evaluated retrospectively the outcome of seven consecutive patients with primary MALT Ocular Adnexal Lymphomas, of whom six were treated with single agent Rituximab. All patients received 6 cycles of Rituximab 375 mg/mq every 3 weeks intravenously. The overall response rate was 100%; four patients (67%) achieved a Complete Remission, and two (33%) achieved a partial response. In four patients an additional Rituximab maintenance every 2-3 months was given for two years. After a median follow-up of 29 months (range 8–34), no recurrences were observed, without of therapy- or disease-related severe adverse events. None of the patients needed additional radiotherapy or other treatments. Rituximab as a single agent is highly effective and tolerable in first-line treatment of primary MALT Ocular adnexal Lymphomas. Furthermore, durable responses are achievable with the same-agent maintenance. Rituximab can be considered the agent of choice in the management of an indolent disease in whom the “quality of life” matter is of primary importance.

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