American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Update on the Use of Chemotherapy Sensitivity and Resistance Assays

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (24) ◽  
pp. 3328-3330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold J. Burstein ◽  
Pamela B. Mangu ◽  
Mark R. Somerfield ◽  
Deborah Schrag ◽  
David Samson ◽  
...  

Purpose To update the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Technology Assessment guidelines on chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays (CSRAs) published in 2004. Methods An Update Working Group reviewed data published between December 1, 2003, and May 31, 2010. MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were searched. The literature search yielded 11,313 new articles. The limits for “human and English” were used, and then standard ASCO search strings for randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, guidelines, and reviews were added, yielding 1,298 articles for abstract review. Of these, only 21 articles met predefined inclusion criteria and underwent full text review, and five reports of randomized controlled trials were included for data extraction. Results Review of the literature does not identify any CSRAs for which the evidence base is sufficient to support use in oncology practice. Recommendations The use of CSRAs to select chemotherapeutic agents for individual patients is not recommended outside of the clinical trial setting. Oncologists should make chemotherapy treatment recommendations based on published reports of clinical trials and a patient's health status and treatment preferences. Because the in vitro analytic strategy has potential importance, participation in clinical trials evaluating these technologies remains a priority.

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 3631-3638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Schrag ◽  
Harinder S. Garewal ◽  
Harold J. Burstein ◽  
David J. Samson ◽  
Daniel D. Von Hoff ◽  
...  

Purpose To develop a technology assessment of chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays in order to define the role of these tests in routine oncology practice. Methods The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) established a Working Group to develop the technology assessment. The Working Group collaborated with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) Technology Evaluation Center. The Working Group developed independent criteria for selecting articles for inclusion in the ASCO assessment, and developed a structured data abstraction tool to facilitate review of selected manuscripts. One Working Group member and an ASCO staff member independently reviewed the 1,139 abstracts identified by the BCBSA comprehensive literature search, and by an updated literature search performed by ASCO using the BCBSA search strategy (1966 to January 2004). Of the 12 articles included in this technology assessment, eight were identified by the original BCBSA systematic review, one was provided by industry, and three were identified by the ASCO updated literature review. Results Review of the literature does not identify any CSRAs for which the evidence base is sufficient to support use in oncology practice. Recommendations The use of chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays to select chemotherapeutic agents for individual patients is not recommended outside of the clinical trial setting. Oncologists should make chemotherapy treatment recommendations on the basis of published reports of clinical trials and a patient's health status and treatment preferences. Because the in vitro analytic strategy has potential importance, participation in clinical trials evaluating these technologies remains a priority.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Kardan-Souraki ◽  
Zeinab Hamzehgardeshi ◽  
Ismail Asadpour ◽  
Reza Ali Mohammadpour ◽  
Soghra Khani

<p><strong>BACKGROUND:</strong> Lack of intimacy is currently the main concern rather than main concern of the experts in psychology and counseling. It is considered as one of the most important causes for divorce and as such to improve marital intimacy a great number of interventions have been proposed in the literature. Intimacy training and counseling make the couples take effective and successful steps to increase marital intimacy. No study has reviewed the interventions promoting marital intimacy after marriage. Thus, this review study aimed to classify the articles investigating the impact of interventional programs on marital intimacy after marriage.</p><p><strong>SEARCH METHODS:</strong> In April 2015, we performed a general search in Google Scholar search engines, and then we did an advanced search the databases of Science Direct, ProQuest, SID, Magiran, Irandoc, Pubmed, Scopus, <a href="http://www.cochranelibrary.com/">Cochrane Library</a>, and Psych info; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). Also, lists of the references of the relevant articles were reviewed for additional citations. Using Medical Subject Headings (MESH) keywords: Intervention (Clinical Trials, Non-Randomized Controlled Trials, Randomized Controlled Trials, Education), intimacy, marital (Marriage) and selected related articles to the study objective were from 1995 to April 2015. Clinical trials that evaluated one or more behavioral interventions to improve marital intimacy were reviewed in the study.</p><p><strong>MAIN RESULTS:</strong> 39 trials met the inclusion criteria. Eleven interventions had follow-up, and 28 interventions lacked follow-up. The quality evidence for 22 interventions was low, for 15 interventions moderate, and for one intervention was considered high. Findings from studies were categorized in 11 categories as the intimacy promoting interventions in dimensions of emotional, psychological, physical, sexual, temporal, communicational, social and recreational, aesthetic, spiritual, intellectual intimacy, and total intimacy.</p><p><strong>AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS:</strong> Improving and promoting communication, problem solving, self-disclosure and empathic response skills and sexual education and counseling in the form of cognitive-behavioral techniques and based on religious and cultural context of each society, an effective step can be taken to enhance marital intimacy and strengthen family bonds and stability. Health care providers should consider which interventions are appropriate to the couple characteristics and their relationships.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahman Amani ◽  
Ahmad Khanijahani ◽  
Behnam Amani

AbstractBackground & ObjectiveThe efficacy and safety of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in treating coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic is disputed. This study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of HCQ plus the standard of care in COVID-19 patients.MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, and web of sciences were searched up to June 1, 2020. The references list of the key studies was reviewed for additional relevant resources. Clinical studies registry databases were searched for identifying potential clinical trials. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan software (version 5.3).ResultsThree randomized controlled trials with total number of 242 patients were identified eligible for meta-analysis. No significant differences were observed between HCQ and standard care in terms of viral clearance (Risk ratio [RR] = 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91, 1.16; P = 0.68), disease progression (RR = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.10, 0.81; P = 0.94), Chest CT (RR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.03, 1.91; P = 0.03). There is a significant difference between HCQ and standard care for adverse events (RR = 2.88; 95% CI = 1.50, 5.54; P = 0.002).ConclusionAlthough the current meta-analysis failed to confirm the efficacy and safety of HCQ in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, further rigorous randomized clinical trials are necessary to evaluate conclusively the efficacy and safety of HCQ against COVID-19.


physioscience ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Böwe ◽  
Josef Beuth

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Sexuelle Dysfunktionen sind Lebensqualität mindernde Nebenwirkungen von Standardtherapien bei Prostatakarzinom. Ziel Diese Untersuchung erfasst den aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstand bezüglich Effektivität von Bewegungstherapie zur Kompensation sexueller Dysfunktionen in Folge von Standardtherapien bei Prostatakarzinom. Methode Systematisches Review in Anlehnung an „Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses“ (PRISMA). Die Literaturrecherche wurde von 2 unabhängigen Gutachter*innen in den Datenbanken Pubmed und PEDro durchgeführt. Eingeschlossen wurden Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) mit dem American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Evidenzlevel I, die sexuelle Funktionen von Patienten mit standardtherapierten Prostatakarzinom unter Bewegungstherapie evaluieren. Ergebnisse 17 Publikationen mit 1175 Patienten mit Prostatakarzinom erfüllten die Einschlusskriterien. 11 Studien berichten signifikante Verbesserungen der sexuellen Funktionen durch Bewegungstherapie. Schlussfolgerung Da die Mehrzahl der Studien nicht vergleichbar war, ist keine generalisierte Aussage bezüglich der Wirksamkeit von Bewegungstherapie möglich. Weitere kontrollierte Studien sind unabdingbar, um den Einfluss von Bewegungstherapie auf sexuelle Dysfunktion bei Patienten mit Prostatakarzinom unter Standardtherapien aufzuzeigen.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammed Rashid ◽  
Madhan Ramesh ◽  
K. Shamshavali ◽  
Amit Dang ◽  
Himanshu Patel ◽  
...  

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the sixth primary cause of cancer death. However, conflicts are present about the efficacy and safety of Non-steroidal anti-androgens (NSAA) for its treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of NSAAs versus any comparator for the treatment of advanced or metastatic PCa (mPCa). Methodology: MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were searched. References of included studies and clinicaltrials.gov were also searched for relevant studies. Only English language studies after 1990 were considered for review. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the efficacy and safety of NSAAs as compared with any other comparator including surgery or chemotherapy in mPCa patients were included. The outcomes include efficacy, safety and the tolerability of the treatment. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool was used for quality assessment. Two authors were independently involved in the selection, extraction and quality assessment of included studies and disagreements were resolved by discussion or by consulting a third reviewer. Results: Fifty-eight out of 1307 non-duplicate RCTs with 29154 patients were considered for the review. NSAA showed significantly better progression-free survival [PFS] (Hazard ratio [HR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46-0.78; P=0.0001), time to distant metastasis or death [TTD] (HR, 0.80; 95% CI 0.73-0.91; p<0.0001), objective response (Odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% CI 1.06-2.54; P=0.03) and clinical benefits (OR, 1.33; 95% CI 1.08-1.63; P=0.006) as compared to the control group. There was no significant difference observed between the groups in terms of overall survival (HR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.87-1.03; P=0.18) and time to progression (HR, 0.93; 95% CI 0.77-1.11; P=0.43). Treatment-related adverse events were more with the NSAA group, but the discontinuation due to lack of efficacy reason was 43% significantly lesser than the control group in patients with mPCa. Rest of the outcomes were appeared to be non-significant. Conclusion: Treatment with NSAA was appeared to be better efficacious with respect to PFS, TTD, and response rate with considerable adverse events when compared to the control group in patients with metastatic PCa.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Raphael A. Yaakov ◽  
Özgür Güler ◽  
Tim Mayhugh ◽  
Thomas E. Serena

The current public health crisis has highlighted the need to accelerate healthcare innovation. Despite unwavering levels of cooperation among academia, industry, and policy makers, it can still take years to bring a life-saving product to market. There are some obvious limitations, including lack of blinding or masking and small sample size, which render the results less applicable to the real world. Traditional randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are lengthy, expensive, and have a low success rate. There is a growing acknowledgement that the current process no longer fully meets the growing healthcare needs. Advances in technology coupled with proliferation of telehealth modalities, sensors, wearable and connected devices have paved the way for a new paradigm. Virtual randomized controlled trials (vRCTs) have the potential to drastically shorten the clinical trial cycle while maximizing patient-centricity, compliance, and recruitment. This new approach can inform clinical trials in real time and with a holistic view of a patient’s health. This paper provides an overview of virtual clinical trials, addressing critical issues, including regulatory compliance, data security, privacy, and ownership.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omid Asbaghi ◽  
Vihan Moodi ◽  
Amir Hadi ◽  
Elham Eslampour ◽  
Mina Shirinbakhshmasoleh ◽  
...  

A number of clinical trials have examined the effect of almond intake on the lipid profile in recent years; however, the results remain equivocal.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2984
Author(s):  
Stepan M. Esagian ◽  
Christos D. Kakos ◽  
Emmanouil Giorgakis ◽  
Lyle Burdine ◽  
J. Camilo Barreto ◽  
...  

The role of adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing hepatectomy is currently unclear. We performed a systematic review of the literature using the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Random-effects meta-analysis was carried out to compare the overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of patients with resectable HCC undergoing hepatectomy followed by adjuvant TACE vs. hepatectomy alone in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. Meta-regression analyses were performed to explore the effect of hepatitis B viral status, microvascular invasion, type of resection (anatomic vs. parenchymal-sparing), and tumor size on the outcomes. Ten eligible RCTs, reporting on 1216 patients in total, were identified. The combination of hepatectomy and adjuvant TACE was associated with superior OS (hazard ratio (HR): 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.52 to 0.85; p < 0.001) and RFS (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.56 to 0.88; p < 0.001) compared to hepatectomy alone. There were significant concerns regarding the risk of bias in most of the included studies. Overall, adjuvant TACE may be associated with an oncologic benefit in select HCC patients. However, the applicability of these findings may be limited to Eastern Asian populations, due to the geographically restricted sample. High-quality multinational RCTs, as well as predictive tools to optimize patient selection, are necessary before adjuvant TACE can be routinely implemented into standard practice. PROSPERO Registration ID: CRD42021245758.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijun Shi ◽  
Haiyun Zhu ◽  
Jinhui Ma ◽  
Li-Li Shi ◽  
Fuqiang Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intra-articular (IA) magnesium (Mg) for postoperative pain relief after arthroscopic knee surgery. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane library, and Web of Science to identify randomized controlled trials that compared postoperative pain outcomes with or without IA Mg after knee arthroscopy. The primary outcomes were pain intensity at rest and with movement at different postoperative time points and cumulative opioid consumption within 24 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes included the time to first analgesic request and side effects. Results In total, 11 studies involving 677 participants met the eligibility criteria. Pain scores at rest and with movement 2, 4, 12, and 24 h after surgery were significantly lower, doses of supplementary opioid consumption were smaller, and the time to first analgesic requirement was longer in the IA Mg group compared with the control group. No significant difference was detected regarding adverse reactions between the groups. Conclusions Intra-articular magnesium is an effective and safe coadjuvant treatment for relieving postoperative pain intensity after arthroscopic knee surgery. Protocol registration at PROSPERO: CRD42020156403.


Author(s):  
Nagita Devi ◽  
Chandrasekhar Boya ◽  
Manik Chhabra ◽  
Dipika Bansal

AbstractObjectivesThe objective of this study is to explore the efficacy and safety of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) as adjuvant therapy in female infertility.ContentWe performed a systematic literature search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Ovid databases through April 2019 for Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness and safety of NAC as adjuvant therapy in female infertility. The outcomes assessed were rates of ovulation, pregnancy, miscarriage and multiple pregnancy, presented as pooled odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) using the random-effects model. Heterogeneity and inconsistency of the measurements were identified through Cochrane’s Q statistic and I2 statistic. We also performed a sensitivity analysis, publication bias (using funnel plot and Begg’s test), and subgroup analysis.SummaryFifteen RCTs recruiting 2330 female receiving NAC were included. The pooled estimate showed the statistically insignificant improvement in outcomes; clinical pregnancy rate 1.55 (95% CI 0.98–2.47; I2=68%; p<0.01), ovulation rate 1.77 (95% CI 0.76–4.14; I2=90%; p<0.01), multiple pregnancy rate 0.83 (95% CI 0.34–1.99; I2=10%; p=0.31) and miscarriage rate 0.76 (95% CI= 0.37, 1.53; I2=0%; p=0.69) . NAC was found less efficacious and safe than metformin in all outcomes. Overall, NAC showed statistically insignificant (OR=0.98–2.47).OutlookNAC can be an effective adjuvant in PCOS related and unexplained female infertility. The effect could be more profound in women with high BMI, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress. However, the findings need further confirmation in well-designed randomized controlled trials to examine clinical outcomes such as live birth rate in more extended follow-up periods.


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