Citations

Current guidelines recommend surgical resection as the primary treatment for a single hepatocellular cancer (HCC) with Child's A cirrhosis, normal serum bilirubin, and no clinically significant portal hypertension. We determined how frequently guidelines were followed and whether straying from them impacted survival. BRIDGE is a multiregional cohort study including HCC patients diagnosed between January 1, 2005 and June 30, 2011. A total of 8,656 patients from 20 sites were classified into four groups: (A) 718 ideal resection candidates who were resected; (B) 144 ideal resection candidates who were not resected; (C) 1,624 nonideal resection candidates who were resected; and (D) 6,170 nonideal resection candidates who were not resected. Median follow‐up was 27 months. Log‐rank and Cox's regression analyses were conducted to determine differences between groups and variables associated with survival. Multivariate analysis of all ideal candidates for resection (A+B) revealed a higher risk of mortality with treatments other than resection. For all resected patients (A+C), portal hypertension and bilirubin >1 mg/dL were not associated with mortality. For all patients who were not ideal candidates for resection (C+D), resection was associated with better survival, compared to embolization and “other” treatments, but was inferior to ablation and transplantation. Conclusions : The majority of patients undergoing resection would not be considered ideal candidates based on current guidelines. Not resecting ideal candidates was associated with higher mortality. The study suggests that selection criteria for resection may be modestly expanded without compromising outcomes, and that some nonideal candidates may still potentially benefit from resection over other treatment modalities. (H epatology 2015;62:440–451

Abstract Purpose: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an incurable disease despite aggressive therapeutic approaches. We previously found that Axl receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) plays a critical role in CLL B-cell survival. Here, we explored the possibility of using a high-affinity Axl inhibitor as a single agent or in combination with Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors for future clinical trial to treat patients with CLL. Experimental Design: Expression/activation status of other members of the TAM (e.g., Tyro3, Axl, and MER) family of RTKs in CLL B cells was evaluated. Cells were treated with a high-affinity orally bioavailable Axl inhibitor TP-0903 with or without the presence of CLL bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). Inhibitory effects of TP-0903 on the Axl signaling pathway were also evaluated in CLL B cells. Finally, cells were exposed to TP-0903 in combination with BTK inhibitors to determine any synergistic/additive effects of the combination. Results: CLL B cells overexpress Tyro3, but not MER. Of interest, Tyro3 remains as constitutively phosphorylated and forms a complex with Axl in CLL B cells. TP-0903 induces massive apoptosis in CLL B cells with LD50 values of nanomolar ranges. Importantly, CLL BMSCs could not protect the leukemic B cells from TP-0903–induced apoptosis. A marked reduction of the antiapoptotic proteins Mcl-1, Bcl-2, and XIAP and upregulation of the proapoptotic protein BIM in CLL B cells was detected as a result of Axl inhibition. Finally, combination of TP-0903 with BTK inhibitors augments CLL B-cell apoptosis. Conclusions: Administration of TP-0903 either as a single agent or in combination with BTK inhibitors may be effective in treating patients with CLL. Clin Cancer Res; 21(9); 2115–26. ©2015 AACR.

A 33-year-old male with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) presented with acute abdominal pain and was found to have lupus mesenteric vasculitis on imaging and during exploratory laparotomy. Post laparotomy he continued to have persistent nausea and dyspepsia and an electrocardiogram showed evidence of an inferior ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Emergency cardiac catheterization showed evidence of thrombotic right coronary artery occlusion. His coronaries were otherwise normal with no evidence of underlying coronary artery disease. Extensive workup with trans-esophageal echo, serologies for antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) and bubble study was negative. This effectively ruled out Libman–Sacks endocarditis, APS-induced arterial thrombus and paradoxical emboli as potential causes of his STEMI. By exclusion of other causes, the etiology of his STEMI was felt to be secondary to in-situ coronary artery thrombosis in the setting of active SLE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with SLE presenting with both lupus mesenteric vasculitis and in-situ coronary arterial thrombosis in the absence of APS.

It has been nearly ten years since we joined the editorial organization of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (CPT), as part of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) family. During that tenure, the primary mandate has been the growth of CPT, recognized as one of the key voices of the discipline and the Society. Set goals were realized in concert with a strong editorial team, a diverse editorial board, a dedicated editorial staff, and outstanding authors, leveraging a leading publishing infrastructure and responding to the needs of a global readership, expanding membership, and the discipline as a whole. The impending decade anniversary, and the transition to a new publisher, offers a natural juncture to reflect on progress, and chart plans for the future of the Journal.