The efficacy and safety of cadonilimab combined with lenvatinib for first-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (COMPASSION-08): a phase Ib/II single-arm clinical trial.

Purpose: This multicenter, open-label, phase Ib/II study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of cadonilimab, a humanized, tetravalent, bispecific antibody plus lenvatinib in first-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC). Methods: Patients with histologically confirmed aHCC were included to receive either 6 mg/kg cadonilimab every 2 weeks plus lenvatinib (cohort A) or 15 mg/kg cadonilimab every 3 weeks plus lenvatinib (cohort B). The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) by RECIST v1.1, while the secondary endpoints were safety, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), disease control rate (DCR), duration of response (DoR), and time to response (TTR). Results: A total of 59 patients were enrolled (31 in cohort A and 28 in cohort B). The median follow-up time was 27.4 months as of the data cutoff date (July 28, 2023). The ORR in cohort A was 35.5% (95% CI: 19.2, 54.6) and that in cohort B was 35.7% (95% CI: 18.6, 55.9), and the median DoR was 13.6 months (95% CI: 4.14, NE) and 13.67 months (95% CI: 3.52, NE), respectively. The median PFS was 8.6 months (95% CI: 5.2, 15.2) and 9.8 months (95% CI: 6.9, 15.2), respectively. The median OS was 27.1 months (95% C: 15.7, NE) for cohort A, while it was not reached for cohort B. Grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were reported in 66.1% of patients, with serious TRAEs occurring in 39.0% of cases. Decreased platelet count (47.5%), proteinuria (45.8%), hypertension (44.1%), and white blood cell count (44.1%) were the most common TRAEs. Conclusion: This novel combination therapy showed promising efficacy and manageable toxicity that could provide an option in first-line setting of aHCC. Clinical Trial Registration: [www.ClinicalTrials.gov], NCT04444167.

Bilateral Posterior Subthalamic Area Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the posterior subthalamic area (PSA) provides a potentially effective treatment for medication-refractory essential tremor (ET). OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical benefits and adverse-event profile of bilateral PSA-DBS for refractory ET. METHODS: Seven patients with refractory ET underwent bilateral PSA-DBS surgery under general anesthesia between September 2017 and May 2018. Clinical outcome assessments, using the Essential Tremor Rating Scale, were performed at 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up, except for the last assessment of one patient who was followed up to 9 months. Analysis was focused on changes in patients' motor symptoms and quality of life following surgery as well as documenting the adverse-event profile associated with the surgical PSA-DBS treatment. RESULTS: After surgery, patients' motor symptoms, including upper limb tremor and head tremor, were improved by 84.2% and their quality of life by 81.25% at 1-month follow-up. The clinical benefits to patients were maintained at 6-month and last follow-up. Adverse side effects included dysarthria (n = 4), balance disorder (n = 2), and paresthesia of the right limb (n = 1). No habituation effects were observed throughout the follow-up. CONCLUSION: Bilateral PSA-DBS seems to offer an effective and safe alternative treatment for medically intractable ET, warranting further research into its clinical utility, adverse-event profile, and comparative effectiveness.

Rates and predictors of general practitioner (GP) follow-up postdischarge from a tertiary hospital cardiology unit: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies in cardiac patients noted that early patient follow-up with general practitioners (GPs) after hospital discharge was associated with reduced rates of hospital readmissions. We aimed to identify patient, clinical and hospital factors that may influence GP follow-up of patients discharged from a tertiary cardiology unit. DESIGN: Single centre retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Australian metropolitan tertiary hospital cardiology unit. PARTICIPANTS: 1079 patients discharged from the hospital cardiology unit within 3 months from May to July 2016. OUTCOME MEASURES: GP follow-up rates (assessed by telephone communication with patients' nominated GP practices), demographic, clinical and hospital factors predicting GP follow-up. RESULTS: We obtained GP follow-up data on 983 out of 1079 (91.1%) discharges in the study period. Overall, 7, 14 and 30-day GP follow rates were 50.3%, 66.5% and 79.1%, respectively. A number of patient, clinical and hospital factors were associated with early GP follow-up, including pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, older age and having never smoked. Documented recommendation for follow-up in discharge summary was the strongest predictor for 7-day follow-up (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: After discharge from a cardiology admission, half of the patients followed up with their GP within 7 days and most patients followed up within 30 days. Patient and hospital factors were associated with GP follow-up rates. Identification of these factors may facilitate prospective interventions to improve early GP follow-up rates.

Thyroid-Like Follicular Carcinoma of the Kidney in a Patient with Skull and Meningeal Metastasis: A Unique Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Thyroid-like follicular carcinoma of the kidney (TLFCK) is an extremely rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma with close resemblance to the well-differentiated thyroid follicular neoplasms. TLFCK has not been included in the 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) classification due to the limited data available. Only 27 cases have been reported in the literature to date. Herein, we report a unique case of TLFCK that presented as a striking skull and meningeal metastasis 5 years after the initial diagnosis; this is the first case of TLFCK with such a novel metastasis pattern. A 68-year-old woman was found to have a right renal lesion using computed tomography (CT) during her regular clinical follow-up visit for bladder cancer, but she exhibited no obvious clinical symptoms. The CT scan showed a 4.4-cm diameter, slightly lobulated soft tissue mass in the right lower kidney, the pathological findings of which showed a TLFCK. Five years later, the patient had progressed to skull and meningeal metastasis. Both the renal tumor and the metastasis lesion were composed almost entirely of follicles with a dense, colloid-like material that resembled thyroid follicular carcinoma. However, no lesion was found in the thyroid gland. The neoplastic epithelial cells were strongly immunoreactive for cytokeratin 7 (and vimentin but negative for thyroid transcription factor-1 and thyroglobulin. This is the first reported case of TLFCK to consist of widespread metastases to the skull and meninges and provides evidence that this rare variant of renal cell carcinoma has uncertain malignant potential and can be more clinically aggressive than previously believed.