Recent findings
The development of these novel agents, each with a distinct mechanism of action, is the fruition of sedulous preclinical research and well designed clinical trials. Cabazitaxel, a next generation taxane, was the first Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for the postdocetaxel setting. The recognition of sustained androgen dependence of CRPC has led to the identification of more potent and selective inhibitors of androgen
synthesis and androgen-receptor signaling, such as abiraterone Selleck Proteasome inhibitor and enzalutamide, respectively. Radium-223, an a-emitting radionuclide still under regulatory review, recently showed a significant survival benefit for CRPC. Finally, sipuleucel-T, a form of immunotherapy, may benefit a subset of patients in the postdocetaxel setting.
Summary
Post-docetaxel management of CRPC has undergone a dramatic yet welcome paradigm change in the past 3 years. With multiple life-prolonging agents available, it now becomes imperative to coordinate how and when these new therapies should be used and sequenced to achieve optimal patient outcomes.”
“OBJECTIVE: To estimate agreement and correlation between the tuberculin skin test Go 6983 in vitro and an interferon gamma release assay for detecting latent tuberculosis (TB) infection in pregnant women.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of pregnant women initiating prenatal care at a university-affiliated
public hospital between January 5, 2009, and March 15, 2010. Eligible women received a questionnaire about TB history and risk factors as well as the tuberculin skin test and phlebotomy for the interferon gamma release assay. Agreement
and correlation between tests were estimated, and different cutoffs for interferon gamma release assay positivity were used to assess effect on agreement. Furthermore, predictors of test positivity and test discordance were evaluated using multivariable analysis.
RESULTS: Of the 220 enrolled women, 199 (90.5%) returned for tuberculin skin test evaluation. Over 70% were Hispanic and 65% were born in a country with high TB prevalence. Agreement between the tuberculin skin test and interferon gamma E1 Activating inhibitor release assay was 77.39 (kappa=0.26). This agreement was not significantly changed using different cutoffs for the assay. Birth bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccination was associated with tuberculin skin test positivity (odds ratio [OR] 4.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-13.48, P=.01), but not interferon gamma release assay positivity. There were no statistically significant predictors of the tuberculin skin test and interferon gamma release assay result discordance; however, birth in a high-prevalence country was marginally associated with tuberculin skin test-positive and interferon gamma release assay-negative results (OR 2.94, 95% CI 0.86-9.97 P=.08).