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Purpose: Advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations (deletion in exon 19 or L858R) show an impressive progression-free survival of 14 months when treated with erlotinib. However, the presence of EGFR mutations can only imperfectly predict outcome. We hypothesized that progression-free survival could be influenced both by the pretreatment EGFR T790M mutation and by components of DNA repair pathways.Experimental Design: We assessed the T790M mutation in pretreatment diagnostic specimens from 129 erlotinib-treated advanced NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations. The expression of eight genes and two proteins involved in DNA repair and four receptor tyrosine kinases was also examined.Results: The EGFR T790M mutation was observed in 45 of 129 patients (35%). Progression-free survival was 12 months in patients with and 18 months in patients without the T790M mutation (P = 0.05). Progression-free survival was 27 months in patients with low BRCA1 mRNA levels, 18 months in those with intermediate levels, and 10 months in those with high levels (P = 0.02). In the multivariate analysis, the presence of the T790M mutation (HR, 4.35; P = 0.001), intermediate BRCA1 levels (HR, 8.19; P < 0.0001), and high BRCA1 levels (HR, 8.46; P < 0.0001) emerged as markers of shorter progression-free survival.Conclusions: Low BRCA1 levels neutralized the negative effect of the T790M mutation and were associated with longer progression-free survival to erlotinib. We advocate baseline assessment of the T790M mutation and BRCA1 expression to predict outcome and provide alternative individualized treatment to patients based on T790M mutations and BRCA1 expression. Clin Cancer Res; 17(5); 1–9. ©2011 AACR.

Purpose: Adjuvant treatment may improve survival in early-stage squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung; however, the absolute gain is modest and mainly limited to stage II-IIIA. Current staging methods are imprecise indications of prognosis, but high-risk patients can be identified by gene expression profiling and considered for adjuvant therapy.Experimental Design: The expression of 29 genes was assessed by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR in frozen primary tumor specimens obtained from 66 SCC patients who had undergone surgical resection. Expression values were dichotomized using the median as a cutoff value. We used a risk score to develop a gene expression model for the prediction of survival.Results: The univariate analysis of gene expression in the training cohort identified 10 genes with significant prognostic value: CSF1, EGFR, CA IX, PH4, KIAA0974, ANLN, VEGFC, NTRK1, FN1, and INR1. In the multivariate Cox model, CSF1 (hazard ratio, 3.5; P = 0.005), EGFR (hazard ratio, 2.7; P = 0.02), CA IX (hazard ratio, 0.2; P < 0.0001), and tumor size >4 cm (hazard ratio, 2.7; P = 0.02) emerged as significant markers for survival. The high prognostic value of a risk score based on the expression of the three genes (CSF1, EGFR, and CA IX) was positively validated in a separate cohort of 26 patients in an independent laboratory (P = 0.05).Conclusions: The three-gene signature is strongly associated with prognosis in early-stage SCC. Positive independent validation suggests its suitability for selecting SCC patients with an increased risk of death who might benefit from adjuvant treatment.

Supplementary Figures S1-S3; Supplementary Tables S1-S14.

Supplementary Data from Three-Gene Expression Signature Predicts Survival in Early-Stage Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung

Rapid infusion (RI) of the rituximab biosimilar CT-P10 is currently only an approved treatment regimen for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Although both CT-P10 and reference rituximab are known to be frequently administered using a RI regimen (≤90 min) in clinical practice, published data on the safety of RI of CT-P10 in patients with NHL and CLL are limited. Hence, this study collected real-world safety and effectiveness data on RI-CT-P10 from the medical records of 196 patients with NHL or CLL in 10 European centers, 6 months after the date of the first RI (index date); the infusion-related reaction (IRR) rate was compared to previously published data. Ten percent (95% confidence interval 6%-15%; n = 20/196) of patients experienced an infusion-related reaction (IRR) on day 1-2 post-index, which was not significantly different (p = 0.45) to the IRR rate for rituximab described in a previous meta-analysis (8.8%). During the observation period, 2% of patients experienced grade 3-5 IRRs and 85% (n = 166) experienced an adverse event (non-IRR). The most common reason for discontinuation of first-line CT-P10 was planned treatment completion (81%; n = 158). Complete response and partial response to CT-P10 was observed in 74% (n = 142/192) and 22% (n = 42/192) of patients, respectively. The results of this real-world study demonstrate that the safety and effectiveness profile of RI-CT-P10 is similar to RI of reference rituximab and therefore support the current use of RI-CT-P10 in patients with NHL and CLL.

BACKGROUND Patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), non-candidates for autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT), have few treatment options. Ibrutinib is an oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has shown increased antitumor activity in patients with DLBCL of different subtype from germinal center B-cell like (non-GCB). In the present phase II clinical trial (NCT02692248), we investigated the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of Ibrutinib with the R-GEMOX-D regimen (rituximab, gemcitabine, oxaliplatin and dexamethasone), in patients with non- GCB DLBCL. METHODS We included patients with histological diagnosis of non-GCB DLBCL (according to Hans algorithm), with relapsed or refractory disease after at least 1 line of immunochemotherapy and non-candidates for ASCT. Patients received an induction treatment consisting of 6 (in case of complete remission [CR] after cycle 4) or 8 (in case of partial response [PR] or stable disease after cycle 4) cycles of R-GEMOX-D at standard doses every 2 weeks, in combination with ibrutinib (560 mg daily), followed by a maintenance treatment with ibrutinib for a maximum of 2 years. The primary objective was to evaluate the overall response rate (ORR) after 4 cycles, and the secondary objectives were: CR rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and toxicity. Analyses were performed in the intention to treat population (data cut-off 10th April 2020). RESULTS Sixty-four patients (59.4% male) were included between March 2016 and November 2018. Median age was 67 (25-84) years. Patients had received a median of 2 previous lines of treatment; 56.3% were refractory ( Of the 64 patients who started study treatment, 44 and 35 patients, respectively, were evaluated for response after 4th cycle and at the end of induction. Twenty-four (37%) patients started maintenance with ibrutinib, 7 of whom continue or have completed it. Causes of withdrawal from the trial (n=57) were progression (n=40), adverse event (n=6), transplantation (n=5), withdrawal of consent (n=3) and other causes (n=3). ORR and CR rate after 4th cycle were 53.2% and 35.9%, respectively. Patients with relapsed disease had significantly higher ORR (67.9% vs 41.7%, p=0.037) and CR rate (57.1% vs 19.4%, p=0.002) than patients with refractory disease. At the end of induction, ORR and CR rate were 35.9% and 29.7%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 22 months (range: 1 to 39 months), the estimated 2-year PFS and OS were 21% and 25%, respectively (Figure 1A and 1B), being significantly better in patients with relapsed disease (Figure 1C and 1D). In the multivariate analysis, status of lymphoma at study entry significantly influenced PFS (HR 0.45; 95% CI 0.25-0.82; p=0.009) and OS (HR 0.51; 95% CI 0.27-0.94; p=0.0031) independently from the IPI and the number of previous treatment lines. The most frequent adverse events (AE) (present in at least 20% of patients) were thrombocytopenia (67.2%), diarrhea (51.6%), neutropenia (46.9%), anemia (37.5%), fatigue (34.4%), nausea (29.7%) and paresthesia (20.3%). The most frequent grade 3-5 AE (present in at least 10% of patients) were thrombocytopenia (46.9%), neutropenia (35.9%), diarrhea (15.6%) and anemia (14.1%). Three patients presented a grade 5 AE, two of them related (aspergillosis and pneumonia, respectively) and one unrelated (heart failure). CONCLUSIONS The combination of ibrutinib with R-GEMOX-D as salvage therapy for patients with non-GCB DLBCL is associated with high response rates, especially in relapsed patients. The vast majority of refractory patients progress very early, so this regimen could be considered as a bridge to other consolidation therapies. Biological studies analyzing cell of origin by gene expression profiling, minimal residual disease and mutational spectrum are in progress. Disclosures Abrisqueta: Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Giné:Janssen: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding. Grande:Janssen: Research Funding. Caballero:Roche: Other: travel; Gilead: Other: travel; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: travel; BMS: Other: travel; Takeda: Other: travel; Kite: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Martin Garcia-Sancho:Roche, Celgene, Janssen, Servier, Gilead: Honoraria; Celgene, Eusa Pharma, Gilead, iQuone, Kyowa Kirin, Roche, Morphosys: Consultancy. OffLabel Disclosure: Off-label use of a new combination in the context of a clinical trial. New combination (Ibrutinib + R-GEMOX)

Chemotherapy drugs, including 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin and docetaxel, are commonly used in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC). Apoptosis-relevant genes may be associated with drug resistance. In the present study, the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 interacting mediator of cell death (BIM), astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) and AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL) were investigated in 131 advanced GC samples, and the expression levels of these genes were correlated with patients' overall survival (OS). All 131 patients received first-line FOLFOX combination chemotherapy with folinic acid and 5-FU, in which 56 patients were further treated with second-line docetaxel-based chemotherapy. A correlation between the mRNA expression levels of BIM and AEG-1 was observed (rs=0.30; P=0.002). There was no association between the mRNA expression levels of any of the individual genes analyzed and OS in patients only receiving first-line FOLFOX chemotherapy. In a subgroup of patients receiving docetaxel-based second-line chemotherapy, those with high or intermediate levels of BIM exhibited a median OS of 18.2 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 12.8–23.6], compared with 9.6 months (95% CI, 8.9–10.3) in patients with low BIM levels (P=0.008). However, there was no correlation between the mRNA expression levels of AEG-1 or AXL and OS. The risk of mortality was higher in patients with low BIM mRNA levels than in those with high or intermediate BIM mRNA levels (hazard ratio, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.21–5.62; P=0.010). Therefore, BIM may be considered as a biomarker to identify whether patients could benefit from docetaxel-based second-line chemotherapy in GC.

Objective Rituximab in combination with chemotherapy has been proven to increase progression-free and overall survival in follicular lymphoma (FL), but there is considerable interindividual variability in the response. Extrinsic pathway apoptosis triggered by death receptors seems to be involved in the mechanism of action of monoclonal antibodies. This study aimed to assess the association between TRAILR1/TRAIL polymorphisms (rs20575, rs20576, rs2230229, rs12488654) and rituximab response and the relationship with FASL rs763110, previously found to be associated with rituximab response. Patients and methods Polymorphisms were determined in a study cohort of 125 FL patients treated with rituximab as first-line treatment and correlated with response, which was scored according to the International Working Group Consensus Revised as complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease. Results No significant association with response was found for rs20576, rs2230229, and rs12488654 polymorphisms. In contrast, rs20575 GC/GG carriers were more partial/nonresponders (88.2%) than complete responders (72.5%), showing a trend toward statistical significance (P=0.064). In a multivariable setting, we found that female sex [odds ratio=0.355, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.137-0.922, P=0.033] and the TRAILR1 rs20575 CC genotype (odds ratio=0.162, 95% CI: 0.035-0.757, P=0.021) were independent positive predictive factors of complete clinical response to rituximab, constructing a parsimonious model with good calibration [χ of 5.719 (d.f.=6, P=0.455)] and discrimination (C-statistic=0.739, 95% CI: 0.636-0.842). Conclusion After studying the pharmacogenetic role of TRAILR1/TRAIL polymorphisms in rituximab-treated FL patients, we found that the rs20575 CC genotype is an independent predictive factor of better rituximab response, indicating the possible involvement of death receptors in anti-CD20 mechanisms of action.

In this work, an analysis of the luminescent properties of zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ) doped with Er 3+ in three different concentrations was performed to investigate which sample could be useful for optoelectronic applications. To achieve it, a set of four samples of ZrO2:Er 3+ with the variation in Er 3+ concentration about 0%, 0.1%, 0.2% y 0.3% were synthesized by the sol-gel method. The luminescence measurements for all samples were performed using an excitation wavelength of 380 nm, by this way the upconversion spectrum for the sample containing the 0.2% of Er 3+ was measured at 980 nm. The luminescence spectra showed three emission bands attributed to the electronic transitions 4 F 7/2 → 4 I 15/2 , 2 H 11/2 → 4 I 15/2, and 2 S 3/2 → 4 I 15/2 , all this band belonged to Er 3+ radiative transitions, we found that the sample with 0.2% presented a higher emission intensity at 550 nm compared with the others samples, also the average lifetime was calculated, we found that this value decrease with the increment of Er 3+ concentration, finally, the upconversion spectrum were measured for the sample with higher luminescent intensity at 380 nm, the result revealed that the most probable emission after the photon absorption is that around 550 nm.

In this paper, we experimentally analyze the intensity and phase dependence of the electric current in an active long-range surface plasmon polariton (LRSPP) device. It consists of a metallic waveguide embedded in a dielectric material where we have included external electric contacts. Experimental results show that the intensity beam decays almost 15 dB when we apply 150 mW, as we can obtain a phase change of 15p for the same value of electric power.

In this work we introduce a novel and viable model for the measurement of ethanol concentration in water. The concept relies on the optical high spectral sensitivity of plasmonic devices. The ethanol in water mixture shows a linear ratio with the refractive index and the concentration percentage on a selected range of 0 to 45%. The proposed model is based on the refractive index linear relationships of the ethanol concentration and the plasmonic resonance wavelength. Therefore enabling the indirect measurement of the ethanol concentration through the plasmonic resonance wavelength.

We propose a multi-plane display based on polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT) Liquid Crystal. The idea of a multi-plane display has shown progress in solving the vergence-accommodation conflict with the eye-brain system. Nowadays new emerging technologies such as the Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) share that problem. VR and AR wearable displays, work using stereoscopic 3D glasses, which push the vergence-accommodation conflict. The advantage of the UV-curing method to create a polymer network is the ease to use it on normal lab environments. This method can achieve acceptable response time for a transparent-scattered state on a LC cell, which is needed for a multi-plane display. On this work, we are explaining the fabrication process to create such PSCT LC cell.

Background and objective. Idelalisib is an oral inhibitor of the p110δ isoform of PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) approved in Europe and USA as monotherapy in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after 2 previous lines of therapy based on a phase 2 study (Gopal et al, N Eng J Med 2014). However, there are scarce data on the use of idelalisib in clinical practice (Eyre et al, Br J Haematol 2017). The objective of this study was to analyze the efficacy and toxicity of idelalisib in relapsed/refractory FL patients in clinical practice in Spanish hospitals of GELTAMO group (GELT-IDE-2018-02 Study). Patients and Methods. Retrospective study of relapsed/refractory FL patients treated with idelalisib as salvage therapy in clinical practice. Demographic and clinical and biological variables were analyzed at FL diagnosis and at the time of idelalisib therapy, as well as its efficacy and toxicity. Results. A total of 43 patients from 20 hospitals were included. At time of idelalisib therapy, median age was 63 years (range 44-83), number of previous lines of therapy was 3 (2-7), 42% (n=18) were refractory to last previous treatment and 42% (n=18) had received an autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT); 56% (n=24) had progressed in the first 24 months after FL diagnosis (POD24). Median duration of treatment with idelalisib at time of analysis was 8.1 months (1.1-37.4) and 28/43 patients (65%) discontinued therapy, 13 due to progression, 12 due to adverse events (AE) and 3 due to physician's decision. Overall response rate (ORR) was 73% (32% CR) and median PFS 14.6 months (95% CI 0-32.2), with a trend to be higher in non-POD24 group (median PFS of 9.4 months [95% CI 1.7-16.9] in POD24 vs. 27 months [95% CI NA] in non-PO24 patients, p=0.082); median duration of response to idelalisib was 25.1 months (95% CI 13.1-37.6). Median overall survival (OS) was not reached at the time of analysis, with a 2-year OS of 74% (95% CI 58%-90%) (Figure). In 4 patients, an allogeneic SCT was performed after idelalisib. A total of 86% (n=37) of patients showed any AE, being in 56% (n=24) of grade ≥3 AE. Toxicities of grade ≥3 more frequent were: neutropenia (23% of patients), diarrhea (23%), infections (23%: pneumonia in 4 patients, CMV infection in 2, febrile neutropenia in 1 and other infections in 3 [1 of them died due to Aspergillus infection]), and increased transaminases (9%). Conclusions. In this series of patients with relapsed/refractory FL, several previous lines of therapies and factors associated with poor prognosis, the treatment with idelalisib was associated with efficacy and toxicity similar to published studies. These results support the use of idelalisib as an option for FL patients with multiple or poor risk relapses. Financial support: Gilead Figure. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with follicular lymphoma treated with idelalisib. Figure Disclosures Sancho: SERVIER: Honoraria; SANOFI: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; CELGENE: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; JANSSEN: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; ROCHE: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GILEAD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CELLTRION: Consultancy; Kern-Pharma: Honoraria; Sandoz: Consultancy. Lopez Jimenez:GILEAD SCIENCES: Honoraria, Other: Education funding. Ramirez Payer:GILEAD SCIENCES: Research Funding. Cordoba:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kyowa-Kirin: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; FUNDACION JIMENEZ DIAZ UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Employment; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy. Martín:Kiowa Kirin: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses, Research Funding; iQone: Consultancy; Teva: Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses; Servier: Honoraria, Other: Travel Expenses. Armando:Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding.

A novel fiber optic temperature sensor based on a liquid-core multimode interference device is demonstrated. The advantage of such structure is that the thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) of the liquid is at least one order of magnitude larger than that of silica and this, combined with the fact that the TOC of silica and the liquid have opposite signs, provides a liquid-core multimode fiber (MMF) highly sensitive to temperature. Since the refractive index of the liquid can be easily modified, this allows us to control the modal properties of the liquid-core MMF at will and the sensor sensitivity can be easily tuned by selecting the refractive index of the liquid in the core of the device. The maximum sensitivity measured in our experiments is 20 nm/°C in the low-temperature regime up to 60 °C. To the best of our knowledge, to date, this is the largest sensitivity reported for fiber-based MMI temperature sensors.

Bone marrow infiltration (BMI), categorized as an extra-nodal site, affects stage and is associated with poor prognosis in newly diagnosed lymphoma patients. We have evaluated the accuracy of PET/CT and bone marrow biopsy (BMB) to assess BMI in 372 lymphoma patients [140 Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) and 232 High Grade B-cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (HG B-NHL), among them 155 Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLCL)]. For HL cases, and taking into account PET/CT, sensitivity, negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy were 96.7, 99.3, and 99.3% while those of BMB were 32.3, 83.8, and 85%, respectively. For HG B-NHL and considering PET/CT, sensitivity, NPV, and accuracy were 52.7, 81.7, and 84.1%, while those of BMB were 77.6, 90.2, and 90.7%, respectively. In the HG B-NHL group, 25 patients would have been under-staged without BMB. These results lead us to recommend PET/CT and the avoidance of BMB to assess BMI in HL. In the case of HG B-NHL, bone marrow status should be assessed firstly by means of PET/CT; only in either focal or diffuse PET/CT with low borderline SUV max values or in negative cases, should BMB be carried out afterwards. In the HG B-NHL setting and at the present moment, both techniques are complementary.

Several studies have reported uneven results when evaluating the prognostic value of bone marrow biopsy (BMB) and PET/CT as part of the staging of diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The heterogeneity of the inclusion criteria and not taking into account selection and collinearity biases in the analysis models might explain part of these discrepancies. To address this issue we have carried a retrospective multicenter study including 268 DLBCL patients with a BMB and a PET/CT available at diagnosis where we estimated both the prognosis impact and the diagnostic accuracy of each technique. Only patients treated with R‐CHOP/21 as first line (n = 203) were included in the survival analysis. With a median follow‐up of 25 months the estimated 3‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 76.3% and 82.7% respectively. In a multivariate analysis designed to avoid a collinearity bias with IPI categories, BMB‐BMI [bone marrow involvement](+) (HR: 3.6) and ECOG PS > 1 (HR: 2.9) were independently associated with a shorter PFS and three factors, age >60 years old (HR: 2.4), ECOG PS >1 (HR: 2.4), and abnormally elevated B2‐microglobulin levels (HR: 2.2) were independently associated with a shorter OS. In our DLBCL cohort, treated with a uniform first‐line chemotherapy regimen, BMI by BMB complemented performance status in predicting those patients with a higher risk for relapse or progression. In this cohort BMI by PET/CT could not independently predict a shorter PFS and/or OS.

Background The phloroglucinol assay is the current method for d-xylose determination in urine/plasma/serum. However, its sensitivity is limited when low amounts of d-xylose are to be measured, such as in the noninvasive evaluation of intestinal lactase with 4-galactosylxylose (gaxilose). An improved assay was therefore needed. Methods We developed and validated a modified version of the phloroglucinol-based assay for quantification of d-xylose in urine/serum samples. A method for gaxilose determination by gas chromatography (GC) was also optimized. Results Linearity ranged from 0.125 to 5.0 mg/l (5–200 mg/l in original sample). Accuracy at LOQ (0.125 mg/l) was 0.97/2.49% in spiked urine/serum; for other quality controls (QC), it was

In this work, we demonstrate the existence of structural metallic band gaps in a ternary material, dielectric–dielectric–metal, and we show analytical equations for their computation. We show the existence of metallic band gaps not only in the lowest band but also for high frequencies. These gaps are structural ones but different and additional to the dielectric ones in the dielectric photonic crystal substrate. Therefore, as the desire properties of both, the dielectric and metallic photonic crystals, are present the applications for this particular structure are straightforward.

This study shows that in Mexico, a country at an advanced stage in the epidemiologic transition, with the national burden of disease dominated by noncommunicable diseases, elevated blood pressure is a major clinical and public health problem. 31.7% of the Mexican individuals aged 50 and over had systolic hypertension, and 47.3% were at systolic prehypertensive levels. Also, approximately half of all cardiovascular deaths that occurred annually in the population of Mexico aged ≥50 years are attributable to above optimal levels of systolic blood pressure. We think these estimates may help order health priorities in Mexico (and other middle-income countries) at a time when the costs of medical care take a considerable share of the gross national product in most countries.

et al., [Goals and Background]: Hypolactasia affects over half of the world population. Diagnosis remains problematic as currently available tests, such as the hydrogen breath test, have low reliability and lactose intolerance symptoms are unspecific. We evaluated the diagnostic performance and safety of a new noninvasive diagnostic test based on urine or serum measurement of D-xylose after lactase cleavage of orally administered 4-galactosylxylose (gaxilose). [Study]: In a multicentre, open-label, nonrandomized, phase IIb-III study, consecutive patients with symptoms suggestive of lactose intolerance sequentially underwent intestinal biopsy for direct measurement of lactase activity (reference standard), hydrogen breath test, and blood glucose test after lactose challenge, 4-and 5-hour urine-based gaxilose test, and blood-based gaxilose test. For the gaxilose tests, 0 to 4 and 4 to 5 hours urine samples were taken after a 0.45 g gaxilose dose, whereas serum samples were taken 90 minutes after a 2.7 g dose for D-xylose determination. Genetic testing of hypolactasia was also assessed. [Results]: Of the 222 patients enrolled, 203 completed all diagnostic tests; 108 were hypolactasic according to biopsy. The sensitivities and specificities and positive and negative predictive values of the gaxilose tests were all >90% versus 69% to 85% for the hydrogen breath test and the blood glucose test. The area under the ROC curve was significantly higher for the gaxilose tests (>0.9, P≤0.007). These tests also had higher sensitivity than genetic testing for hypolactasia and were well tolerated. [Conclusions]: The diagnostic performance of the gaxilose tests is excellent and can substantially improve the diagnosis of hypolactasia.

A highly sensitive salinity sensor based on a two-core optical fiber is demonstrated for both high- and low-concentration regimes. Salinity of several aqueous solutions is measured in the ranges from 0 to 5 mol/L and from 0 to 1 mol/L with sensitivities of 14.0086 and 12.0484 nm/(mol/L), respectively. The achieved sensitivity is ~19 times higher than that recently reported for polymide-coated photonic crystal fibers.

Introduction and Objective: Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL-NT) is associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and is much more common in Asia and Latin America than in western countries. Data on disease presentation and outcome from European series are very limited. The objective of the study is to analyze the clinical characteristics at diagnosis, treatment received and outcome of a series of patients from Spain. Patients and Methods: Eigthy-seven patients with ENKTL-NT diagnosed from 2000 to 2017 were identified in 24 academic centers in Spain. Clinical data were collected retrospectively. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Variables included in the univariate analysis were: race, gender, age, previous sinusitis, nasal localization, Ann Arbor stage, ECOG performance status (PS), B symptoms, LDH, beta2-microglobulin, albumin and C-reactive protein. Multivariate analyses were performed by Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results: Clinical characteristics at diagnosis are shown in Table 1. Seventy-seven patients received active treatment, 31 (40%) with chemotherapy (CT) alone, 39 (51%) with CT and radiotherapy (RT), 7 (9%) with RT alone (median dose 50 Gy). First line therapies were: CHOP/CHOP-like in 30 (42%) patients, high-dose L-Asparaginase-containing regimens in 27 (38%), and other regimens in 14 (20%); 12 patients proceeded to stem-cell transplant in first line (10 auto / 2 allo). Response rate was evaluable in 70 patients (by PET/TC in 55%): CR 35 (50%), PR 9 (13%), SD/progression 26 (37%). Median number of CT lines was 2 (1-6). With a median follow-up of 38 months, 3 yr OS was 38% (95% CI 27-49), and 3 yr PFS 25% (95% CI 14-35). Causes of death were: progression 35 (67%), toxicity 12 (23%), second neoplasms 5 (10%). The variables at diagnosis significantly associated with poor OS were: age ≥ 60 yr, extranasal disease, Ann Arbor III-IV, ECOG PS 2-4, increased LDH, and decreased albumin. In the multivariate analysis including all the previous variables, ECOG 2-4 PS (HR 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-7.0) and low albumin (HR 3.6, 95% CI 1.4-9.3) maintained the negative influence in OS. Patients treated with regimens that included high dose L-Asparaginase had 3 yr OS of 61% (95%CI 40-82), compared with patients treated with CHOP/CHOP-like 3 yr OS of 19% (95%CI 5-32) (p=0.009). These differences were statistically significant both in patients with nasal involvement (3 yr OS 82% with L-Asparaginase vs 21% with CHOP, p=0.01) or with localized disease (3 yr OS 71% with L-Asparaginase vs 24% with CHOP, p=0.03). Differences were not statistically significant in patients with extranasal involvement (3 yr OS 48% with L-Asparaginase vs 14% with RCHOP, p=0.2), or advance disease (3 yr OS 48% with L-Asparaginase vs 14% with CHOP, p=0.2), probably because the low number of patients. Conclusion: This is the largest series reported of Caucasian patients with ENKTL-NT. Patients are young at diagnosis and one fourth had a previous history of chronic sinusitis. This population has a poor outcome, being progression the main cause of death. Poor clinical condition at diagnosis (high ECOG PS and low albumin level) is the main factor related with poor survival. Therapies with high dose L-Asparaginase improve the survival in this western population compared with the classical CHOP regimen. Disclosures González-Barca: Roche: Speakers Bureau; Celtrion: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Martín:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Janssen: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses; Servier: Honoraria, Other: Travel expenses. Panizo:BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Sanchez Blanco:Gilead: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria. Marin Niebla:Roche: Consultancy, Other: Medical education of Staff, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Medical education of Staff, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Other: Medical education of Staff, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Other: Medical education of Staff, Speakers Bureau. Queizan:Janssen: Consultancy. Lopez:Roche: Research Funding.

A simple and compact fiber optic sensor based on a two-core fiber is demonstrated for high-performance measurements of refractive indices (RI) of liquids. In order to demonstrate the suitability of the proposed sensor to perform high-sensitivity sensing in a variety of applications, the sensor has been used to measure the RI of binary liquid mixtures. Such measurements can accurately determine the salinity of salt water solutions, and detect the water content of adulterated alcoholic beverages. The largest sensitivity of the RI sensor that has been experimentally demonstrated is 3,119 nm per Refractive Index Units (RIU) for the RI range from 1.3160 to 1.3943. On the other hand, our results suggest that the sensitivity can be enhanced up to 3485.67 nm/RIU approximately for the same RI range.

[Purpose]: Management of locally advanced rectal cancer (RC) consists of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with fluoropyrimidines, followed by total mesorectal excision. We sought to evaluate the expression of selected genes, some of which were derived from a previous undirected SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression)-based approach, before and after CRT, to identify mechanisms of resistance. [Methods]: This retrospective cohort study included 129 consecutive patients. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction of 53 candidate genes was performed on the biopsy specimen before treatment and on the surgical specimen after CRT. A paired-samples t test was performed to determine genes that were significantly changed after CRT. The result was correlated with patients' disease-free survival. [Results]: Twenty-two genes were significantly upregulated, and two were significantly downregulated. Several of the upregulated genes have roles in cell cycle control; these include CCNB1IP1, RCC1, EEF2, CDKN1, TFF3, and BCL2. The upregulation of TFF3 was associated with worse disease-free survival on multivariate analyses (hazard ratio, 2.64; P=.027). Patients whose surgical specimens immunohistochemically showed secretion of TFF3 into the lumen of the tumoral microglands had a higher risk of relapse (hazard ratio, 2.51; P=.014). In vitro experiments showed that DLD-1 cells stably transfected with TFF3 were significantly less sensitive to 5-fluorouracil and showed upregulation of genes involved in the transcriptional machinery and in resistance to apoptosis. [Conclusion]: Upregulation of TFF3 after CRT for RC is associated with a higher risk of relapse. The physiological role of TFF3 in restoring the mucosa during CRT could be interfering with treatment efficacy. Our results could reveal not only a novel RC prognostic marker but also a therapeutic target. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved., Funded by Fondo de Investigaciones SanitariasPI021094 and Fundación Mutua Madrileña. P. Cejas is supported by Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer programa PAO 2010, and V. M. García is supported by Fundación Para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital La Paz grant REX 09.

The median progression-free and overall survival for all 71 patients. (DOCX 108Â kb)