Search

Bicky Thapa,1,* Navonil De Sarkar,2– 4,* Subhajit Giri,2,3 Komal Sharma,2– 4 Mingee Kim,5 Deepak Kilari1 1Division of Hematology and Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 2Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 3Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 4Data Science Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 5School of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA*These authors Contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Deepak Kilari, Email dkilari@mcw.eduAbstract: Metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is associated with poor prognosis. DNA damage response (DDR) genes are commonly altered in mCRPC rendering them as promising therapeutic targets. Poly (ADP ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) demonstrated antitumor activity in mCRPC patients with DDR gene mutations through synthetic lethality. Multiple clinical trials with PARPi monotherapy exhibited encouraging clinical outcomes in selected patients with mCRPC. More recently, three Phase III randomized clinical trials (RCTs) combining PARPi with androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSIs) demonstrated improved antitumor activity compared to ARSI monotherapy in mCRPC patients as the first-line therapy. Clinical benefit was more pronounced in patients harboring DDR alterations, specifically BRCA1/2. Interestingly, antitumor activity was also observed irrespective of DDR gene mutations, highlighting BRCAness phenotype with androgen receptor blockade resulting in synergistic activity between ARSIs and PARPi. In this review, we discuss the clinical efficacy and safety data of the combination of PARPi plus ARSI in all Phase 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), emphasizing strategies for patient selection and highlighting emerging trends based on clinical trial data.Keywords: PARP inhibitors, talazoparib, ARSI, DDR genes, HRD, metastatic CRPC

Luai Madanat,1 Melinda Sager,1 Daniel O’Connor,1 Bijaya Thapa,1 Nishant Aggarwal,1 Bipin Ghimire,1 Carl Lauter,1– 4 Gabriel N Maine,5,6 Matthew Sims,1,2,4 Alexandra Halalau1,4 1Internal Medicine, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA; 2Infectious Diseases, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA; 3Allergy and Immunology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA; 4Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA; 5Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA; 6Pathology, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USACorrespondence: Luai Madanat, Internal Medicine, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA, Tel +1 248-551-3000, Email Luai.madanat@beaumont.orgBackground: Antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 can be used as an indicator of recent or past vaccination or infection. However, the prognostic value of antibodies targeting the receptor binding protein (anti-RBD) in hospitalized patients is not widely reported.Purpose: Determine prognostic impact of SARS-CoV-2 antibody quantification at the time of admission on clinical outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.Methods: We conducted a pilot observational study on patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infection to determine the prognostic impact of antibody quantitation within the first two days of admission. Anti-nucleocapsid IgG (anti-N) and Anti-RBD levels were measured. Anti-RBD level of 500 AU/mL was used as a cutoff to stratify patients. Spearman’s rank Coefficient (rs) was used to demonstrate association.Results: Of the 26 patients included, those who were vaccinated more frequently tested positive for Anti-RBD (100% vs 46.2%, P = 0.005) with higher median titer level (623 vs 0, P = 0.011) compared to unvaccinated patients. Anti-N positivity was more frequently seen in unvaccinated patients (53.9% vs 7.7%, P = 0.03). Anti-RBD levels > 500 were associated with lower overall hospital length of stay (LOS)(5 vs 10 days, P = 0.046). The analysis employing a Spearman Rank coefficient demonstrated a strong negative correlation between anti-S titer and LOS (rs=− .515, p = 0.007) and a moderate negative correlation with oxygen needs (rs =− .401, p = 0.042).Conclusion: Anti-RBD IgG levels were associated with lower LOS and oxygen needs during hospitalization. Further studies are needed to determine if levels on admission can be used as a prognostic indicator.Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, anti-RBD IgG, anti-nucleocapsid IgG, hospitalized patients, prognosis, outcomes

S Sharma,1 N Oli,2 B Thapa31Department of Nursing, Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal; 2Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal; 3Department of Nursing, Nepalgunj Nursing Campus, Nepalgunj, NepalBackground: The Internet has become a major source of health-related information. In order to provide better health services and health-care education to society, nurses should have acceptable electronic health (eHealth) literacy.Objective: The main aim was to measure eHealth-literacy skills among nursing students of Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nepal.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 152 Bachelor of Science nursing students at the hospital. Data were collected using the self-administered eHealth Literacy Scale. This is an eight-item tool that is assessed on 5-point likert scale to measure consumers’ perceived skills at finding, evaluating, and applying eHealth information to health problems. Demographical and personal variables were collected to explore their relationship with eHealth literacy.Results: A total of 152 nursing students with mean age of 19.84±1.62 years participated in the study. While 44.7% perceived that they had average Internet skills, 65.1% found the Internet useful in helping them make decisions about their health. Nursing students had a moderate self-perceived level of eHealth literacy (median 3.69, IQR 0.87). Related factors included students’ Internet skills, frequency of using the Internet for health related purposes, and self-perception of the usefulness and importance of the Internet.Conclusion: This study represents a baseline reference for eHealth literacy among nursing students. Students have some basic necessary skills, while other skills still need to be improved. There is a need to pay attention to eHealth-literacy needs of nursing students.Keywords: digitization, health literacy, Internet, nursing students, technology