Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials - Volume 9, Issue 1, 2014

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects about 160 million people worldwide. Currently, it is treated with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin, associated with a protease inhibitor in case of genotype 1 infection. However, this combination is often contraindicated and associated with severe adverse events that limit its use in clinical practice. Several drugs active against HCV are in an advanced phase of clinical de Read More

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Despite the improvement in overall survival (OS) due to new treatments and targeted therapies alone or in combination with chemotherapy up-to–date, little is known about cellular mechanisms, both of primary and acquired resistance of CRC to anti-Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) antibodies. EGFR is characterized by tyrosine kinase activit Read More

Chronic abdominal pain (CAP) is a prevalent disorder related to functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). In pediatric setting, CAP is a common presenting problem among children and adolescents ages 2 to 18 years with a median prevalence rate of 12%. It was proposed that CAP is the result of the altered pain sensation due to a dysfunction of the brain-gut axis after a complex interaction among biological, psychologica Read More

Fluid resuscitation with colloids is an established second line therapy for septic patients. Evidence of relative efficacy outcomes is tempered by considerations of the relative costs of the individual fluids. An assessment of recent large clinical trials was performed, resulting in a ranking in the efficacy of these therapies. Probabilities for mortality and the need for renal replacement therapy (RRT) were derived and used to infor Read More

Background/Aim: The evaluation of radiotherapy toxicity in oncologic IBD patients. Defining the optimal patient and treatment factors that would be able to reduce the risk to organs. Materials and Methods: A review of all published radiotherapy trials was performed to identify the clinical and treatment factors of inflammatory bowel disease’s patients treated for different solid tumors. Results: Overall, acute (Grade ≥ 3) gastroi Read More

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are widely used for the treatment of a range of conditions involving bone, such as osteoporosis and bone metastases of cancer, and their efficacy has been confirmed. Nevertheless, a first case of bisphosphonate- related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) as an adverse effect of BP treatment was reported in 2003, and several clinical studies since then have elaborated the risk, prevention and tre Read More