BioMed research international
-
Review Meta Analysis
Improved COVID-19 Outcomes following Statin Therapy: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Although vaccine rollout for COVID-19 has been effective in some countries, there is still an urgent need to reduce disease transmission and severity. We recently carried out a meta-analysis and found that pre- and in-hospital use of statins may improve COVID-19 mortality outcomes. Here, we provide an updated meta-analysis in an attempt to validate these results and increase the statistical power of these potentially important findings. ⋯ Taken together, this updated meta-analysis extends and confirms the findings of our previous study, suggesting that in-hospital statin use leads to significant reduction of all-cause mortality in COVID-19 cases. Considering these results, statin therapy during hospitalization, while indicated, should be recommended.
-
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to compare the difference in efficacy and safety between epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) with antiangiogenic inhibitors (A + T) and EGFR-TKI monotherapy in patients with treatment-naïve advanced EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ⋯ Addition of antiangiogenic inhibitors to first-line EGFR-TKI therapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression for patients with advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC regardless of EGFR mutation type and brain metastasis status. The lack of OS benefit may be explained by differences in subsequent treatments rather than drug resistance mechanisms.
-
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been confirmed to play a crucial role in human disease, especially in tumor development and progression. Small nucleolar RNA host gene (SNHG3), a newly identified lncRNA, has been found dysregulated in various cancers. Nevertheless, the results remain controversial. ⋯ Additionally, patients with high SNHG3 expression tended to have more advanced clinical stage, higher histological grade, earlier distant metastasis, and earlier lymph node metastasis. Excavation of TCGA dataset valuated that SNHG3 was upregulated in various cancers and predicted worse OS and DFS. Overexpressed SNHG3 was strongly associated with poor survival and clinical outcomes in human cancers and therefore can serve as a promising biomarker for predicting patients' prognosis.
-
To evaluate the efficacy of immuno-oncology combinational therapy (IOCT) versus monotherapy with programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors or conventional therapies, i.e., non-IOCT, in patients with advanced solid tumors. ⋯ IOCT is a preferable treatment option over PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy and conventional therapy for patients with advanced solid tumors. However, we should note the increased incidence rate of high-grade AEs in IOCT.
-
The purpose of this article was to compare the efficiency and safety of drug-coated balloon angioplasty (DCB) and atherectomy with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in patients with femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis (ISR). Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (all up to March 2019) were searched systematically. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was conducted. 5 studies with 599 participants were included. ⋯ Compared with PTA, the rate of patency and freedom from TLR in the laser atherectomy (LD) group was higher than that in the PTA group (patency: 6 months: RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.64, P < 0.05, 12 months: RR 2.25, 95% CI 1.14 to 4.44, P < 0.05; freedom from TLR: 6 months: RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.53, P = 0.01, 12 months: RR 1.59, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.25, P = 0.01) at 6 and 12 months follow-up. In conclusion, DCB and LD had superior clinical (freedom from TLR and clinical improvement) and angiographic outcomes (patency rate) compared with PTA for the treatment of femoropopliteal ISR. Moreover, DCB and LD had a low incidence of amputation and mortality and were relatively safe methods.