Early clinical trial unit tumor board: a real-world experience in a national cancer network

PURPOSE

Early clinical trials are the first step into clinical therapies for new drugs. Within the six Bavarian university-based hospitals (Augsburg, Erlangen, Regensburg, Munich (LMU and TU), Würzburg) we have enrolled a virtual network platform for patient discussion.

METHODS

The virtual Early Clinical Trial Unit Tumor Board (ECTU Tumor Board) is a secured web-based meeting to evaluate early clinical trial options for patients, where representatives from local ECTUs participate. We retrospectively analyzed patient cases discussed between November 2021 and November 2022.

RESULTS

From November 2021 to November 2022, a total of 43 patients were discussed in the ECTU Tumor Board. Median age at diagnosis was 44.6 years (range 10-76 years). The median number of previous lines of therapies was 3.7 (range 1-9 therapies) including systemic treatment, surgery, and radiation therapy. A total of 27 different tumor entities were presented and 83.7% (36/43) patients received at least one trial recommendation. In total, 21 different active or shortly recruiting clinical trials were recommended: ten antibody trials, four BiTE (bispecific T cell engager) trials, six CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell trials, and one chemotherapy trial. Only six trials (28.6%) were recommended on the basis of the previously performed comprehensive genetic profiling (CGP).

CONCLUSION

The ECTU Tumor Board is a feasible and successful network, highlighting the force of virtual patient discussions for improving patient care as well as trial recruitment in advanced diseases. It can provide further treatment options after local MTB presentation, aiming to close the gap to access clinical trials.

Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide for Physical Foaming of Advanced Polymer Materials

Foams from high performance polymers find more and more interest. The processes to generate them can be difficult, however. It is shown how physical foaming with CO2 can be used as a first step to assess the potentials of such materials. For investigations of such kind an autoclave on a laboratory scale which allows pressure variations up to 300 bars and temperatures up to 300°C was set up. The samples are saturated with supercritical carbon dioxide (s.c. CO2) which acts as a foaming agent. Depending on the process and material parameters different foam characteristics and cell morphologies were obtained and characterised. The potential of this method is demonstrated for two different classes of advanced polymer materials, thermoplastic fluoropolymers (FEP), and a silicone resin. In the case of the fluoropolymer, previously prepared films were foamed and the effects of various process parameters on the foam characteristics were investigated. Besides the general potential of foams from fluoropolymers, they are candidates for polymeric piezoelectric materials with a relatively high temperature stability. Silicone polymers possess some properties superior to common organic polymers. First results on the foaming behaviour of a silicone resin are presented.

Silica-supported TEMPO catalysts: synthesis and application in the Anelli oxidation of alcohols

The application of silica-supported TEMPO as a recyclable catalyst in the Anelli oxidation of alcohols is reported. The catalyst is easily obtained in a one-step reductive amination procedure starting from a commercially available aminopropyl-functionalized silica. Details of the synthesis of the supported catalyst and its analysis by MAS NMR are presented. Various alcohol oxidations according to the Anelli protocol have been carried out and the stability of the applied silica-supported TEMPO has been studied.

3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazoles: a novel class of NFAT transcription factor regulator

A series of bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazoles (BTPs) has been found to be a novel inhibitor of cytokine production. Identified initially as inhibitors of IL-2 synthesis, the BTPs have been optimized in this regard and even inhibit IL-2 production with a 10-fold enhancement over cyclosporine in an ex vivo assay. Additionally, the BTPs show inhibition of IL-4, IL-5, IL-8, and eotaxin production. Unlike the IL-2 inhibitors, cyclosporine and FK506, the BTPs do not directly inhibit the dephosphorylation of NFAT by calcineurin.

[Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) in the diagnosis of osteoporosis]

The measurement of broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) of the calcaneus has been introduced as a new technique that provides information about both bone mass and structure without the use of ionizing radiation. BUA measurements of the calcaneus were obtained in 324 patients, 109 of whom had osteoporosis. Two hundred and fifteen patients served as control group. BUA values were compared with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements of the lumbar spine, the neck and the heel. The precision error of BUA was 4.1%. The correlation with spinal bone mineral density was r = 0.49, with DXA of the neck r = 0.52 and of the calcaneus r = 0.56, respectively. Patients with osteoporosis showed a significant decrease in BUA compared with healthy subjects (61.4 dB/MHz vs 74.6 dB/MHz). Roc analysis demonstrated that BUA was inferior to DXA of the lumbar spine in detecting osteoporosis.