37,179 research outputs found

    Pharmacoeconomic analysis of adjuvant oral capecitabine vs intravenous 5-FU/LV in Dukes' C colon cancer: the X-ACT trial

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    Oral capecitabine (Xeloda<sup>®</sup>) is an effective drug with favourable safety in adjuvant and metastatic colorectal cancer. Oxaliplatin-based therapy is becoming standard for Dukes' C colon cancer in patients suitable for combination therapy, but is not yet approved by the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the adjuvant setting. Adjuvant capecitabine is at least as effective as 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV), with significant superiority in relapse-free survival and a trend towards improved disease-free and overall survival. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of adjuvant capecitabine from payer (UK National Health Service (NHS)) and societal perspectives. We used clinical trial data and published sources to estimate incremental direct and societal costs and gains in quality-adjusted life months (QALMs). Acquisition costs were higher for capecitabine than 5-FU/LV, but higher 5-FU/LV administration costs resulted in 57% lower chemotherapy costs for capecitabine. Capecitabine vs 5-FU/LV-associated adverse events required fewer medications and hospitalisations (cost savings £3653). Societal costs, including patient travel/time costs, were reduced by >75% with capecitabine vs 5-FU/LV (cost savings £1318), with lifetime gain in QALMs of 9 months. Medical resource utilisation is significantly decreased with capecitabine vs 5-FU/LV, with cost savings to the NHS and society. Capecitabine is also projected to increase life expectancy vs 5-FU/LV. Cost savings and better outcomes make capecitabine a preferred adjuvant therapy for Dukes' C colon cancer. This pharmacoeconomic analysis strongly supports replacing 5-FU/LV with capecitabine in the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer in the UK

    Improved measurement of the branching fraction of h c → γη′/η and search for h c → γπ 0

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    Abstract The processes h c → γP (P = η′, η, π 0) are studied with a sample of (27.12 ± 0.14) × 108 ψ(3686) events collected by the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The decay h c → γη is observed for the first time with the significance of 9.0 σ, and the branching fraction is determined to be (3.77 ± 0.55 ± 0.13 ± 0.26) × 10 −4, while B B \mathcal{B} (h c → γη′) is measured to be (1.40 ± 0.11 ± 0.04 ± 0.10) × 10 −3, where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second systematic, and the third from the branching fraction of ψ(3686) → π 0 h c . The combination of these results allows for a precise determination of R h c = B h c → γη B h c → γ η ′ , Rhc=B(hcπ0γη)B(hcπ0γη), {R}_{h_c}=\frac{\mathcal{B}\left({h}_c\to {\pi}^0\gamma \eta \right)}{\mathcal{B}\left({h}_c\to {\pi}^0\gamma {\eta}^{\prime}\right)}, which is calculated to be (27.0 ± 4.4 ± 1.0)%. The results are valuable for gaining a deeper understanding of η − η′ mixing, and its manifestation within quantum chromodynamics. No significant signal is found for the decay h c → γπ 0, and an upper limit is placed on its branching fraction of B B \mathcal{B} (h c → γπ 0) < 5.0 × 10 −5, at the 90% confidence level

    Search for new hadronic decays of h c and observation of h c → p p ¯ η ppη p\overline{p}\eta

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    Abstract A search for the hadronic decays of the h c meson to the final states p p ¯ pp p\overline{p} π + π − π 0, p p ¯ η ppη p\overline{p}\eta , and p p ¯ pp p\overline{p} π 0 via the process ψ(3686) → π 0 h c is performed using (4.48 ± 0.03) × 108 ψ(3686) events collected with the BESIII detector. The decay channel h c → p p ¯ η ppη p\overline{p}\eta is observed for the first time with a significance greater than 5σ and a branching fraction of (6.41 ± 1.74 ± 0.53 ± 1.00) × 10 −4, where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and that from the branching fraction of ψ(3686) → π 0 h c . Strong evidence for the decay h c → p p ¯ pp p\overline{p} π + π − π 0 is found with a significance of 4.9σ and a branching fraction of (3.84 ± 0.83 ± 0.69 ± 0.58) × 10 −3. The significances include systematic uncertainties. No clear signal of the decay h c → p p ¯ pp p\overline{p} π 0 is found, and an upper limit of 6.59 × 10 −4 on its branching fraction is set at the 90% confidence level

    A study of purified montmorillonite intercalated with 5-fluorouracil as drug carrier

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    Since its introduction over 40 years ago, 5-fluorouracil (5- FU) has remained the only effective chemotherapy option available for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, this cytotoxic anticancer drug often causes severe side effects because it does not act selectively on the tumor. It has been reported that the 5-FU showed considerable toxicity when administered by intravenous injections or via alimentary tract. Although, many materials have been developed for carrying 5-FU, there has been no clinically acceptable carrier for 5-FU till now. Montmorillonite, one of the clay minerals, consists of hydrated aluminum silicates with fine grains and large spaces between the layers. Isomorphous substitution of cations is common. In the study, we attempt to intercalate 5 -FU into interlayers of montmorillonite through ion exchange . Montmorillonite was purified from crude clays of bentonite in Tai-dong, Taiwan by filtration and sedimentation. Solutions of 5-FU with different concentrations were prepared by dissolving various amounts of 5- FU into 10 ml NaOH solution. Purified montmorillonite powder was soaked in 5-FU solution for a period of time with different pH values and temperatures. In this study, we try to intercalate 5-FU into interlayers of montmorillonite to find out optimum conditions, such as soaking time, temperature, pH value, initial 5-FU concentration, etc., to prepare composites of 5 -FU and montmorillonite (5-FU/mont). UV, SDT, FTIR, XRD are used to characterize the 5-FU/mont composite. From the results, 5-FU was successfully intercalated into the interlayer of montmorillonite both by free surface absorption and OH replacement. The optimum condition for 5 - FU/mont preparations is 1.185 wt% of 5-FU as initial concentration under a pH value of 11.6 at a temperature of 80degreesC and a soaking time of 2 h. The total amount of 5- FU in montmorillonite is about 87.5 mg for each gram of montmorillonite, which can be proved by thermal gravimetric analysis. The composite of 5-FU/mont is expected to achieve in situ release for colorectal cancer therapy in future applications
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