Urokinase guidelines

Biomarkers play an essential role in the management of patients with invasive breast cancer. For selecting patients likely to respond to endocrine therapy, both oestrogen receptors (ERs) and progesterone receptors (PRs) should be measured on all newly diagnosed invasive breast cancers. On the other hand, for selecting likely response to all forms of anti-HER2 therapy (trastuzumab, pertuzumab, lapatinib or ado-trastuzumab emtansine), determination of HER2 expression or gene copy number is mandatory. Where feasible, measurement of ER, PR and HER2 should be performed on recurrent lesions and the primary invasive tumour...

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) continues to be associated with a poor prognosis. This systematic review aimed to summarize the literature regarding potential prognostic biomarkers to facilitate validation studies and clinical application. METHODS: A systematic review was performed (2004-2014) according to PRISMA guidelines. Studies were ranked using REMARK criteria and the following outcomes were examined: overall/disease free survival, nodal involvement, tumour characteristics, metastasis, recurrence and resectability...

BACKGROUND: Massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with significant mortality, especially if compounded by haemodynamic instability, right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and right atrial (RA) thrombus. Thrombolysis can be lifesaving in patients with major embolism and cardiogenic shock, and accelerates the resolution of thrombus. Only three fibrinolytic agents-namely streptokinase, urokinase, and recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (alteplase) have been approved in the treatment of PE, with studies demonstrating similar safety profiles...

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the cost effectiveness of guideline-recommended (American Society of Clinical Oncology, European Society of Medical Oncology) urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)/plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) biomarkers to guide adjuvant chemotherapy decisions for hormone receptor-positive, node-negative early breast cancer patients at intermediate risk of relapse, in France, Germany, and The Netherlands. METHODS: uPA/PAI-1 testing was compared to chemotherapy for all patients and to no chemotherapy in two age-related subgroups (35-49 and 50-75 years)...

PURPOSE: To provide recommendations on appropriate use of breast tumor biomarker assay results to guide decisions on adjuvant systemic therapy for women with early-stage invasive breast cancer. METHODS: A literature search and prospectively defined study selection sought systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, prospective-retrospective studies, and prospective comparative observational studies published from 2006 through 2014. Outcomes of interest included overall survival and disease-free or recurrence-free survival...

CONTEXT: Radiolabelled choline positron emission tomography has changed the management of prostate cancer patients. However, new emerging radiopharmaceutical agents, like radiolabelled prostate specific membrane antigen, and new promising hybrid imaging will begin new challenges in the diagnostic field. OBJECTIVE: The continuous evolution in nuclear medicine has led to the improvement in the detection of recurrent prostate cancer (PCa), particularly distant metastases...

BACKGROUND: Guidelines and clinical practice for the prevention of complications associated with central venous catheters (CVC) around the world vary greatly. Most institutions recommend the use of heparin to prevent occlusion, however there is debate regarding the need for heparin and evidence to suggest 0.9% sodium chloride (normal saline) may be as effective. The use of heparin is not without risk, may be unnecessary and is also associated with increased cost. OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical effects (benefits and harms) of intermittent flushing of heparin versus normal saline to prevent occlusion in long term central venous catheters in infants and children...

Mal de Meleda is a rare autosomal recessive palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK) disease with an estimated prevalence of 1:100,000. Clinically, the onset of the disease is typically soon after birth and features a transgrediens (plantar surface progressing to dorsal surface) and progrediens (worsening with age) pattern of hyperkeratosis of the palms and soles. The disease can feature other potentially disfiguring effects on the hands and feet that can severely impact function. Histologically, the lesions show hyperkeratosis and acanthosis without epidermolysis in the epidermis, accompanied by perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate in the dermis...

OBJECT: The objective of this systematic review and analysis was to answer the following question: What are the optimal treatment strategies for posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) in premature infants? METHODS: Both the US National Library of Medicine and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were queried using MeSH headings and key words relevant to PHH. Two hundred thirteen abstracts were reviewed, after which 98 full-text publications that met inclusion criteria that had been determined a priori were selected and reviewed...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the strategy and long-term outcomes of endovascular treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) complicated by inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombosis. METHODS: The treatment strategy and outcomes of BCS complicated by IVC thrombosis were retrospectively evaluated in a single-center study. The treatment was aimed at the IVC thrombus, not hepatic vein occlusion. All 133 patients with BCS complicated by IVC thrombosis from February 2003 to March 2013 underwent endovascular treatment...

BACKGROUND: High levels of intact and cleaved forms of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) in both tissue and blood are associated with poor survival in several cancer diseases. The prognostic significance of uPAR in cholangiocarcinoma is unknown. The aims of this study were to determine if pre-treatment serum levels of uPAR forms and a decrease in levels during chemotherapy are predictive of survival in patients with inoperable cholangiocarcinoma. DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with inoperable cholangiocarcinoma were consecutively included in the training set (n=108)...

AIMS: Following the introduction of new adjuvant therapies we wanted to reappraise the prognostic and predictive value of uPA/PAI-1 in early breast cancer. PATIENTS & METHODS: This monocentric retrospective study included 652 patients who had curative surgery between 2006 and 2011 and adjuvant treatment decision-making, taking into account uPA/PAI-1 tumor levels. RESULTS: uPA and PAI-1 levels were associated with classical clinicopathological parameters and adjuvant chemotherapy decision, but not with peritumoral vascular invasion (PVI; also known as peritumoral vascular emboli)...

Thrombotic occlusion of central venous catheters (CVCs) is a common problem in newborns. There is no guideline that systematically addresses the diagnosis, management, and prevention of this complication. The objective of this review is to establish evidence-based guidance for the management of CVC-related thrombosis. A comprehensive search of the scientific literature was conducted from 1948 to 2012. Twenty-six articles fulfilling four criteria - humans, neonates aged below 28 days, CVC insertion, and English language - were included for analysis...

BACKGROUND: The risk of developing a tunnelled central venous catheter (CVC)-related infection ranges between 0.1 and 2.3 per 1000 catheter days for children with cancer. These infections are difficult to treat with systemic antibiotics (salvage rate 24% - 66%) due to biofilm formation in the CVC. Lock treatments can achieve 100 - 1000 times higher concentrations locally without exposure to high systemic concentrations. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to investigate the efficacy of antibiotic and other lock treatments in the treatment of CVC-related infections in children with cancer compared to a control intervention...

Biomarkers uPA/PAI-1 as recommended by ASCO and AGO are used in primary breast cancer to avoid unnecessary CTX in medium risk-recurrence patients. This study verified how many CTX cycles and CTX-related direct medication costs can be avoided by uPA/PAI-1 testing. A prospective, non-interventional, multi-center study was performed among six Certified Breast Centers to analyze application of uPA/PAI-1 and consecutive decision-making. CTX avoided were identified and direct costs for CTX, CTX-related concomitant medication and febrile neutropenia (FN) prophylaxis with G-CSF calculated...

Thrombolytic therapy accelerates the dissolution of acute pulmonary embolism and is potentially lifesaving. The goal of this article is to offer a critical analysis of the use of thrombolytic therapy in this setting. Guidelines have been written and modified and new ones have been published over the past several years. Although an evidence base exists, unanswered questions remain. Despite the potential benefit of rapid clot lysis, nonpathologic thrombi are also lysed, so that thrombolytic therapy can cause significant bleeding complications...

AIM: Final 10-year analysis of the prospective randomised Chemo-N0 trial is presented. Based on the Chemo-N0 interim results and an European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) pooled analysis (n=8377), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gynäkologische Onkologie (AGO) guidelines recommend invasion and metastasis markers urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA)/plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) for risk assessment and treatment decision in node-negative (N0) breast cancer (BC)...

Device-related bacteremia is the most frequent complication in patients with indwelling central venous catheter. Guidelines recommend treatment based on epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibility tests, but catheter removal is advocated in the presence of particular clinical conditions or pathogen isolations. Anti-infective drugs might become less effective in the presence of pathogens with increases in minimal inhibitory concentrations or slime production, and sometimes catheter removal is not feasible, for example, in patients with limited vascular sites or in the presence of life-threatening clinical conditions...

PURPOSE: The therapeutic management of catheter-related thromboembolic events in children is still a challenge due to the large number of potentially effective pharmacological alternatives and the insufficient scientific evidence available. A bibliographic review was performed in order to identify the available pharmacological alternatives for the prophylaxis and therapeutic management of catheter-related thrombosis in children. METHODS: A literature search was carried out on MEDLINE using the medical subject heading (MeSH) central venous catheter thrombosis and on Google Scholar...

The stated aims of treating acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are to prevent a pulmonary embolism, stop the clot from spreading, reduce the risk of a recurrence; they are less concerned with the late morbidity associated with post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS). In accordance with the French (Afssaps, 2009) and North American (ACCP, 2008) recommendations, anticoagulants (LMWH, heparin, AVK) form the cornerstone for treating DVT. These treatments appear to be far less effective in preventing post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), associated with venous hypertension, residual occlusion, and with reflux caused by valve incompetence...