Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) is associated with a reduction in risk of some cancers, but its association with prognosis among patients with cancer is poorly understood. In view of the increasing number of cancer survivors in the United States and the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among patients with cancer, an evaluation of the role of circulating 25-OHD in prognosis among patients with cancer is essential. We conducted a systematic review of studies published in the following databases-PubMed, OvidSP, BioMed Central, EMBASE, and Scopus till September 2013 using the following search terms: "vitamin D," "25-hydroxyvitamin D," "calcidiol," "cancer," "survival," "mortality," and "prognosis." Our search yielded 1,397 articles. From the 1,397 articles, we identified 26 studies that evaluated the associations of circulating 25-OHD with prognosis among patients with cancer. Evidence suggests that circulating 25-OHD levels may be associated with better prognosis in patients with breast and colorectal cancer, but there is a paucity of information on its association with prognosis in other cancers. This review highlights the need for further studies evaluating the role of vitamin D in prognosis among patients with cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(6); 917-33. Ó2014 AACR.
OBJECTIVEHigh-grade gliomas (HGGs) inevitably recur and progress despite resection and standard chemotherapies and radiation. Viral therapies have emerged as a theoretically favorable adjuvant modality that might overcome intrinsic factors of HGGs that confer treatment resistance.METHODSThe authors present the results of systematic searches of the MEDLINE and ClinicalTrials.gov databases that were performed for clinical trials published or registered up to July 15, 2020.RESULTSFifty-one completed clinical trials were identified that made use of a virus-based therapeutic strategy to treat HGG. The two main types of viral therapies were oncolytic viruses and viral vectors for gene therapy. Among clinical trials that met inclusion criteria, 20 related to oncolytic viruses and 31 to gene therapy trials. No oncolytic viruses have progressed to phase III clinical trial testing, although there have been many promising early-phase results and no reported cases of encephalitis or death due to viral therapy. Three phase III trials in which viral gene therapy was used have been completed but have not resulted in any FDA-approved therapy. Recent efforts in this area have been focused on the delivery of suicide genes such as herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase and cytosine deaminase.CONCLUSIONSDecades of research efforts and an improving understanding of the immunomodulatory effects of viral therapies for gliomas are informing ongoing clinical efforts aimed at improving outcomes in patients with HGG. The available clinical data reveal varied efficacy among different virus-based treatment strategies.
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