Background The diagnosis of neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) is often delayed. This first UK population-based epidemiological study of NENs compares outcomes with non-NENs to identify any inequalities. Methods Age-standardised incidence rate (ASR), 1-year overall survival, hazard ratios and standardised mortality rates (SMRs) were calculated for all malignant NENs diagnosed 2013–2015 from UK national Public Health records. Comparison with non-NENs assessed 1-year overall survival (1YS) and association between diagnosis at stage IV and morphology. Results A total of 15,222 NENs were identified, with an ASR (2013–2015 combined) of 8.6 per 100,000 (95% CI 8.5–8.7); 4.6 per 100 000 (95% CI, 4.5–4.7) for gastro-entero-pancreatic (GEP) NENs. The 1YS was 75% (95% CI, 73.9–75.4) varying significantly by sex. Site and morphology were prognostic. NENs (predominantly small cell carcinomas) in the oesophagus, bladder, prostate, and female reproductive organs had a poorer outcome and were three times more likely to be diagnosed at stage IV than non-NENs. Conclusion Advanced stage at diagnosis with significantly poorer outcomes of some NENs compared with non-NENs at the same anatomical site, highlight the need for improved access to specialist services and targeted service improvement.

Neuroblastoma is a heterogeneous tumour and its effective clinical management is dependent on accurate prognostic evaluation. In approximately 25% of patients amplification of the MYCN oncogene is known to be associated with a poor outcome. In order to identify additional molecular markers with prognostic potential in non-MYCN-amplified neuroblastomas, we looked for a correlation between clinical outcome and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on four chromosomes that frequently show alteration in neuroblastoma (chromosomes 3, 4, 11 and 14). Chromosome 11q loss (with frequent parallel loss of chromosomes 3p, 4p and/or 14q) was found exclusively in tumours without MYCN amplification and was significantly associated with poor event-free survival. The 2-year event-free survival rate for 11q LOH cases was 30%, compared to 34% for MYCN-amplified cases and 100% for cases without these abnormalities. While 11q LOH was associated predominantly with advanced-stage disease, 2 cases with low-stage disease and 11q LOH both suffered relapses. We conclude that chromosome 11q loss defines a biologically distinct group of tumours without MYCN amplification that appear to have potential for aggressive metastatic growth. Thus this genetic alteration may be an important new prognostic marker in neuroblastoma. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.com

ObjectivesInnovative new drugs offer potential benefits to patients, healthcare systems, governments and the pharmaceutical industry. Recent data suggest annual numbers of new drugs launched in the UK have increased in recent years, and we sought to understand whether this represents increasing numbers of highly innovative drugs being made available or the introduction of increasing numbers of drugs with limited additional therapeutic value.Design and settingRetrospective observational study of new drug entries in the British National Formulary (BNF).Primary and secondary outcome measuresNumber of new drugs launched in the UK each year (based on first appearance in the BNF) from 2001 to 2012, including new chemical entities and new biological drugs, categorised by degree of innovativeness according to published criteria that incorporate both clinical usefulness and the nature of the innovation.ResultsHighly innovative, moderately innovative and slightly innovative drugs made up 26%, 18% and 56% of all newly launched drugs, respectively, for the study period (n=290). There was an upward trend in annual numbers of slightly innovative drugs from 2004 onwards (R2=0.44), which aligned closely with the recovery in total numbers of new drugs launched each year since that time. There were no discernible time trends in the highly or moderately innovative categories. New drugs for malignancy and skin disease were most likely to be characterised as highly innovative (44% and 57%, respectively).ConclusionsHighly innovative new drugs comprise only around a quarter of all new drug launches in the UK. In contrast, drugs categorised as only slightly innovative comprised well over half of all new drugs and annual numbers in this category are increasing. Current policy initiatives that seek to increase the supply of innovative new drugs have long-lead times to impact, and will need careful assessment to ensure they deliver their aims without unintended consequences.

No detectable resistance to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate after 6 years of therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Hepatology 2014;59: 434-442. [4] Cathcart AL, Chan HL, Bhardwaj N, Liu Y, Marcellin P, Pan CQ, et al. No resistance to tenofovir alafenamide detected through 96 weeks of treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2018;62. [5] Ahn SH, Kim DH, Lee AR, Kim BK, Park YK, Park ES, et al. Substitution at rt269 in hepatitis B virus polymerase is a compensatory mutation associated with multi-drug resistance. PLoS ONE 2015;10 e0136728.