Background: Neutropenia is a common complication from chemotherapy. Mecapegfilgramtim (code name HHPG-19K), a long-acting recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF), has been developed. This study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mecapegfilgrastim for reducing neutropenia compared with filgrastim.Methods: This was a randomized, controlled non-inferiority study. A total of 339 breast cancer patients who were eligible for (neo) adjuvant chemotherapy were randomized assigned into three groups to receive mecapegfilgrastim 100 µg/kg, mecapegfilgrastim fixed dose of 6 mg or filgrastim 5 µg/kg/day in the first cycle of chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was the duration of grade ≥3 neutropenia in cycle 1. The secondary endpoints included the duration of grade ≥3 neutropenia in cycles 2-4, incidence of grade ≥3 neutropenia, and febrile neutropenia (FN). The safety profile was also evaluated. Results: The mean duration of grade ≥3 neutropenia was 1.06 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65, 1.26] days in mecapegfilgrastim 100 µg/kg group, 1.23 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.88) days in mecapegfilgrastim 6 mg group, and 2.06 (95% CI: 1.66, 2.46) days in the filgrastim group. The mean difference between mecapegfilgrastim 100 µg/kg and filgrastim was -1.00 (95% CI: -1.52, -0.48), the mean difference between mecapegfilgrastim 6 mg and filgrastim was -0.83 (95% CI: -1.36, -0.30). The upper bounds of 95% CI for the difference between mecapegfilgrastim and filgrastim were all <1 day (the predefined non-inferiority margin). For the incidence of grade ≥3 and grade 4 neutropenia, the mean duration of grade 4 neutropenia, mecapegfilgrastim showed better performance compared with filgrastim. For the incidence of FN, there was no difference between patients treated with mecapegfilgrastim and filgrastim. For safety profile, mecapegfilgrastim of two doses groups were all well-tolerated. Fixed 6 mg dose of mecapegfilgrastim exhibited comparable efficacy and safety in comparison with 100 µg/kg during 4 cycles.Conclusions: Long-acting mecapegfilgrastim (100 µg/kg and fixed 6 mg) is very effective and well tolerated when administered in the primary prophylaxis of chemotherapy induced neutropenia and in Xu et al. Mecapegfilgrastim for neutropenia in breast cancer
Tic disorder (TD) is a common childhood-onset disease associated with abnormal development of brain networks involved in the motor and sensory processing. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in TD are still unclear. An involvement of immune mechanisms in its pathophysiology has been proposed. This study investigates the association between the changes of cytokines and the etiology and development of TD. Different expressions of cytokines in a larger number of samples in our study may provide new insights to the field. The levels of cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) were evaluated in 1,724 patients who were clinically diagnosed with TD from 1 to 17.5 years old and 550 were from 6 months to 14.5 years old in the control group. We assessed the levels of cytokines according to the patient's medication status and the severity of the disease. Of the cytokines we investigated, the serum IL-6 concentration of children with TD was significantly higher than that of the control group, while the levels of other cytokines were lower in TD patients. In the patient group whose YTGSS score ranged from 1 to 9, the IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-γ levels increased in medication group compared to unmedication group. Our data suggested that the cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) may play an important role in the etiology and the severity in TD. Whether drug intervention in the early stage of tic disorder has a better effect on children needs further research.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.